Patrick Malley, dean of students at Niles New Tech Entrepreneurial Academy, met with members of the business community Tuesday morning in an effort to educate them on how they could work together to practically make Niles New Tech “a reality.”

“This is a step forward for us,” Malley said, during the business roundtable.

During the meeting, he and district Supt. Richard Weigel outlined how the school hopes to incorporate real world experiences into their project based learning curriculum.

“What we’re trying to do is build in relevancy,” Malley said. “We just want to make  this as real as possible for our kids … There’s no more relevant project than a project for a local business or partner.”

What Malley and Weigel are hoping for as the school prepares for its first year, is for local businesses and companies to have a hand in how the students are educated in a number of ways.

A few of the suggestions presented at Tuesday’s meeting include mentoring students, coming into the classroom as a guest presenter or sponsoring a project.

“We want to open our doors and invite people to come in and talk about where they work, how they work,” Malley said.

The school is also looking for financial support from local companies.

To get off the ground, Niles New Tech has benefited from donations through area foundations but further contributions “will make a difference by purchasing technology, furniture, lighting” as well as other costs, according to materials presented during the roundtable.

The district invited more than 30 area businesses and organizations to attend the roundtable and just short of a dozen representatives attended, including the Southwestern Michigan Economic Growth Alliance, the South Bend Medical Foundation, Michigan Works and United Way.

Weigel told attendants it was necessary to “transform education” in order to compete on a global and national scale.

“Kids can learn,” Weigel said. “The question is can you create the environment?”

For more information on the Niles New Tech Entrepreneurial Academy, visit nilesnewtech.org.