School, Business Group Examines Opportunities

The well-documented but often under-appreciated quality of Northland Schools was the topic July 1 when the Clay County Economic Development Council’s Northland Schools Alliance met at the Shoal Creek Clubhouse.

Marketing Committee Chair Stephen Brainard, Ph.D, opened the meeting. Also present were EDC Executive Director Jim Hampton, North Kansas City School superintendent and Alliance chair Dr. Tom Cummings, and Martin Mini, Senior Vice President, Marketing Communication, Kansas City Area Development Council.

Mini, who helped develop KCADC’s popular ThinkKC and OneKC campaigns, is working with the EDC to update the organization’s branding effort. He had extensive advice to better communicate the quality of the area’s education and its value, especially regarding workforce development.

“We’re all in a race for talent,” he said. “Whoever gets the smart workers wins. It’s really that simple.”

With local education a key ingredient in that race for talent, several of those present noted that the Northland’s advantages need to be better communicated. Local public schools are among the best in the region in many categories, but that is rarely acknowledged on a widespread basis. “The quality of our region’s education is extremely high but the perception lags somewhat behind that,” Dr. Cummings noted. “That’s something we need to work on.”

Dr. Brainard added that the area’s educational strength also includes programs from kindergarten to college, including graduate school programs.

The Northland Schools Alliance was an outgrowth of the EDC’s Marketing Committee and has published brochures on the area’s educational opportunities. The Alliance also operates an information Web site at www.northlandschools.com.