Business partners have become an integral part of Jefferson's academic program. Because of the school's laser-like focus on its academic goals, Principal Stack has invited local businesses to help improve students' reading achievement and today Jefferson has more business partners than any other middle school in the system. Major partners, such as Target, Pepsi Cola, and Barnes and Noble, donate Walkmen, Accelerated Reader novels, and novels on tape. A Barnes and Noble partner explains, "Carol came to us and wanted to be our partner. We now have BookTalks and a reading group that gets discounts on books. Jefferson kids write book reviews that become part of our store displays."

A Pepsi Cola partner says, "Carol and I decided that buying a scoreboard, which was what we were used to doing, was not the way to build a real relationship or to help kids have better opportunities. We partner with six schools - this is the only one that wanted a relationship, not money or stuff." He continues, "I sat with Carol, and we developed goals to take advantage of our expertise. We decided to help the school enhance its reading program. Now, 30 of our employees are reading to kids, and we are donating prizes and awards."

A Clean Building is a Happy Building

As part of getting an unruly school back under control, Dr. Stack focused on the school building itself. Though it needed many repairs - even the water fountains were broken-the custodial staff said that the kids would tear down anything the staff fixed. Dr. Stack disagreed. She quickly accomplished a visual change - what she calls "the image of discipline"-as the school was fixed and cleaned. To encourage teachers to help clean the building by getting their hands dirty picking things up from the floors, Dr. Stack got Target to contribute 100 hand cleaners, which the principal dispensed to a surprised staff during a faculty meeting.

One community partner says that "Carol has remarkable vision of all kinds of things: how the revamped gym will look, how teachers will interact with students, how business partnerships will work. What's special about this school is the energy level from the top. Carol has the energy to bring out the best in people." This includes members of the business community who contribute their time, energy, and products to reinforce the highly focused academic goals of Jefferson Middle School.

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