The business community in this country has been out front in calling for reform and improvement in our nation’s schools. They are, after all, prime consumers of the school’s products - the individuals that have graduated from the nation’s secondary schools and universities - and thus should be highly interested and involved in school improvement.

The National Business Roundtable and the National Alliance for Business, many of their state affiliates, and individual businesses in states and local communities have become significantly involved in educational reform initiatives.

Business has faced the need to reform and improve itself in order to survive in the global economy, and they have learned much that can be applied to the efforts to improve our schools. They also have significant political power and influence which can be used with governors, state legislatures, and other state policy bodies to influence, enhance, and improve reform and accountability initiatives.

Involvement of business can be crucial to reform and improvement efforts. Business leaders have the ability to bring all parties to the table to discuss areas of agreement and concern, develop compromises where needed, and to build support and consensus around key legislative issues. They can also bring their financial and educational resources to bear in assisting the educational community in implementing some of the best practices from business.

By building strong positive relationships and remaining involved over a long period of time, business can have a significant positive impact on the improvement of academic achievement and educational reform in our schools.

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