Designing a Comprehensive Program and Curriculum for the Next Generation of Innovators
Company/Organization: Ford Motor Company/Ford Motor Company Fund
CEO/Board Chair: William Clay Ford, Jr. Executive Chairman; Alan Mulally, President & CEO
Level of Involvement: National and State
State: 25 states and the District of Columbia
Type of Initiative: Expertise/Volunteerism
Target Priority: More Innovation Workers in the Pipeline
“Ford PAS helps students develop academic knowledge and practical skills that allow them to enter college and the workforce with confidence and competence. We’re optimistic that Ford PAS graduates will be among the leaders of the next generation of science, engineering, and business professionals.” says Jim Padilla, former President and Chief Operating Officer, Ford Motor Company
Overview
Ford Motor Company is committed to helping all students become adept problem solvers and critical thinkers armed with strong teamwork and communications skills, particularly in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Recognizing that many high schools, in their current form, are not preparing students with the critical 21st century skills necessary to compete in a global knowledge economy and the reality of an ever-changing workplace, Ford has taken up the effort to improve high school instruction. Ford’s ultimate goal is to motivate and engage students by bringing workplace skills into the classroom in a meaningful manner. Ford views the development of relevant and rigorous curriculum as a central element of a broader effort to engage and excite students and to provide them with opportunities to explore the many possibilities facing them after they graduate from high school and college.
Strategies for Success
Ford, in concert with Education Development Center Inc. (EDC), developed the Ford Partnership for Advanced Studies (Ford PAS), a program consisting of 15 modules that provide project- and inquiry-based learning experiences for students. The modules may be organized in sequence as a series of elective courses that introduce students to a variety of fields, or organized thematically to focus on business and entrepreneurship, business and manufacturing, economics, or science, technology, and engineering. Individual modules focus on topics such as Reverse Engineering (engineering design), From Data to Knowledge (statistics and probability), and the Wealth of Nations (global economics). The modules are aligned with academic standards, and weave together content knowledge and skills in English language arts, math, social studies, science, technology, business, engineering and economics. The curriculum is structured to increase students’ ability to think critically, solve problems, communicate and work as a team—all necessary skills for success in the workplace.
The Ford PAS program requires that each site using the program – high schools, universities, or community-based organizations – has the necessary support for the curriculum to have its maximum impact. Each of the 160 Ford PAS program sites is supported by a Business/Education Advisory Council that includes representative from local businesses, higher education, school administrators, Ford PAS-trained teachers, parents and students. The councils organize classroom volunteer opportunities, facilitate workforce learning experiences and support administrative activities such as budgeting, fundraising and public relations.
Ford Motor Company Fund also supports all program sites with on-going technical assistance and, in collaboration with EDC, offers intensive professional development opportunities for classroom teachers.
With sites in 25 states and District of Columbia, the Ford PAS program has also built-in flexibility, allowing local champions of the program to adapt the program to best serve their students. For example, sites can opt to offer the curriculum within the school day, after school or during the summer. Additionally, a number of high schools are collaborating with colleges and universities to offer student concurrent credit for Ford PAS modules, while a handful of postsecondary institutions are using the modules as components of their introductory courses in engineering and business. At Bath High School in Lima, Ohio, for example, students who complete the entire sequence are eligible for up to 15 credits at a local postsecondary institution.
The Ford PAS program leverages strategic business expertise recommended by Business Toolkit for Better Schools in several ways, including,
- Define the skills and knowledge graduates need to get and keep well-paying, family-supporting jobs
- Advise on subject-matter issues, such as academic standards, curriculum and assessments, especially in mathematics and science
- Partner with school districts to upgrade educator professional development, for example, in mathematics and science or building teachers' capacity to engage students in interdisciplinary, project- and inquiry-based learning
- Partner with school districts and labor to upgrade career and technical education
- Serve as “loaned executives” in school districts
Indicators of Success
Ford is planning to begin a long-term evaluation of the impact of Ford PAS shortly. The company hopes to prove the value of this initiative and, in doing so, to leverage the opportunity to collaborate with other companies and organizations that also strive to promote project-based learning in order to help all students reach their academic potential and prepare students for high-skill, high-demand, and high-wage jobs.
On February 25, 2007, The National Governors Association (NGA) honored Ford Motor Company as the first recipient of the NGA Public-Private Partnership Award during its Winter Meeting. The NGA Public-Private Partnership Awards were established to recognize NGA Corporate Fellow companies for noteworthy partnerships with governors and states and honor companies that have partnered with a governor’s office to implement a program or project that positively affects a state’s citizens.
Next Steps
Beginning in 2006-2007, the Ohio Department of Education’s Office of Career Technical and Adult Education launched a statewide model for implementing Ford PAS in all high schools that offer manufacturing technology programs. This is Ford PAS’ first statewide initiative. The National Center for Manufacturing Education hosted a series of professional development sessions for teachers throughout Ohio and has scheduled more training opportunities for 2007. This large-scale effort seeks to revitalize the pipeline of manufacturing employees throughout Ohio and help bring Ohio’s manufacturing industry into the 21st century. Ohio will not limit its support for Ford PAS only to manufacturing programs, but instead will support high schools that offer courses of study in any of the 16 nationally recognized career clusters.
Ford PAS also is continuing to expand on its content and curriculum. EDC, in collaboration with Ford, is developing a set of modules that focus on the physics, chemistry, and biology of alternative energy, recognizing this as a growing field of interest for both employers and students. EDC is also developing a financial literacy module that will build students’ knowledge of finance and capacity to manage finances responsibly, as well as improve their knowledge and understanding of algebra.
In August 2006, Ford Motor Company Fund announced the formation of a new initiative entitled the Ford Career Academy Innovation Community recognition program, now called Ford PAS Next Generation Learning Communities (NGLC). The purpose of the Ford PAS NGLC program is to support communities that wish to increase the number of students learning in successful career academies and help those communities sustain their career academy networks over time.
Career academies are one of our country’s most successful high school redesign strategies. These small learning communities draw on career themes to bring real-world relevance to academic instruction. Ford Motor Company Fund, in partnership with Social Marketing Services (SMS, LLC), identified best practices shared by communities that have developed and sustained successful career academy networks. These best practices have been set forth as a 12-Point Action Plan for communities to follow. This action plan, the first of its kind at the community level, will serve as the basis for the technical assistance provided by Ford Motor Company Fund.
Participating States
Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia
Related Content
Web sites
Materials for the Public
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Press Release, “Ohio Department of Education and Ford Motor Company Fund Join Forces on Education Program” Jun 13, 2006
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“Merging Life Skills and Academic Rigor” Mosaic (An EDC Report Series) Fall 2005.
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Press Release, "Nation's Governors to Present First Annual Public-Private Partnership Award,” Feb. 22, 2007
Fact Sheets
Evaluations
Presentations
Updated: May 2008
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