Parents and Community Guide

 

 

Reaching Parents and Community

Beth Strike, Content Author Forums

 

Iowa School Leadership Standards

Standard 4: A school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by collaborating with families and community members, responding to diverse community interests and needs, and mobilizing community resources. (Family and Community)

  1. The principal Engages family and community by enhancing shared responsibility for student learning and support of the school.
  2. Promotes and supports a governance structure for family and community involvement in the school.
  3. Facilitates the connections of students and families to the health and social services that are needed to stay focused on learning.
  4. Establishes with staff a school culture that welcomes and honors parents and seeks ways to engage them in their children's learning.

Understanding Stakeholder Involvement

Understanding what true engagement of parents and community is about is critical to your success. True engagement is more than sending out a newsletter, creating a website or providing residents with facts and figures prior to the next bond issue. These strategies have their place, but they don't go deep enough.

One-way communication strategies promote awareness but they don't motivate behavior. In fact, too much information can confuse rather than clarify—particularly when situations are complex.

Resource

The National School Public Relations Association is a leading organization in the field of community engagement in K-12 education.

 

 
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Sample District Policy on Communication and Public Engagement Communicating for Change National School Public Relations Association Superintendent Success: Eight Communication Maxims That Make It Happen