Boston Chamber Joins Forces with BPS to Pair Business Leaders with School Principals

Boston-area business leaders are returning to the classrooms for some one-on-one time with Boston Public Schools (BPS) principals.

A new Principal Partners initiative kicked off on Thursday, April 17. Its goal is to create shadowing opportunities that better connect the business community with BPS personnel. Jim Rooney, CEO of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, has wanted to bring this endeavor to fruition since he started his role at the Chamber nearly 10 years ago.

According to a Boston Globe report, Rooney was fortunate to connect with BPS Superintendent Mary Skipper, who embraced the idea. On April 17, several business leaders shadowed principals throughout the morning, then gathered at Bank of America's offices on Federal Street to share what they learned from the experience. 

Rooney believes the shadowing program will foster more engagement between the Boston business community and BPS. Through this partnership, BPS teachers will also be able to stay informed about the city's evolving workforce development needs, Rooney said. He also felt that some Chamber members could lend their experience to BPS through developing Boston schools' new financial literacy program.

“Historically, the school department has been hard to help,” Rooney said in an interview with The Boston Globe. “In the past, they defined ‘partnership' as ‘write me a check.' [Businesses] will do that as a matter of goodwill. But I wanted to do something deeper than that.”