Open Forum

This question is for those with a CTE Advisory Panel for Technical Theatre: 

In what capacity does your advisory Panel serve? 

Do they observe your classes? Attend productions? Conduct workshops? Review your curriculum? Have official meetings once or twice a year? Evaluate your facility? 

I'm trying to get a grip on what this will look like & how it should function.

Thanks!

Jeana,

I don't use my Advisory Board as much as I probably should, but with all the demands on our time, something has to slip and that's one of the things that does.  I meet twice a year with them.  It has always been a challenge to get them to attend meetings so I have gone to email meetings.  I actually get a much better response than I do when only 2 of the 9 members would show up. The second meeting is during our Project Showcase.  Each student in the program completes a large project that is then open to critique from the Board and others. For me, I see the most value in having the Board have direct contact with students and providing "real world" interactions between students and professionals.  If I have to list duties, here is what I do with the Board:

-get input on yearly equipment purchases

-get input on what colleges are looking for in applicants/students

-get input on what skills my students should be concentrating on (technical, life, job/occupational)

-have workshops put on by Board Members in lighting and scenic

-have Board Members attend a Project Showcase to act as "judges and juries"

I have my program planned out the way it works for me and the production schedule we keep so I don't really solicit help on how the classroom/curriculum looks.  Between what the State requires me to teach and what I feel is actually important to teach, there isn't a lot of room for changing/adding things.

I have found the most beneficial people to have on my Board have been those connected with the local colleges/universities. The majority of my kids will go onto a college, not necessarily in Technical Theatre, and having that connection has been ideal.  As an example, I have a great person who is the TD/Theatre Manager at our local 2 year college. ANY of my grads, no matter their major, will get a paying, part time job, with him working in the shop or theatre. 

Like most all things in life, it's what you make of it.  I'm sure you could spend a lot more time cultivating the Board and you could potentially see tremendous benefits. Me, I'm just trying to balance work, life, happiness, sanity and the occasional administrator .

-Mike