EDLD 5371 - Week 2 Assignment

School-Community Relations

Week 2 Assignment

Item 1

Identify a school district program or operation that could significantly benefit from an appropriate school-community relations activity.  Give a brief explanation as to why you chose the program or operation.

The Lumberton Independent School District and the City of Lumberton has came together to capitalize on an opportunity to receive a FEMA grant to build a monolithic dome structure on the district property to be utilized as an emergency management station and shelter for Southeast Texas first responders. However, the structure can be utilized as a school district building, under the operations of the school district to be designed as a structure fit for educational use. I had an opportunity to visit another school district in South Texas that has received the grant, and have viewed the details in the beginning phases of building the structure. The structure being built at the Woodsboro Independent School District is a multi-use facility designed as a competition basketball/volleyball gym and auditorium. While visiting with the Superintendent, he was delighted to share everything he had to do to convince his community of the opportunity that the were facing.

Whenever it was identified that our school district had the opportunity of receiving the grant, high hopes were shared among the administrative team of this wonderful opportunity. The perspective of this grant outlines that FEMA will be responsible for paying 75% of the grant, and the school district will have to bear 25% of the cost plus any finishing cost.

The reason I had chosen this school-community relations activity was the opportunity we have been offered, the budgetary concerns of the district, and public (both community and faculty stakeholders) view of the structure and cost.

Item 2

Describe the proposed school-community relations activity that could benefit the program or operation.  Ex:  volunteer program, school-business partnership, communications strategy, etc.

In order to understand the benefits of the operations of utilizing the funds of this grant, it is important to understand the concerns and misconceptions that are viewed in the public’s eye. Whenever the news started spreading in the community about a proposed building project, the first concerns that came to mind was a bond issue that would easily be voted down by the community. Also, concerns were being voiced in the community stating the school had to layoff so many teachers, that now they are considering spending money on buildings, but the students are suffering because of a lack of teachers.

Being mindful of the situations, the school district has not yet received the grant, only the opportunity. Since I have visited another district to gain insight on this grant, and the directions that we need to be heading, I have been told I will be part of the strategic planning team, when a team is created. The precursors of this discussion in the community were first held between the Superintendent, the school board finance committee, city leaders, and the Economic Development Board. Now that misconceptions are moving throughout the community, I propose as part of the District’s Strategic Planning Team a communications plan to market this opportunity to the community.

The main focus we are looking at with this structure is to create a school district auditorium that could be utilized also as a community center. Our school district houses many community events; however, our facilities are not up to comparison as other school districts in the area. This design focus has not been mentioned to the public. First, for the main reason, we have not received the grant, and secondly, the misconceptions that are traveling throughout the community.

The proposed plan would take this information to the various community organizations (service organizations, and churches) as well as the school community, and generate support for the structure and promote the positive aspects and express the community need for this structure. In addition, the communications will focus on the opportunity we would have by only sharing 25% of the cost of this structure, a positive expenditure for the district in light of the economic conditions facing school districts. Once the groundwork has been delivered to the community organizations, it would be the hopes that positive feedback regarding the project would be generated and spread throughout the community. By focusing on the needed structure, and the school and community opportunities that would be created, the community will understand and support the project.

We have learned that just going out and asking the public for funds to build structures without giving the reasons and details of the plan has given the school a negative view of the management of school funds. We need to take this learned information, and give the community what it expects and outline the plans and benefits of the program.

Item 3

Identify the school district goal/objective that would benefit from the proposed school-community relations activity.  How would it benefit?

First of all, by creating this communications plan, the main district goal would be to enhance trust by the community in the operations of the school district funds, by displaying transparency and being open and honest regarding the needs and community opportunities that would be generated. We have five district goals that have been approved by the school board. The correlated goals that would be supported in the District Improvement Plan and the five year strategic plan would be to promote academic excellence, practice good stewardship of finances, and develop and maintain physical infrastructure to enhance educational opportunities for all students.

The structure that would be created would promote academic excellence, by offering our students an adequate and supportive place to practice and perform theatre, band, choir, dance, and cheerleading. These extra curricular courses the students have access to would be accentuated. Practicing good stewardship of our finances would be elaborated due to the financial support we would be receiving. Also, the main focus would be enhancing the education opportunities by developing physical infrastructure that would be useful for school, as well as community venues.

Item 4

What school district resources would be needed to initiate this school-community relations activity?

Budgetary funds would be used to fund site analysis, and the architectural design of the structure. An additional budgetary factor is the identification of cost for creating parking spaces and roadways, since the placement of the dome would be in an existing parking lot.

Another resource that would be instituted would be time spent spreading the message of this opportunity. In order to be prepared, several meetings would need to be organized in order to develop a consensual plan of action focusing on the needs of the district, as well as the desires of the community. The actions would be created utilizing the district and campus needs assessments and discussions with the District’s Site Base Decision Making Committee, as well as the Strategic Planning Committee.

Overall, with careful planning and preparation, and learning from past mistakes, the team would be able to come up with a successful marketing package to be delivered to the community. It is understood that our community has wanted to focus on the development of an auditorium. Capitalizing on the desire, and creating a plan, and communicating with the public sector, as well as the school community would enhance the development of this dome structure.

EDLD 5371 - Assignment Week 1

School-Community Relations

Week 1 Assignment

Question 1

Which staff member is given the responsibility to oversee the implementation of your district’s school-community relations program on a day-to-day basis?

In the Lumberton Independent School District, our Communications Coordinator is the person responsible for overseeing the district’s school-community relations program. I had the opportunity to interview her to learn all the task she is responsible for. The position she held in the school district is different than what I had expected to hear, however, following our visit, I had a different view of her position. I even learned some of the ways that could make my job easier by utilizing her talents.

Question 2

Does someone in your school district have a written job description that includes responsibilities associated with the school-community relations program?  If yes, please include up to three listed responsibilities that are specific to school-community relations.

According to the Communications Coordinator, the primary purpose of the position is to promote positive public relations between the school district and community. Prepare, provide and distribute pertinent information to the public about the activities, goals and policies of the school district.

After reading the job description, the most important responsibility that must be fulfilled is the work in scheduling and coordinating all media interviews and media calls. She has had to work hard to create a positive relationship with the news media in order to reflect our school in a positive view. She mentioned that the news media is always in contact with the district, and several times, they call to verify information that parents call into the news stations. In addition to news media contact, she is responsible for developing and implementing press releases, publications, and photos in the local newspapers.

Another interesting duty that must be fulfilled is the creation and implementation of staff and student incentive programs. Several times, she is responsible for soliciting public support from local businesses to offer token incentives to staff and students. Creating a positive public image with the public and monitoring the request load on the local businesses is an important task to consider. As the school-community relations person, she is responsible for monitoring the donation request of the local businesses. All campuses and district offices must report who and when they are requesting money.

Another responsibility of our communications coordinator is to be the district’s community management coordinator. She is responsible for working with the Director of Support Services to create the district management plan and monitor drills the school district campuses participate in. She has a constant communication with emergency management officials and reports to the Superintendent the plans of the community in the times of emergency situations.

A further duty of the school-community relations person is to create, develop, and monitor the district website and web pages that have photos or publications. In addition, she is responsible for attending all school board meetings, as well as the majority of extra-curricular events. Being our public relations person means she is duty bound to be one of the most seen person in the district. In addition, she trains the office staff in public relations.

Question 3

What are the most effective strategies utilized in your school district that encourages parental participation in their child’s education, promotes volunteerism, and actively recruits support from business partners?

There are several options in our school district to encourage parental participation in the child’s education. Recently upon her recommendation, the school district purchased a School Messenger system to inform parents of upcoming events, and/or school information. Our system is a phone messaging system that creates an automated call-out.

Our school webpage is the most important form of technology to our parents and the community. The school-community relations person has conducted trainings on how to offer parents valuable information through our website.

Furthermore, a strong relationship that has been built with the Chamber of Commerce and our Municipal entities (police, city hall, and library) has enhanced the community involvement in our schools. One thing about our community, the churches and schools are the center of the community. In order to stay in a positive view, parents and community members are invited to participate in the schools. Every campus holds parent orientation night(s), a community pep rally is held every year, and our school events are open to the public. In most instances at each school board meeting, businesses are recognized in public sessions in appreciation of the support to our school district.

Question 4

What are the written objectives/goals for your district’s school-community relations program?  If objectives and/or goals are not written, state this in your response.

There were no written objectives/goals, however, while interviewing, a main focus of the position is to avoid having a negative public perception. Being mindful of various communications that are out in the district and the community is important especially whenever the information comes back to central office and the stories have changed. She then has to get the story correct to the public.

In addition, another unwritten goal is to train the district secretaries and receptionist public relations skills. These people are usually the first who receives negative phone calls or angry parents, and they must learn to listen in order to not intensify the problem.

Question 5

How much did your school district budget in 2009-2010 for school-community relations?  Include activities and personnel costs dedicated to the program.

This question ended up being a touchy subject when discussing the budgetary concerns. The only area that is budgeted for school-community relations is the salary of the communications coordinator. Her salary is approximately $ 29,000 per year.

In addition to budgeting the salary, the budget is indirectly influenced by several school and community interactions. Several community activities revolve around or utilize the different school properties. For example, the Chamber of Commerce uses the high school cafeteria area to host a community banquet. This is a generous offer from the school district, and the budget is indirectly influenced by the overtime cost of the custodians, and the electricity that is utilized to host the event.

Question 6

Are all campuses in your school district actively involved in a school-community-relations program?  Give a brief explanation of overall participation.  If all campuses are not participating please explain why?

All campuses in our district are actively involved in school and community relations.

The Early Childhood campus recently needed a new restroom facility at the playground. Prior to the new facility, the nearest facility was a distance away and was out of the line of site of monitoring teachers and aides. We had a few students receiving minor injuries on the way to or back from the restroom (cuts, bruises from trips, etc.). Several community businesses came in and donated money, supplies, and time to provide the Early Childhood School with these services. In return, those that donated were appreciated with signs in front of the school, as well as plaques were given at the school board meetings.

The Primary School honors our municipal entities in the community by celebrating their positions and learning about their duties on their jobs. For example, the fire department visits the Primary School children and learns about fire safety, and learns the importance of having a fire department.

The Intermediate School celebrates the Veterans in our community by offering our facilities to the local Veterans of Foreign Wars post to host the annual Veteran’s Day Ceremony. The campus has the largest facility to honor those who have served our country. In addition the Intermediate School hosts the Lumberton Little Dribblers team competitions in our gym.

The Middle School hosts the grounds for the Village Creek Festival. This large community event is sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce and involves several school district clubs and organizations, as well as community organizations.

The High School, as mentioned earlier, houses the Chamber of Commerce banquet. In addition to every campus participating, there are many shared school and community activities with all the campuses. For example, the upcoming Red Ribbon Week, the counselors have solicited to all businesses in the community to display a Drug Free Slogan while the schools are honoring Red Ribbon Week. All campuses participate in various local fundraisers for charity, and all campuses participated in the Hardin County Clean-up Day sponsored by City Hall.

Question 7

Based on your opinion, what is the most effective strategy utilized by your district’s school-community relations program?  Briefly explain.

The most effective strategy the school district has performed is being visible and available to the community. For example, our communications coordinator is actively involved in the Chamber of Commerce and the City Hall. She visits with these entities at least twice a month to share information.

Mr. Valastro our Superintendent recently visited with all the Church Leaders to create dialogue between the churches and school in offering positive opportunities for our students, and to reach out to those students who are lacking a direction in life.

Question 8

Based upon your responses to questions 1-7 above, do you believe that your school district has an effective school-community relations program?  Briefly substantiate your response.

I believe the Lumberton Independent School district has an effective community relations program due to the fact that Lumberton is a small community that still visualizes the schools as the driving force of the community. However, with the growth in the past few years, the views of the school are starting to change. We still have the traditional community that focuses around the school, but the new housing editions that have moved into the area, and the quick and sudden growth this attachment to the school community has diminished. The school district has had to work harder to explain the positions of the school and the procedures that are in place, especially with the changes in the State of Texas. We are working hard to stay in the public’s eye and ensure all positive aspects of the school district are publicized.

Another observation of the school district is the pendulum swings of school board representation that is involved with the school district. The community members that are in control of the school board are a strong indicator of the views that are being portrayed by the community. In the past it was very apparent there were two substantial groups of community members that controlled the school board positions. Now, it appears with the growth of the community, there is a third group that is starting to become visible.

Lumberton has typically been considered fairly conservative in the views of the community, which in turn reflects the community and school a safe and calm area to live. However, several comments that have recently been offered to the board during public forums, the conservative views and attitudes are starting to relax. However, at this time, we are just now starting to see this shift swing; it will be interesting to see how everything turns out.