To say Hataj has been pleased with the expansion of Craftsman With Character to Janesville is an understatement. “What’s making it happen in Janesville, especially with Forward Janesville, is that they get it,” says Hataj. “The partnership between the schools and the businesses…that’s the magic to me, that the partnerships are so strong.” “What’s unique and wonderful about Janesville is that Forward Janesville is facilitating that partnership, and that is helping us realize that’s the model moving forward. We need to find a Forward Janesville in other communities that can facilitate those connections. It’s absolutely key.” Janesville Business Academy But real-world experience for Janesville students is not limited to those with a career track in the trades. For several years, Craig and Parker high schools have offered students the ability to work directly with local business people. Those programs were taken to a new level in August 2023 when Forward Janesville partnered with Craig High School to bring Craig’s capstone program, formerly called Elevate, to a space in One Parker Place dubbed The Janesville Business Hub. With the inclusion of Parker High School’s DECA program for the 2024-25 school year, the now district-wide program has been rebranded as the Janesville Business Academy, and its home is the Janesville Business Hub in the heart of downtown Janesville. The relocation to the Janesville Business Hub brought classes out of libraries and cafeterias and into a space that emulates what students will one day experience in the world of work. The Forward Foundation (Forward Janesville’s charitable arm) is paying for the space, with the School District of Janesville, UWWhitewater, the Janesville Foundation, and several private donors providing support. “When you talk to the students, they absolutely love the space,” says Hiller, Forward Janesville’s immediate past board chair. “What an opportunity for kids to have their own office space downtown. It’s just a fantastic learning environment.” The students spend the first part of their school day at the Business Hub before returning to their respective schools. “We truly want to give kids immersive capstone experiences in the 11th-and 12th-grade year that they’re not even really at Craig or Parker,” says Shawn Kane, an assistant principal at Craig high who has long been involved in the Business Academy. “They’re out in the field doing things in the areas of ag, or skilled trades, or business, or information technology, or data analytics. We want to grow this, and many other similar programs.” Kane explains that one of the components to the Janesville Business Academy (JBA) is that the students work on authentic business projects as part of a small group. The business partners are asked to provide “post-it note” projects – ideas they’ve always had but lack the time, knowledge or expertise to work on. “It’s a project (that) would benefit their organization,” says Kane. “And we define the deliverables for the kids. That drives their work for their business partner.” As an example, Kane pointed to a project the JBA worked on for Alliant Energy. He explained that Alliant wanted to increase their presence in certain school districts around the state to recruit new employees. “Our kids did a lot of research,” says Kane, “and they developed a strategic marketing plan for Alliant to use to get an entry point into the schools. They developed some marketing resources to promote to young adults. They did a lot of research around the current starting wage, how it compares to other nonskilled trades, and ability to advance. Our kids did things like print materials, videos, vignettes. So not only are we developing our kids, but we’re helping an organization develop a labor pipeline.” Zach Brockman, president of the Beloit Sky Carp, says being part of the program “feeds our mission to improve the quality of life for people in this community. And we got some cool business outcomes from it, too.” The Sky Carp tasked JBA students with developing a promotional night, coming up with ideas to drive attendance and engage with the community and the crowd in the stadium. As a minor league affiliate of the Miami Marlins, the students presented the Sky Carp with ideas for a “Salute To Miami” night, including Miami-themed trivia and a sandcastle-making contest. 8 | FORWARD JANESVILLE The Hub simulates a real-world professional environment Designed for flexibility, The Hub seamlessly transitions from workspace to presentation arena What an opportunity for kids to have their own office space downtown. It’s just a fantastic learning environment.
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