Christy Gillenwater, president and CEO of the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce, made a presentation on their Chamber's Franklin Initiative for the 2012 Inter-City Visit to Bloomington, IN.

1. Christy Gillenwater, President & CEO
The Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce
cgillenwater@chamberbloomington.org

2. Mission: Provide real-world learning
opportunities to increase academic
engagement and excite young people about
education and future careers.

3. Tell me and I forget.
Teach me and I remember,
Involve me and I learn.
-Benjamin Franklin

4. A 501(c)3 charitable nonprofit organization
•Eligible for grants
• Donations are tax deductible

5. Representatives from…
•Private Sector
•Public Sector
•Local Schools

6. Career Learning Programs

7. The Reality Store

8. Career Speakers Bureau

9. Life Sciences Career Fair

10. Job Shadowing

11. Employment Fair for Graduating Seniors

12. Graduation Coach Initiative

13. The Chamber’s Graduation Coach Initiative
Recently Funded by:
Boston Scientific
IU Credit Union
Monroe County Community School Corporation
Dennis Shoup Foundation

14. Keys to Success
 Healthy collaboration between the business community
and local school districts
 Financial support
 Access to school system and in-kind support
 Staff with strong background and skill sets for working
with at-risk youth
 Implementation of Check and Connect Model

15. Graduation Coaches
Drhea Townsend Melanie Humbard Patty Goldman
BHS South BHS North Edgewood HS

16. Graduation Coach Initiative Outcomes
 Last year 88% of students with a Graduation
Coach graduated or remained in school
 68% of students with a Graduation Coach
improved their GPA, an overall increase of 8%
from the year prior
 The senior drop-out rate for students with a
Graduation Coach reduced from 5 seniors in
2011 to only 3 seniors in 2012

17. Graduation Rates
100%
95%
90%
85% BHSN
BHSS
80% MCCSC
EHS
75%
State Avg.
70%
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
BHSN 79% 81% 76% 84% 86%
BHSS 80% 83% 88% 86% 90%
MCCSC 77% 79% 79% 83% 87%
EHS 82% 84% 91% 95% 91%
State Avg. 76% 78% 82% 84% 86%

18. Graduation Coach Caseload
Senior Retention/Completion Rate
100%
100%
93 % 93% 94%
92%
90%
90%
84%
80%
70%
62%
60%
2011
50%
40% 2012
30%
20%
10%
0%
BHSN BHSS EHS Overall

19. Students Leaving Without Graduating
(Totals for RBBCSC and MCCSC)
250 242 222
217 219
193
200
162
139 140 142
150 126
100 78 79 116
60 51
50
0
2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11
Total Dropped Out (codes 1-18) Removed by Parents (code 20)
SOURCE: Indiana Department of Education

20. Career Readiness
87% of students participating in
WorkKeys earned certificates in 2012

21. Educators of the Year Awards

23. For more information visit
Mark DeLaney, Director of Workforce Initiatives
The Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce
mdelaney@chamberbloomington.org