Making Change: The Three R's February 6, 2003 @ 8:00 PM on WVIZ As part of ideastream's Making Change series, an ongoing multimedia project aimed at enlightening Northeast Ohioans about their role in reinventing the regional economy, WVIZ/PBS presents "Making Change: The Three R's"; on Thursday, February 6 at 8:00 pm. This 60-minute, interactive call-in special will explain how education is vital to meeting the challenges of our new economy. We'll explore how education has moved beyond "reading, 'riting, and 'rithmetic" to include "research, retraining, and reshaping our attitudes." "Making Change: The Three R's" will present the personal stories of some Northeast Ohioans who have used non-traditional education opportunities to improve their lives, businesses, and our regional economy. In addition, program hosts Julie Henry and Shula Neuman invite viewers to talk live with a panel of experts about the importance of education in our regional economy, special training opportunities available to local residents, and how each of us can get involved in reshaping Northeast Ohio's economy. Panelists Include: Peter Rea Chair, Division of Business Administration, Baldwin Wallace College Susan Muha Executive Vice President, Workforce and Economic Development Division, Cuyahoga Community College Michael P. Summers President, Summers Rubber Company, Cleveland Mr. Summers sits on the Governor's Workforce Policy Board. He chairs the Greater Cleveland Growth Association's Jobs and Workforce Initiative and is the President of the Lakewood Board of Education This show included the following pretaped feature presentations: An Educated Workforce is Vital to Economic Success [View Transcript] Research indicates that if you had to look at one factor to predict economic growth in a region, it would be higher education. However, currently, Northeast Ohio is falling behind comparable regions. As of 2000, fewer than 30% of Northeast Ohioans had a bachelor’s degree or higher. Furthermore, Northeast Ohio’s K-12 education, the pump that needs to be primed for a healthy economy, faces major challenges. Today, one-third of our region’s children are educated in the Cleveland Public School System, a system with a 39% graduation rate. Cuyahoga County has a graduation rate of only 67%. Barbara Byrd-Bennett, CEO of the Cleveland Public Schools, and Mohsen Anvari, Dean of the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University, offer insight into how we can all work together to improve high school and college graduation rates and why we may need to reshape the way the think about education. Worker Training is Critical in Today’s High-Tech Economy [View Transcript] Greater Cleveland is currently ranked 33rd within the top 50 metropolitan areas in creating a new technology based economy. Furthermore, the area ranks 26th in workforce development. Cuyahoga Community College is working to address these issues with two new programs. The first is the new Key Career Place, an innovative center open to the general public as well as Tri-C students and linking job seekers with businesses and training programs. In addition, Tri-C is currently developing a new Corporate College Program to provide employers with a wide range of services to train new employees and upgrade the skills of those currently employed. The Westlake Corporate College is set to open in the spring of 2003, with an east side Corporate College slated for completion in spring of 2004. Currently, there is no other training/education entity in Ohio that offers the type and number of certification, re-certification, professional development, licensure programs, and association/vendor certification programs in one facility. This program will serve as a catalyst to improve Northeast Ohio’s current economic situation. NASA Glenn Pursues Earthly Goals of Training Small Business Owners [View Transcript] A space agency teaching Northeast Ohioans how to take cutting-edge technology and use it to create successful commercial products? It may sound like the stuff of science fiction, but that's the mission of the NASA Glenn Garrett Morgan Commercialization Initiative (GMCI). Since its launch in 1998, this NASA project has helped more than 300 small companies by providing access to NASA Glenn technology, programs, and expertise. Julie Henry reports on how the GMCI is helping Cleveland business woman Lavenia Ferguson turn an idea for a handheld security device into a marketable product and on how nurturing the success of Northeast Ohio's small companies benefits us all by boosting the strength of our local economy. Getting Involved to Make a Difference [View Transcript] Shula Neuman interviews Rosemary Herpel, Executive Director of The Cleveland Initiative for Education, a non-profit organization established in 1990 by local business and philanthropic leaders, supports school reform and enhances the education of children in the Cleveland Municipal School District (District). CIE carries out its mission by creating and enhancing programs that foster the academic and personal achievement of Cleveland’s school children. Rosemary directs the staff to implement CIE's professional development and partnership programs. She collaborates with the Cleveland Municipal School District and other non-profit organizations to promote focused participation in furthering the District's reform agenda. Actively encouraging and facilitating the development of cooperative and innovative programs, it is Rosemary's goal to assist the District in building its internal capacity to impact positively on the lives of children. “Making Change: Reinventing Our Economy is produced in partnership with the Center for Regional Economic issues at the Weatherhead School of Management – the dynamic, innovative business school at Case Western Reserve University. Developing the next generation of leaders for businesses in Northeast Ohio and around the world.