Five panelists discuss how small businesses can acquire seed capital by considering venture; capital's role in the financing of business start-ups, using local banks as sources of advice and community support as well as funds for new entrepreneurs in rural areas, and investigating states' roles in supporting new ventures. (NEC)

Five panelists discuss alternatives to venture capital sources for Appalachian business expansion, new institutions created or supported by state and local governments to provide capital, and how businesses can best position themselves to take advantage of all capital sources. (NEC)

School-business partnerships are flourishing across the country, but many schools and students are not being reached by these efforts. It is time now to look beyond the individual partnership programs and focus on systemwide issues in order to make the vast and fundamental improvements needed in public schools. Some corporate communities are…

This document contains the proceedings of a conference for educators, business leaders, and government officials involved in school reform. The speakers at the conference were involved in city-wide partnerships that establish long-term, measurable goals for school improvement in exchange for business' pledge of employment opportunities for youth.…

Illinois is considering various approaches to school/business partnerships that will alleviate some of the problems facing America today, especially the need for an educated, trainable, and flexible workforce able to satisfy the demands of a radically altered economic environment. Widespread functional illiteracy, retraining needs, and…

Jonathan Kozol challenges politicians of both parties to confront the economic and political issues that deprive the poor of equal education. Criticisms of current policies include the following: (1) dependence on property taxes penalizes the poor; (2) local control protects privilege and oppresses minorities; (3) education has been removed from…

Six exploratory papers by different authors from both the corporate sector and the public school systems present several relevant perspectives on business/education collaboration. The first, by Dr. Marsha Levine (who also provides the introduction to the collection), suggests three analytic frameworks for planning and implementing public/private…