Network Aims to Bolster Business Support for Schools

Washington

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce last week brought policymakers, corporate leaders, and education professionals together here as part of an aggressive new venture to increase the business community’s involvement in education.

The three-day meeting, Oct. 5-7, marked the first public gathering of the Business Education Network, a coalition supported by the Washington-based chamber and other business organizations and corporations, to address issues facing public education. It focused primarily on building partnerships between business and education to improve American competitiveness and student achievement.

“One of the things that we’re struggling with is priorities,” said Stephen Jordan, who directs the chamber’s Center for Corporate Citizenship, which co-hosted the event along with 10 national corporations. “There is a company involved in almost every single aspect of the educational process,” he noted. “What would happen if we...