In 2006, E3: Employers for Education Excellence partnered with the Chalkboard Project, and Oregon Business Plan to encourage employers to adopt policies and practices that actively involved employees in local schools.

In return, the Employer-Classroom Connection Challenge publicly recognized employers who supported schools and encouraged school involvement by all their employees.

Champions implemented at least three out of eight major Challenge activities and committed to recording the activities for three years. Activities ranged from allowing paid time off for employees to volunteer in schools, providing knowledgeable "on-loan" employees to support schools in areas such as financial management, budgeting, purchasing and team building, and offering space to their businesses for parent-teacher conferences and other school meetings.

The goal was to engage 300 employers before January 2007. While we didn't achieve our goal, 112 employers from across the state did sign up.

Thanks to the following employers for taking part in the challenge: