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May 15, 2006
A little less talk means a lot more actionJust how can school districts engage community members while striving for student and district success? Lend us your ears! That's right, school districts throughout the country are learning that by simply listening to the concerns of parents, teachers, support staff, and the business community, they are able to improve the success of their school district.
Now hear this ... by engaging the community in school board discussions and involving it in the board's decision-making process, districts can increase accountability. An April article in the National School Public Relations Association's Network newsletter highlights the strengths of simply listening to what community members have to say about school issues.
For example, the Kentucky School Boards Association urges its boards of education to listen to residents with discussions facilitated through KSBA staff. Brad Hughes, director of member support services, notes, "Formal listening is one thing schools haven't done very often, but the payoff is huge when schools do it well." The discussions last three to four hours and allow a select cross section of the community to outline community expectations for schools. Board members and superintendents are not allowed to participate in the discussion; they are there simply to listen. The information obtained is then used to plan for the future.
Hughes recognizes that these meetings also serve to give participants an awareness that "not everyone thinks the way they do. That's an insight they might not have had when they walked into the meeting."
Posted May 15, 2006 11:13 AM | School Boards
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