That’s why many in the community, like Dr. Allison DeGraaf, Director of Learning and Innovation for the School District of Janesville, believe that the success of both the business and education sectors are inextricably linked. “Investing in education is also economic development,” she said. And while Janesville has always had a robust workforce, external factors in recent years have shown just how important this connection is for a thriving community. In the years following the closure of General Motors, Janesville was faced with a problem. Declining birth rates, coupled with an aging workforce nearing retirement coalesced as one of the area’s largest and most gainful employers closed its doors for good. Forward Janesville’s 2025 Business Retention & Expansion (BRE) Survey also revealed concerns about misaligned skillsets within the workforce. At the same time, the School District of Janesville found that its structure for workforce readiness had hit a barrier. While the district offered some opportunities for students to garner experience with future employers, it lacked the overarching system necessary to build relationships with local businesses while also connecting students to these opportunities. As conversations around this shared struggle continued, one idea became obvious. “Workforce development is a shared community responsibility,” Hurda said. With that in mind, Forward Janesville partnered with the district in 2022 to launch the Education Council, the first of many shared initiatives aimed at strengthening workforce development in Janesville. A MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING The Education Council grew out of a desire from both Forward Janesville and the district to learn more about how the business community and the education sector could work together. In the beginning, it served as an opportunity for both groups to form a mutual understanding of each other. “Education is very different [from the business sector],” said Shar Hermanson, president and CEO of Forward Janesville. “And it takes time to really learn how our education system works, what levers they're trying to pull and what work that they're trying to do so that we could figure out where could we be of value and resource to our student population.” Superintendent for the School District of Janesville Mark Holzman echoed the importance of establishing this familiarity since many educators do not have any direct business experience. He said that over time, the Education Council has functioned as everything from a think tank to an opportunity to communicate the shared vision of how great schools build great communities. It has also helped create and invest in partnership initiatives and offered a unified voice of support for the district’s capital and operational referendums in 2024, which both passed. The messaging the group created for the referendums continued on as the Keep Kids Learning initiative. This awareness campaign provides resources for the entire community on the importance of a strong education and A Stronger Tomorrow Strengthening Workforce Readiness in Janesville By Jen Bastron Walk into any doctor’s office, grocery store or auto mechanic shop in Janesville, and it will soon become apparent that a thriving workforce is essential to a community’s success. “It's really the livelihood of our community,” said School Board President for the School District of Janesville Lisa Hurda. But without a solid foundation, that workforce may not have the skills necessary to keep every facet of the community running smoothly. Teachers have a demonstrated impact on student academic performance and overall social-emotional growth. “Strong public schools play a vital role in developing our future leaders, preparing a skilled workforce and contributing to the long-term success and viability of Janesville.” 8 | FORWARD JANESVILLE “We wanted to teach the community how keeping kids learning and engaged with lifelong learning is what’s going to build the future of our community. I think when you have kids in school, you’re hyper aware of the value of that. But if you no longer have kids in school, your mind focuses on other things.”
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