Education Attainment Division

Without effective public school systems, communities will not be able to meet the economic, social and cultural challenges of the coming decades. In order to adequately prepare our students for college and sustainable careers in a 21st century global economy, we must keep pace with increasing diversity and multi-culturalism, globalism, the changing job market, and technological advancements. 

A concerted, collaborative effort made by local institutions can help identify important areas where its partners can work together to address pressing educational issues, better leverage resources and have a measurable impact. It is critical to emphasize business and community partnerships with schools, so that all students have access to education and training opportunities preparing them for high-skill, high-wage employment in a fulfilling career of choice, and the region’s economy and community will thrive as a result. 

This is work every chamber in the country can, and should, lead. The ACCE Education Attainment Division exists to help address the business community's desire for better educational outcomes and strengthen their position as the strongest voice regarding the need for a highly skilled workforce to meet the demands of our global economy.

Division Mission

The Education Attainment Divison will improve the capacity of chambers to engage their business communities to have a measurable impact on cradle to career education and workforce development outcomes.

Division Principles

• Prioritize education and workforce development and commit to it long-term;
• Set ambitious goals that fit your organization and maintain focus;
• Be the "truth teller" - the business community is the credible voice to articulate whether graduates are ready for the workforce;
• Build awareness and take action to produce measurable results;
• Respect the roles and responsibilities of educators while bringing additional skill sets to the table;
• Convene key stakeholders for a concerted, collaborative effort to impact education and workforce development;
• Get engaged in public policy at the state level;
• Demonstrate courage when education and workforce development work becomes controversial; and
• Remember that if you don't lead on education and workforce development, expect that someone else will!

The Education Attainment Divison will:

• Help chambers raise money, build resources, and enhance capacity to further engage in education and workforce development;
• Work with leading national education-focused foundations to bring resources and expertise to chambers;
• Share best practices and lessons learned from previous chamber engagement in education and workforce development;
• Convene chamber CEOs and education and workforce development senior staff to engage in a peer-to-peer network, help build resources, and enhance shared efforts;
• Develop an academy to help chambers maximize their capacity to lead education and workforce development transformation; and
• Provide education and workforce development-specific programming at each ACCE convention.

To inquire about the Education Attainment Divison, contact Alysia Bell or Jessie Azrilian or call (213) 580-7535 with your question. You can also update your profile status online to receive Division communications.