Forward Janesville's Education Council

Forward Janesville's Education Council has been reborn with new vitality and a renewed commitment to building bridges between Janesville’s business and education communities.

There is no question that our world and its economy are changing, and that these changes will put enormous pressure on our educational system. The world becomes smaller every day, and our kids are competing not only with their peers in Madison and Milwaukee, but with students around the world. Producing a workforce that is ready to step in to the jobs of tomorrow while meeting the demands of today’s employers is a tremendous challenge for our educators, and one they should not face alone. If our economy is to thrive in the 21st Century, partnerships between businesses and educators are vital.

FJI’s Education Council was formed in 1995, a testament to the business community’s commitment to a strong education system. Since then, Forward Janesville has maintained a close relationship with the education community, and the work of the Education Council enhances this relationship. FJI’s commitment to education was evidenced by our support of the school district’s $70 million high school renovation referendum, the results of which can now be seen at Craig and Parker High Schools. Additionally, FJI played a critical role in efforts to add a four-year engineering program at UW-Rock County, and led private sector efforts to raise the $500,000-plus needed to construct the engineering laboratory.

Under the leadership of Co-Chairs Steve Huth, the Janesville School District’s Career and Technical Education Coordinator and Director of Summer School Programming, and Mary Willmer-Sheedy, the President of M&I Bank in Janesville, the Education Council has identified a number of projects where partnerships with the business community are needed the most.

In addition to these projects, the Education Council plans to take an active role in communicating its mission to Forward Janesville’s membership, its Board of Directors and the public. And while the membership of the Council has changed, its vision remains the same: “to promote a collaborative partnership between the business community and all Janesville area educational institutions in a manner that results in life-long learning opportunities that foster positive growth and development of the community.”

Huth and Willmer-Sheedy invite FJI Members who support the Education Council’s mission to learn more by emailing Dan Cunningham.