Consider the state of the Kansas City School District.</p><p>Just this year, the schools&#x92; academic performance scores plummeted. The district lost accreditation; the school board was asked to step aside. Even the most stalwart partnership programs investing in academic improvement are pulling out, saying the &#x93;conditions do not exist in Kansas City&#x94; to be successful.</p><p>To be sure, there are creative ideas &#x97; like Kauffman Foundation&#x92;s Carl Schramm&#x92;s concept of &#x93;charterizing&#x94; the system &#x97; and aggressive plans coming soon from Missouri Education Commissioner. While we welcome these ideas and remain optimistic for improvements, we can&#x92;t afford to wait. Our students need help today.</p><p>And we owe it to them to do better. </p><p>In my role at MRIGlobal, I know the value of education. </p><p>I work with expert scientists and engineers from all disciplines. We seek solutions to the most pressing issues of our day &#x97; protecting our troops, fighting hunger and disease, addressing the global energy challenge and improving our transportation system. </p><p>Our solutions could not occur without individuals who have a solid educational foundation and advanced training.</p><p>Yet here we have 16,000 students who are left stranded in a school district with a dismal record. This affects our efforts to attract the best and brightest; it affects our quality of life, our success as a region; as a nation. </p><p>I don&#x92;t pretend to have all the answers to solve the school district&#x92;s problems. But one thing I do know is our business community must become more involved &#x97; we can&#x92;t wait for structural reorganization to solve the near-term problem. These kids need us now. Without inspiration and support from mentors and businesses, these students will have little chance to have the kind of innovation impact that has been the foundation of our growth as an economic powerhouse for decades.</p><p>So I call out to the Kansas City business community once again. Find a way to inspire your employees to be mentors to these students &#x97; they want it, they need it. Talk to the teachers; see how you can help them with tutors, guest speakers, student tours, volunteer at school events. If you have one employee who can spend one hour a week, make it happen. </p><p>Since 2005, at the Paseo Academy of Fine and Performing Arts, we&#x92;ve invested more than $250,000 to: </p><p>&bull;&#xA0;Match MRIGlobal staff 1:1 for every hour they volunteer. </p><p>&bull;&#xA0;Pay the salary of an after-school study hall tutor. </p><p>&bull;&#xA0;Support an arts scholarship program. </p><p>&bull;&#xA0;Coach students in FIRST Robotics. </p><p>&bull;&#xA0;Mentor students in physics and math.</p><p>&bull;&#xA0;Fund special science programs, like the ArcAttack, and provide nutritional meals at Saturday science activities. </p><p>A faculty member told us we had no idea the impact we had made on the students at Paseo &#x97; we showed them how their dreams could come to life. Our volunteers help students realize that their life could include a college education and a career, even a career as a scientist or an engineer. </p><p>What if every business and organization in the KC School District did a little, or a little more, to help the students in our district? </p><p> The challenge is immense and will take sustained commitment. None of us alone can turn the tide, but all of us together can make a high-impact difference, one student at a time.