There will be a lot of discussion of funding for education over the coming weeks and possibly through to the election. Federal funding isn’t coming in at the amount Governor Rendell had planned, so he now has to adjust for a $282 Million shortfall. Leaders in Harrisburg will be debating which departments get cut, and how much. Education advocates are calling for an increased expenditure for education, while many are just hoping for a flat budget. Given the state of the national and local economies, I think maintaining last year’s education budget would be an accomplishment.
Like many private sector enterprises, local school districts will be expected to do more with less. Underperforming District’s can strengthen their chances of an educational turnaround, by increasing engagement with parents and community leaders. As I wrote back in March, “Education = Family + Community + School”. The Districts’ challenge is getting them to participate in an inclusive process to assess the district’s strengths, challenges and needs, to develop a vision, and a plan to meet those needs. It’s not rocket science to consider getting people together to discuss an issue, but a few general rules for effectively engaging stakeholders should be considered:
• Establish ownership among participants,
• Build on the strengths of local individuals and organizations,
• Promote participation by community-wide stakeholders,
• Get everyone working together and focused on the same issues,
• Develop specific actions with measurable results.
By engaging diverse stakeholders, including residents, non-profits, businesses and others to develop sustained collaborative efforts to strengthen education, the District could be in a better position to link unique community resources together with its educational resources to provide a more effective, nurturing learning environment. As I said, it isn’t rocket science, but getting a community’s assets all working together to support education, or safety, or any community-wide issues could be a very empowering tool.
A tool that is needed now!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Monday, August 16, 2010
Education Partnerships Needed
As the summer starts to wind down, I thought I’d end my summer blogging hiatus with a discussion on education, specifically what communities can do to turnaround underperforming school districts. Here in Pennsylvania, there will be a lot of discussion on education funding over the next few weeks, but additional funding in and of itself is not the answer. Local communities must realize that any plans to turnaround underperforming districts can only happen with the community and parents working in partnership with the schools.
Education should be about empowering our children to achieve in life. We all know that education does not start in first grade, but begins at home when the child is born and continues in the local community as the child matures. In order to improve education, parents and community leaders should be part of an inclusive process to assess a district’s strengths, challenges and needs, to develop a vision, and a plan to meet those needs. Local community leadership should be connecting with residents looking for ways to combine their ongoing engagement with the structure of No Child Left Behind in its school district
Each community should be focused on how to surround its children with a community of support, empowering students to stay in school. Each community should be about connecting students and their families to critical community resources that are tailored to their needs, and all designed to prepare those students to succeed. Resources could include “wrap-around” supports for students who cannot learn to their full potential when they are hungry, feel unsafe in school or whose parents cannot support their education at home. Each community should be about identifying how best to link its unique community resources together with its educational resources in order to provide an effective, nurturing learning environment.
It’s not just the money spent on education; it’s about building active and ongoing partnerships between parents, communities and school districts.
Education should be about empowering our children to achieve in life. We all know that education does not start in first grade, but begins at home when the child is born and continues in the local community as the child matures. In order to improve education, parents and community leaders should be part of an inclusive process to assess a district’s strengths, challenges and needs, to develop a vision, and a plan to meet those needs. Local community leadership should be connecting with residents looking for ways to combine their ongoing engagement with the structure of No Child Left Behind in its school district
Each community should be focused on how to surround its children with a community of support, empowering students to stay in school. Each community should be about connecting students and their families to critical community resources that are tailored to their needs, and all designed to prepare those students to succeed. Resources could include “wrap-around” supports for students who cannot learn to their full potential when they are hungry, feel unsafe in school or whose parents cannot support their education at home. Each community should be about identifying how best to link its unique community resources together with its educational resources in order to provide an effective, nurturing learning environment.
It’s not just the money spent on education; it’s about building active and ongoing partnerships between parents, communities and school districts.
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