Out of this partnership between educators and business people have come a number of initiatives staffed by the Chamber:

• Christa McAuliffe Academy for Math, Science & Technology. The Academy is a weeklong professional development opportunity for K-12 educators, guidance counselors and other instructors, and is one of several such academies around the state operating in conjunction with WASDI. Held in July at the Appleton North High School, the academy provides in-depth, hands-on, engaging learning opportunities particularly in the areas of math, science and technology, but also in the areas of reading, cognitive learning, cultural diversity, etc. The courses help teachers meet student standards and state teacher standards. Teachers earn college level credit for successful completion of the program.

• The Fox Cities Alliance for Education. The Alliance steering committee has provided direction to the Chamber's education and workforce preparation programs, studying larger educational issues and supporting local programs.

• Career Connection. The Alliance helped to create this regional career exploration center to serve the needs of Alliance member school districts. Students ages 12 to 21 utilized the facility and its programs to meet their career exploration curriculum requirements. In addition, some districts contract with the Career Connection to assist students to complete their career assessment criteria. www.career-connection.com

• Leadership Fox Cities. When community leaders expressed a concern over the future supply of high quality community volunteers, the Chamber quickly stepped forward to launch a leadership development training program. Initiated in 1991, Leadership Fox Cities provides an intensive nine-month program focuses on current community issues, giving participants access to individuals, organizations and resources at work in their community. Topics have included human services, the arts, education, healthy communities, government, the environment, law enforcement, the news media, and boardsmanship. Graduates of Leadership Fox Cities become a resource for boards of directors and committees in the non-profit sector of the community.

• Global Fox Cities. With cultural diversity swiftly changing the face of our community, business leaders have sought ways to ensure that their workplaces — and our communities in general — are welcoming to a greater variety of workers and their families. Global Fox Cities, Diversity Training for the 21st Century, is a collaborative effort between the Chamber and Innovative Learning Strategies, which consults on the program. In a series of five sessions, Global Fox Cities takes a fresh look at ways to prepare business people and employees from non-profit organizations for diversity in the work place. The audience for Global Fox Cities is CEOs, managers, educators, farm managers, non-profit administrators, health care workers, service sector supervisors, trainers and human resources specialists. For information, contact Jane Garton, vice president of Business-Education Partnerships, at the Chamber by calling 920-734-7101.