When designing a mutually beneficial partnership, it’s usually crucial to invite all the stakeholders to the table to collaborate and lay out a vision. Last week Russellville City Schools did just that – literally inviting a number of community members to the table for a partnership luncheon.

Local industry leaders and RCS educational personnel came together for lunch at Highway 43 Grill Thursday to discuss how industry and education can work together to produce the workforce of the future, providing the best way forward for both Russellville industries and Russellville students.

Superintendent Heath Grimes and RHS assistant principal/career tech director Natalie Bendall led the meeting and urged industry leaders – with Thursday attendees including representatives from CB&S Bank, Franklin Homes, Clark-Pulley, Saint-Gobain Adfors, Leisure Creations, Sustainable Safety Solutions, G&G Steel and Alfa insurance, among others – to reach out to RCS.

“Our ultimate goal is to create a pipeline of our students going into your business and industry,” explained Bendall.

A packet of information provided to each attendee included the system’s detailed strategic plan; a course catalogue listing all classes offered at the high school; and descriptions of each of the high school’s ten academies designed to ensure college and career readiness, along with a response form for partners to share both what they need from RCS as well as what they can give – whether that might be financial resources or more intangible resources such as leading mock interviews, hosting tours or giving presentations or taking on student interns.

Attendees began a candid conversation about what they need from their future workforce, with topics ranging from certifications and skills, to safety principles, to basic professionalism.

And this won’t be the last conversation, as Bendall and RCS representatives plan to host more luncheon and partnership meetings in the future.

“This really is a vision of our school system, and we truly believe in the partnership,” Grimes told Thursday attendees. “We’ll do whatever we can to communicate, and we truly want you to communicate with us … We have a true desire to produce people who can work and fill our jobs in Russellville. Our job is to educate – but education without an end doesn’t mean a whole lot.

“Sometimes you are going to tell us things we don’t want to hear. ‘You don’t do a good job of (blank),’” Grimes said. “In the past, we didn’t necessarily want to hear that. But we want to hear that. If we don’t know what we’re not doing a good job of, we can’t fix that.”

Bendall said she was pleased with the turnout and the initial interest in the partnership and she looks forward to continuing the conversation.

“We wanted our business and industry to understand how dedicated we are to building a bridge between the K-12 school and our business and industry – that pipeline, such that our students are prepared to go into the workforce,” Bendall said. “We want to hear what they need, and we want to let them know what we need.

“It’s about the future. We want to grow Russellville.”

Grimes also expressed his enthusiasm with the turnout.

“We’ve had these meetings before, but I think the dialogue was different today,” said Grimes, who praised Bendall for “her direction and her vision.” “I’m proud there was a group of business and industry leader partners here to take off and run with it. I’m excited about our future.”

Sustainable Safety Solutions sponsored the luncheon.