Crafting Impactful Advisory Board Meeting Agendas Rita Molloy Academy Coordinator for Health Science, Agriculture & Hospitality San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) Career Technical Education (CTE) Department Shannon Noonan Education and Community Partnerships Manager Gladstone Institutes, affiliated with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)

Table of Contents I.The role of the Advisory Board (AB) II.Recruiting board members and keeping them engaged III.Calendaring and structure IV.Work-Based Learning (WBL) activities a. Industry input night b. Mock interviews and resume review c. Capstone projects V. Example agendas

What are Advisory Boards (AB) for? What is the role of the AB? What do you want your AB members to provide? What would make the AB more valuable for teachers? What is the importance of having an industry chair?

Activities for your AB Provide students with work-based learning experiences; including paid internships, field trips, guest speakers, informational interviews, etc. Review and analyze pathway data, participate in program assessment, and provide industry input for program improvement Provide teachers with curriculum support and professional development, including externships, aligned to industry standards Assist students with classroom projects and be an audience for student presentations Collaborate with you to prepare students for success in college and careers Serve as advocates for your academies in the local community

Engaging your AB Members Career readiness Work-based learning Capstone projects Curriculum, including soft skill development Anything that feels like they’re making a difference to teachers and students

AB Members Energize Other Members! 1. Growing your advisory board a. The importance of recruiting b. Ask yourself, what’s the make-up of your ideal advisory board? 2. Referrals a. From other board members, district employees, teachers, Google 3. Who makes the first contact a. Clarify, board chair or district employee b. Best practices for cold calling – first, then follow-up with a phone call within a few days. Be sure to ask for a follow-up phone call to chat in-person.

Getting People to Attend your Board Meetings 1. Explain who you are a. Academy sector b. Schools you work with c. Goal of board 2. What is expected of the board members and other benefits 3. Define work-based learning 4. Next meeting details (date, time, location)

Getting Board Members Invested from the Beginning 1. Create a brochure/presentation a. Demographics (ethnicity, gender) by school district, by high school, by academy b. Write-up on each Academy c. Pathway title, teacher(s), subject(s), course(s) d. Dual-enrollment numbers e. Work-based learning activities

Getting Board Members Engaged Food helps! Have students attend or show board members what the students have been up to with pictures Have small group discussions/activities planned for every meeting. Getting people to share during the meeting builds community within the group Leave time for networking We end each meeting with announcements and end 15-minutes early so people stay and network (this happens naturally) Don’t end a meeting without a request, create action items with a timeline

Board Priorities Throughout the Year 1. Fall - curriculum, competencies and WBL a. Downside of too much curriculum help, lessons learned b. Industry Input Night (IIN) and how that’s evolved 2. Spring - WBL, career readiness & capstone a. Mock interview & resume writing workshops, gets old & new advisory board members involved 3. Year-Round - WBL a. Guest speakers, field trips, job shadows, and internships

Calendaring and Structure 1. Structure of yearly meetings a. 4 times a year = just right *sweet spot b. Timing (pros & cons) Evening: 4:00-6:00pm or 4:30- 6:30pm Versus daytime c. Location d. Reminders e. Sub-committees 2. Board roles a. Chair - facilitator b. Recorder (student & AB member secretary) c. Timer

What is Work Based Learning (WBL)? Purpose is to expose students to future options Allows students to go beyond what can be learned in the classroom Allows students to interact and network with industry professionals, both in and outside the classroom Allows for students to gain real-world problem solving skills Connects classroom experiences to real-world, aiding in their success in academic, career, and college

Industry Input Night Use upcoming WBL opportunities & match to competency Brainstorm: Identify an upcoming or recent WBL experience that happened at your school (shout-out) List our competencies - professionalism, communication, etc. Break up room into 2 groups “How can you teach a competency during a WBL experience?” Group 1-Field Trips, Group 2-Guest Speakers, Group: 7 minutes (fill out the sheet blue/pink based on Field Trip vs. Guest Speaker) –share ideas with the larger group (5 minutes)

Mock Interviews & Resume Review 1. Mock Interviews a. Have base interview questions prepared, ask board to give input, Feedback Rubric b. What do you want students to know (dress appropriately, etc.) c. Ask board members to be interviewers 2. Resume Review a. Bring student resumes to an advisory board meeting b. Use first 5 minutes of mock interview to review student resumes c. CTE has prepared Resume Writing workshops that can be done by anyone (TSA, Teacher, Advisory Board member, Industry Professional)

What is a Capstone Project? Culminating project that incorporates everything students have learned, end of senior year project Examples Product, proto-type, fine tune with mentors Hospitality students (in groups) build a resort (restaurant menu, front desk, housekeeping)

Involving your Board in the Capstone Capstone mentors meets 2-3 times with student group Capstone judges just during presentation day to give feedback Or partner with teacher to develop a rigorous capstone project

Key Components of Every Agenda Welcome, Food, Intro (overview of what we’re doing today, introduce new members) Ice Breaker Student Presentation and/or Academy Update Group Discussion, paired share, detailed planning of WBL activities especially when board members are providing the WBL activity Sub-committee time if applicable to report out or to meet as a group Announcements & Networking