Communicating on a peanuts budget: A school district doesn't need a large staff to connect with parents and community

School Administrator, Feb, 2003 by Albert E. Holliday

Communicating and relating well is a necessity in any school organization, even though funding may not allow a fully staffed communications program.

Over the years, executives in school districts big and small have devised a number of low-cost practices that have been used with great success.

Each of the following deals with one aspect of a comprehensive communications program. Each idea can be implemented on its own or in tandem with others, and your staff can customize an activity to meet your specific needs.

* Harness your best boosters.

Work with several of your more enthusiastic graduates of recent years and form an alumni association or, even better, an alumni foundation. Many graduates, especially those who live far away and don't usually attend class reunions, will welcome a chance to revisit former classmates and teachers. An alumni hall of fame, with new honorees selected each year by the association, is an added draw for attendees and serves to honor noteworthy former students who in turn will provide role models for current students.

The association can provide a means for alumni to recognize in various ways teachers and other staff and community members who gave them special inspiration years ago. A foundation can be the source of funding for special school projects.

* Use school board meetings as a mini information forum.

At the early part of each regular board meeting, set aside five minutes for a brief overview of a district program by a staff member, a student leader or a community volunteer. Many employees and volunteers in schools operate in near obscurity. This time at a board meeting allows about a dozen people a year to have their "15 minutes of fame" and provides board members with information they probably would not know about otherwise.

Key Communicators

* Plug into the power structure.

Create a mailing/contact list of all of the key communicators and VIPs in your school community organized by neighborhoods if the school system covers a wide territory. Key communicators are the ones to whom friends, relatives and neighbors listen and trust, especially in times of crisis, They are the people you and your staff must get to know well. You need to find ways to supply them with information of concern from their--and not just your own--perspective on a regular basis.

When a problem arises, these are the people who have to be informed of the facts right away so they can reduce rumors and pass along correct information throughout their communities.

* Let others speak.

A school board should have at least one advisory committee studying a specific issue each year.

The best way for residents to learn about a school program is to be placed on a committee and be charged to study it first-hand. Such a committee will be a learning experience for the participants, and they might even come up with some valuable suggestions for the school staff and board. Be sure to thank them, in writing, when their work is done.

* Offer a special resource for students in need.

Consider starting a student mentoring program. Adults work one-on-one in a school with students who have had difficulty. A mature person who is willing to be a listener or facilitator can be a positive influence on a student. This program will require screening, training and supervision of adult volunteers, but it has been a success in many districts. A bonus of the activity: It brings citizens into schools and gives them a feeling of accomplishment on behalf of their schools and young people.

Personal Contacts

* Allow for other points of view.

Require the operation of at least one partnership in each school each year. The principal and staff should pick an outside partner who is willing to devote personal and staff time to a student-based project involving a business or community agency for several months.

The goal is to expose students to new faces and settings and ways of doing things. For many community partners, this will be the first time they will have close contact with faculty and students since they were in school as students themselves years ago.

* Build on the power of personal contact.

Initiate procedures each fall in which each staff member has the responsibility of handwriting letters to parents of students (in a teacher's class or homeroom) so that the parents of each student on all levels of the system receive a personal letter. The letters serve as a personal welcome to the parents and envelopes can contain a printed overview of the school and what is to be expected in the new year. The stamped envelopes and inserts are provided by the principal or the central office. Five letters a day takes 5 or 10 minutes--a teacher can do a whole class in a week or so. Parents will welcome a personal contact, especially one that is not associated with a student's problem.

* Ask for opinions.

By using a cadre of people to interview their friends and neighbors, a school superintendent can have a means of gaining a valid sense of opinions of residents on a specific topic in a manner of days. By using volunteers, the cost is only staff time to train and supervise the interviewers. A bonus of the activity: It will develop a group of well-informed members of the community, who in turn will soon become key communicators within their circles of friends.