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You are here: Fairfax County Public Schools > Departments, Clusters > Superintendent's Office > Office of Business and Industry Relations > Pyramid Partnerships
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The mission of a pyramid partnership is to combine the resources of the business community with the needs of the surrounding schools. In FCPS, a pyramid is comprised of a high school and the middle and elementary schools that feed into that high school. The goal of a pyramid partnership is to bring the varied expertise of the business partners to the students by providing tutors to support academic development, by exposing students to career opportunities, and by explaining the applicability of academic courses to the work world. In addition, businesses offer technological assistance and enhancement for in-school programs, mentors to positively affect students' education and maturation, and teacher training. The first Fairfax County business-school partnership for a pyramid was created in fall 1998 with the following school participants: Lake Braddock Secondary School (grades 7-12) and the following feeder schools: Burke Center, Cherry Run Elementary, Kings Glen Elementary, Kings Park Elementary, Sangster Elementary, and White Oaks Elementary. The pyramid's business partners in 1998 included ALLNEWSCO, Inc. (News Channel 8), Autometric, Gannett Offset, Interstate Van Lines, Inc., and Sterling Software. Since that year, numerous changes have affected the partnership, and the current business partners are: Interstate Worldwide Relocation, Boeing Autometric, Northrop Grumman, and McDonalds. Three other pyramid partnerships have formed, since 1998 including West Springfield pyramid, Langley and McLean pyramids, and South Lakes pyramid partnerships. Each partnership is coordinated by a pyramid partnership steering committee that has members from each school and business. Each steering committee is cochaired by one school representative and one business representative; the cochair assignment rotates annually. The steering committee meets every four to eight weeks to discuss current and future connections between the schools and the businesses. Participants attempt to align partnership connections with current school plans and specific business resources. Sign up to help now! Langley Pyramid
McLean Pyramid
South Lakes Pyramid West Springfield Pyramid |