By CHANDLER GARLAND

Educators from all over the region spent the last week traveling around Danville’s local business community as part of the eighth annual Teachers Academy.

“In an effort to enhance the workforce in our area and to keep our region competitive for businesses already here and for others looking to locate here, an intentional connection took place eight years ago,” said Danville-Boyle County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Paula Fowler.

One of the primary functions of the school system is to prepare young individuals for adulthood and by association the world of business. Educators and business personnel participated in an education-business exchange eight years ago aimed at helping those participating to better understand each other’s needs. That first meeting led to the creation of the academy.

The program grew out of the desire to begin a collaborative relationship between the region’s schools and businesses to better the business community and improve the lives of its blossoming residents. Among the main goals of the program, the academy is increasing awareness among educators of career opportunities and the required skills for those jobs, as well as provide educators with real world examples of the application of academic content and soft skills taught in schools.

The academy is open to any educator, including principals, counselors and superintendents as well as teachers in the surrounding six counties.

“The initial and subsequent effects were better than we had anticipated, but much work is still to be done,” said Fowler.

This year, educators from Boyle, Garrard, Mercer and Casey counties, as well as a few private and independent schools, attended the event. The primary focus was on STEM skills — science, technology, engineering, and math. Educators specializing in these areas, as well as others, toured local businesses to learn how these skills are used in professional and business settings so they can then help their students prepare.

After the opening session on Tuesday, the educators toured four businesses over three days. During the tours, business personnel and educators spoke about the application processes, what kinds of jobs are available, what the business is looking for in an employee, and what skills a person needs to be hired.

The businesses participating in this year’s academy were Panasonic Appliances, RR Donnelley, Ferm Solutions/Wilderness Trail, National Office Furniture, InterCounty Energy, Hitachi Automotive, Caterpillar Truck Components, American Greetings, Denyo Manufactuing, Deco Art Inc. and Farmers National Bank.

On the tours, teachers and businesses discussed each other’s needs and resources, as well as the academic and soft skills that an employee needs to be successful in a particular job.

For the teachers, it was helpful to learn “what we could teach to help our students, and what jobs are local and out there,” said Ashley Himes, a math teacher at Garrard County High School.

She was surprised to discover on her tour of Panasonic that it took about 20 different jobs to manufacture a single vacuum cleaner. “There are plenty of jobs out there, they just require a specific skill set,” Himes said.

For Shannon Driskell, another Garrard County math teacher, it was helpful to see the “business aspects that connect with schools and what they can offer.”

The teachers on the Farmers National tour all agreed with Mary Zollner of Garrard County High School that “even if it doesn’t impact the lesson plans, we can talk to the kids about what’s out there and what skills businesses are looking for. Participating in the academy gives us credibility with our students to talk about these things.”

The tour guide, Dana Frondal, in addition to running the wellness program for bank employees, also teaches finance and job readiness classes at schools. She speaks with seniors about how to write checks, how the bank works, how credit cards work and how to protect from fraud. These are some of the essential skills she and Farmers National Bank believe students should have a firm grasp of before they graduate.

“One of the major themes in our relationship with the school system is financial literacy. Children and young adults are not where they need to be, and it is a co-effort of educators and the banks to teach them,” said Bank President Greg Caudill.

While on the tour, Frondal and the teachers spoke about the bank’s hiring process and the particulars of what makes a person eligible for hiring. “All of our potential tellers must pass a timed exam. They are meant to show us that a potential employee can determine small differences in number sequences. We are looking for both accuracy and speed,” said Frondal. “All potential tellers must pass this exam before they are even offered a job.”

The teachers and Frondal discussed the writing skills potential employees must have and the training that new employees have to go through.

“High school students don’t think they have to learn anything else or take any more tests after they graduate, but even the president of the bank has to take, and pass, tests every year,” Frondal said.

Frondal led the teachers through the bank to show them many of the different offices. They went to customer service to talk to the employees there about their jobs and what skills a customer service person needs. They also visited the loan department and spoke about the changes that cause there to be openings in that department all the time. Next on the list was the brokerage and trust department and finally IT.

For Mary Jane Mckenzie of Burgin Independent School’s special education department, the knowledge shared at the academy will help her give students options and information about opportunities.

“Knowledge is power,” Mckenzie said. “I don’t have any seniors this year, but I can share what I’ve learned with my younger students, and I definitely plan on coming back to the academy next year.”

The teachers and a panel of business representatives gathered Thursday for closing thoughts and questions.

“There often is a disconnect between what students learn in the classroom and what they need to know for the workforce,” said Chamber Workforce Development Committee Chairman Steve Rinehart. “The only way to fix this is to get teachers and business personnel together and address this gap.”

“Sixty-four percent of our workforce in Boyle County commutes from the surrounding counties,” Fowler added. “Expanding the program out to the region helps prepare the workforce we pull from other areas.”