GULF SHORES, Ala. – Businesses on Pleasure Island can get a first-hand look Friday of the new education initiative spearheaded by the Coastal Baldwin Education Enrichment Foundation.

More importantly, says Baldwin County Board of Education President Angie Swiger, they can learn how to be a part of the transition.

And, Swiger adds, a big “thank you” is due to Alabama Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Ed Rodriguez.

“We have partnered with the chamber who by the way with our new chamber president, Ed Rodriguez who has been extremely supportive to education on the island, more so than I’ve ever seen before,” Swiger said.  “We’re very excited about some of the things he’s doing to help us out. He has come to our schools and done tours and been there for presentations by our state superintendent. He’s been a very good partner for us.”

Rodriguez suggested the chamber host its monthly Frist Friday Forum at Gulf Shores High School and invite local businesses in to view the program first hand.

One of the group’s biggest fundraisers, the Learning for Life golf tournament, will be the same day at the Gulf Shores Golf Club.

“We really want it to be a welcoming opportunity for our businesses to join with our schools, the academy program,” Swiger said. “Businesses are going to be invited to Gulf Shores High School. LuLu’s is still going to cater it. Instead of being a full breakfast buffet we’re going to have food that they can take and sit in the bleachers with.”

Swiger says it gives the businesses the perfect opportunity to see how they can be an integral part in the academy concept of Learning for Life.

“We’re going to talk about each of the academies and how their businesses can be involved,” she said. “What the sponsorships would look like and what the needs are for each academy.

“And hopefully get some business sponsors, local businesses who want to sponsor and support the Gulf Shores High School academies.”

That could possibly involve a business actually getting its name on one of the career academy’s specialized programs.

“One of the things we’ve talked with local businesses about is a academy sponsorship where the businesses actually call it, for example, LuLu’s Culinary Academy,” she said. “The sponsorship would be tailored to what the needs are of the academy.

“What we want to do is actually brand that academy with that business. South Baldwin Hospital Health Academy and all the logos and all the polos on the shirts, on the brochures, everything is tied to that business sponsor.”

If a business wants to be involved, but not in a full sponsorship, Swiger says there are many other ways to be a part of the program.

“They might help with a teacher unit, they might help with equipment funding,” Swiger said. “And also consulting help with that industry. Consult with our teachers on cirriculuum on what our employers are looking for when our kids graduate from high school. That’s a huge partnership.”

Businesses might want to partner up and combine on a sponsorship, Swiger said.

“We’re also looking for people who might not be able to help us on a sponsorship level to join us for field-trip opportunities for kids to be able to go out to local businesses and learn about what people do and how businesses work,” she said.

Swiger also hopes the program fosters interaction between the businesses and students.

“For speaking engagements, for people in different career fields to come into our schools as guest lecturers and talk to our kids about what they do and what their job entails,” she said. “Job shadowing programs and all kinds of things like that, all things that are going to be good for our academy concept.”

The initiative, Swiger says, is drawing attention from around Baldwin County and from across the state.

“We have other schools in the county that want to know what we are doing and ‘what’s all this excitement we’re hearing about in Gulf Shores,’” she said. “Dr. (Thomas) Bice, our state superintendent, came down on Monday and heard the presentation about the Learning for Life program and was floored. He thinks this is the direction schools should be going all over the state.”