With the Washington area economy booming but schools still short of needed personnel, hundreds of local companies, agencies and private groups are offering help. We are experiencing good times economically . . . Technology experts from the Army Judge Advocate General's Office have revitalized computer facilities at Arlington's Swanson Middle School, and Verizon employees are mentoring the county's teenage mothers. In Prince George's County, more than 600 organizations have linked with schools. Susan Hubbard, chief of business and community outreach for the county schools, said business executives are helping to design courses that will give students the skills their industries demand.
School administrators cite a few disappointments.
Some of the partners don't understand how much work is required to turn easily distracted children in the right direction. Courtney Bulger, director of business and industry relations for Fairfax County schools, said some companies involved in school partnerships lose interest after a management change. Some tutoring programs, she said, have suffered when work demands became so frantic that no employees could be spared to drive to the local elementary school to read to second-graders. But school administrators say they are finding ways to reduce the risk of partners losing interest by emphasizing advantages for the companies involved. We always have our hand out.