By Eliz Dowdy

The Alliance for Education recently celebrated one decade of operation as a collaborative to boost the overall economy of San Bernardino County. It has brought together educators, the business community, students, parents, community and faith-based organizations to work closely together providing events, services and programs in education, family involvement, government agencies and economic/workforce development.

Attendees viewed a video giving an overview of the work accomplished during the first decade of its existence; partners described what they believed the partnerships had achieved. The groups have been able to lay out a comprehensive plan of growth, beginning with education; the lament of businesses looking for workers with the skills required even for many apprentice jobs. That puts a damper on quality jobs for Inland Empire residents, many of whom travel to Los Angeles, Long Beach or Palmdale/Lancaster for quality jobs. The collaborative has produced a county-wide vision. The two main components are education and the economy.

The Alliance was started in 2002 under former County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Herb Fischer.

The Alliance’s three-prong attack plan is to engage, invest, and achieve. They are engaging parents in education; for too long parents and the educational system appeared to be at opposite ends of the spectrum. County schools in Apple Valley and Yucaipa have hosted parent and student nights where the focus was on robotics, rocketry and other STEM-focused projects that gave hands-on opportunity for parents and students to learn more about STEM and STEAM careers that are available.

Investing in a brighter future, schools from Chino to Yucaipa to Apple Valley participated in Alliance’s programs for the first time this year. Don Lugo High School in Chino; Eisenhower High School Rialto, and Yucaipa High School were each awarded a $10,000 grant to participate in the first Robotics competition in the Spring of 2012.

The collaborative also enables students to understand how math problems can be applied in real life situations to rev up their levels of enthusiasm. Other schools receiving kudos for their innovative STEM-focused programs were Sultana High School in Hesperia; they earned a spot at the VEX WORLD Robotics championships and competed against 100 teams from the international community.

Victor Valley High School’s Skills USA team are state champions in engineering and technology: robotics competition; they will compete later this month in Kansas City, Missouri.

Community partners engaging in STEM/Robotics training included the Millionaire Mind Kids from the Victor Valley; they were participants in the first Legoland Robotics competition in Carlsbad last Fall.

The Alliance recognized the group for the work they are doing in preparing those students who are not ordinarily involved in the top classes in the regular school districts. They received recognition and an award for the work they are doing. Accepting the award were CEO Delores Williams, executive vice presidents Najah Williams, Khalil Williams, and Dalvin Bazzelle. Although the goal appears lofty and inclusive, guaranteeing that by 2020 every student graduating from high school will also be able to receive an associate degree in a chosen field, there was only one other African American student showcased, Pamela Diala from Upland. She is desirous of becoming a medical researcher or doctor specializing in cancer cells; she was one of three students who received the Dr. Herb Fischer Award; each of the three students received a $1,000 award. The Diala family is originally from Nigeria.