One of our most popular sessions during the 10-session Leadership Overland Park program features the superintendents from our “Big Three” school districts. They devote this time – 90 minutes – on their packed calendars to talk with our business and civic leaders about the current issues and challenges facing public education in preparing our future workforce.

Having recently moderated this panel, I want to share that our school districts and their top leaders consistently model collaboration rarely seen in other parts of the country. The secret sauce of quality education that built Overland Park and Johnson County over the past six decades is amplified when our districts work together to ensure that our strengths become stronger and we innovate to resolve challenges.

Management expert Ken Blanchard said, “None of us is as smart as all of us.” I’ve seen this philosophy modeled throughout our districts, by board members, administrators and faculty.

Every generation faces great change and challenges, but just as our businesses are facing rapid change each day, our schools face these same demands, along with unique challenges – we need them to train not just for jobs that don’t exist, but for directing technologies we haven’t begun to dream of.

Johnson County superintendents – Shawnee Mission’s Dr. Michael Schumacher, Blue Valley’s Dr. Gillian Chapman and Olathe School’s Dr. Brent Yeager – are working together with other Johnson County districts and our higher education partners on everything from mental health, technology and the workforce demographic and needs that shape their students’ futures.

You’ve likely heard of the “college enrollment cliff” in which every college freshman class through 2029 will be smaller than the previous one, with the result that roughly half a million fewer students will pursue higher education than are today.

Unfortunately, there’s another cliff. Today’s kindergartener is one of the smallest entering classes in decades. When that child graduates high school around 2038, colleges and employers will be competing more fiercely for an even smaller pool than they are today.

This K-12 cliff is the long shadow following the college cliff happening now. This makes collaborative work, shared strategies and community partnerships with our education partners both efficient and forward-thinking. Our businesses and community thrive when education thrives; we’re proud of the collaboration among our districts and with the business community. If you’d like to learn more and join the effort, please contact the Chamber.