They would, however, happily be a site for field trips. After some thought, I called the CEO and invited a staff member to join our newly formed advisory committee to help shape the vision of the school. He sent his human resources person, with the notion, I assumed, of wanting the person responsible for Mayo's hiring to get inside information about the schools in Jacksonville. Mayo's representative served for the year, becoming increasingly involved with our school. At the end of the year, he signed Mayo on as an official partner.
Students benefit from the lab, the tutors, and the role models.
The affiliation with Mayo has tremendously increased the self-esteem of teachers as they have the opportunity to interact with other professionals. Teachers as partners. My ability to get the leadership team to trust the competence of the staff was a key. I had to help them internalize a belief that when teachers feel trusted they will join in changing the school for the better. The typical education system doesn't trust the teaching staff.