Programs > Classroom Plus > Educators

• It connects class subjects with practical applications: Community speakers impact the classroom: students become more interested in the subject.
• It provides career awareness: Day-to-day functions of the business world are often a mystery. Direct contact with speakers from a variety of careers helps students develop a career focus.
• It exposes students to role models: When students are exposed to ideas and experiences from a diverse business community, they can make well-informed decisions about their futures. Discovering ways in which students' personalities and experiences can be used in future careers is valuable information.
• It's unique in its ability to adapt to curriculum: Classroom Plus is different from other programs because it supplements the educators’ existing curriculum. Educators appreciate a program that is flexable and tailors itself to their needs.

Scheduling Procedure: How does Classroom Plus work?

Please read the information below carefully before submitting your request:.

1. BestPrep requires that classrooms have a minimum of 15 students for a presentation to be scheduled. This allows BestPrep to prepare its volunteers for approximate class sizes when the volunteers prepare their presentations. If you're a teacher who would like to request a speaker, but have a class smaller than 15 students, consider teaming up with another teacher/class at your school or another nearby school before submitting your request.
   
   a. Teachers provide information about class, time, date, number of students and the topic they would like discussed. The Classroom Plus staff then locates a business professional to meet the request. Tours are available at a variety of locations.
   
   • Please allow four weeks notice to accommodate your speaker or tour request. The information on the scheduling form provides answers to our volunteers' questions and helps them design a presentation tailored to your needs. Complete descriptions help us find the best possible speakers for your classes. The more flexible you are with dates, the easier it is to schedule a speaker. Why do we need four weeks advance notice? In order to accommodate the large number of requests we receive each semester, we ask teachers to submit requests four weeks in advance. With the current trends in the workplace, most speakers require advance notice to volunteer within their busy schedules.
   
2. After Classroom Plus staff have secured a speaker or tour, a confirmation form will be e-mailed to both you and the speaker. Check this for accuracy and notify us if there are any discrepancies or questions.
   
3. Please call the speaker one week prior to the visit to discuss specifics, unless otherwise stated on the confirmation form. Some other things you might consider are listed below.
   
   • If you need to cancel a speaker, notify the speaker and your Classroom Plus associate. Should the speaker cancel, also notify your Classroom Plus associate.
   
   • If you have an excellent speaker, feel free to request him/her by name through Classroom Plus for a future date. Please schedule future presentations with this volunteer through BestPrep, since much of BestPrep’s funding, which allows Classroom Plus to continue to be a free service, is based on funds donated by volunteers’ companies.
   
4. After the presentation or tour, complete the speaker evaluation on the Internet from the link we will send you. This will help us facilitate the best classroom experiences in the future. When appropriate, we like to share the evaluations with our speakers as we thank them for their contribution to Classroom Plus.

Schedule a Speaker or Tour
Preparing for a Speaker
Commonly Requested Speaker Topics

Contact Information
Rachel Schwalbach
Classroom Plus Program Associate
763-398-0090 ext. 235
rschwalbach@bestprep.org