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Page 1: Promoting Impactful Stakeholder Engagement · Promoting Impactful Stakeholder Engagement 1 | Empowerment Essentials, Purpose of the Guide What information does this guide provide?

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PurposeoftheGuideWhatinformationdoesthisguideprovide?Thisguideprovidesinstructionsfordistrictleadersandprincipalstodevelopsurveyquestionsforuseasapartoftheirstakeholderengagementprocess.Theguidebooktakesstaffthroughastep-by-stepprocesstoassessdistrictandschoolneedsfortheirsurveyquestionsandtosupportdevelopmentofeffectivequestions.

Whoshouldusetheinformationcontainedinthisguide?Thisguideprovidesinformationforanyonewhoneedstodevelopsurveyquestions.Thisinstructionisparticularlyhelpfultostaffworkingonadistrictorschoolsiteannualplanupdateorreview.

Whenshouldweusethisinformation?InCalifornia,schoolsanddistrictsareinaprocessofcontinualimprovementastheydevelopandimplementrollingthree-yearplanscalledLocalControlAccountabilityPlans(LCAPs)andannualschoolsiteplans.Thoughtfulneedsassessmentandstakeholderengagementprocessesarevitalpartsofthatcycle.

Inthefall/earlywinter,districtsandsitesshoulddevelopastakeholderengagementplanthatincludesaneedsassessment.Thisneedsassessmentinvolvesaprocesstoaskstakeholdersabouttheneedsandstrengthstheysee,aswellastogatherfeedbackonspecificgoalsforstudentachievement.

Howshouldweapplythisinformation?Theinformationinthisguidesupportsstafftodevelopsurveyquestionsand/oraprocessforstakeholderengagement.

StepsforSurveyDevelopment

UnderstandtheContext

Togetthemostoutofinteractionswithstakeholders,itisimportanttobeclearaboutthePURPOSEoftheengagements,thePEOPLEonedesirestoengage,andthePROCESSbywhichtoengagewithstakeholders.

Thereflectionquestionsbelowprovidedistrictandsiteleadersaprocessbywhichtoassessthecurrentrelationshipwithstakeholdersandtobegintoself-evaluaterecentengagementprocessesandintendedoutcomes,bothforwhatinformationtheywanttogain,andfortherelationshiptheywanttobuildwithstakeholders.

Thetablebelowprovidessamplequestionsthatcanbeadaptedforaspecificcontext.

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Samplereflectionquestions:

QuestionType Question Purpose AreasforReflection

Context-Inform

sthe

app

roachto

engagemen

t.

Whatisthedistrict’sorschool’smostrecenthistorywithstakeholderengagement?

Thisreflectionprovidesstaffwithasenseofthedistrict’sorschool’srelationshipwithstakeholders.Thepasthistoryofengagementsshouldinfluencetheapproachtocurrentengagements.

Dependingonwhethertherecenthistoryhasbeenpositiveornegative,thestakeholderengagementstrategymayneedtoincludeawaytoaddresspastissuesorconcernsinordertorepairtrust.

Whatengagementshaveyouconductedthatfeltsuccessful?Why?Whatengagementswerelesssuccessful?Why?

Informationaboutwhatfeltsuccessfulwillallowstafftobuildonpastsuccess,whilethinkingcarefullyaboutwhatmightbedonebetterguidesstafftowardsareasthatshouldbeattendedtoinordertohaveamoreproductiveengagementcycle.

Thinkingintentionallyabouttheroleofstakeholdersandwaystointegratemultiplevoicesintothedesignprocesswillguidethestrategyforthefullyearofengagements.

Process-Inform

sdevelop

men

tofrelationalgoalsandthemetho

ds

weusetoengagewith

stakeh

olde

rs.

Whataresometypicalwaysthattheschoolordistrictprovidesinformationtostakeholders?

Purposefulcommunicationwithstakeholdersthatincludestimefortranslationandformultiplewaystoengagecommunicatesthatallstakeholdersarevalued.

Unconsciousassumptionsaboutstakeholders'capacitytoaccesstheinformation(i.e.,accesstotechnology,meetingtimesandlocations)canunintentionallycreatebarrierstoparticipationandbreaktrust.

Whatarethecurrentprocessesinplacetogatherfeedbackfromstakeholders?Whatistheroleofthecentraloffice?Schools?

Theextenttowhichschoolsandthecentralofficecoordinatetogatherfeedbackandshareinformationwillhelpstakeholderstofeelheardandthattheirtimeisvalued.

Bemindfulaboutstakeholdercapacity,interest,andabilitytoparticipateinanengagementprocess.Avoidaskingstakeholderstoprovidethesameinformationinmultiplevenuesand/orhavingconflictingengagementsatthesametime.

Arethereparticularstakeholdergroups,parentleaders,teachersorstudentsthatshouldbeincludedinourengagements?Follow-up:Haveparticulargroupsbeenunderrepresentedinpastengagements?Whydoyouthinkthisisso?

Thisinformationprovidesalensonhowwellschoolsanddistrictsknowtheirstakeholdersandhowintentionaltheyarebeingaboutreachingouttokeystakeholders.Thefollowupquestionprovidesanentrytounderstandmoreaboutequityofvoiceandhowproactivethedistrict/schoolhasbeeninseekingdiversevoices.

Taketimetomapoutanypoliticalissuesthedistrictorschoolmaybeconsidering(suchasapendingcontractnegotiation),aswellastoencouragingengagementbyunderrepresentedvoices.Thisinformationcanbeusedtosupportdevelopmentofspecificgoalsforstakeholderparticipation.

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QuestionType Question Purpose AreasforReflection

Process,Con

tinue

d

Whatcurrentattitudesandexpectationsaround_____(thetopicyouareengagingon)areyouawareofinvariousstaff,parents,stakeholdermembers,businesspartners,boardmembers,students,etc?

Thisquestiondrillsdeeperintotouncoverpotentialpoliticalorplanningissuesschoolsanddistrictsshouldbeawareof.

Contextbasedonrecenteventsoronissuesthatarepressingforparticularstakeholdersmustbeattendedtosothattheschoolordistrictcanfindalliesandavoidconflict.

Whatarethebiggestchallengesandopportunitiesthatyouassociatewith________(thetopicyouareengagingon)?

Thisquestionsupportsunderstandingoftheleaderships'attitudesabout_______thatwillinfluencetheireffortsatauthenticengagement.

Isthereuniformsupportfororagainstthetopicthatisbeingengagedon?Iftheschoolordistrictisnotaligned,variousfactionsmayundermineengagement.

Purpose--In

form

sdevelop

men

tofInform

ationalgoals/survey

questio

ns

Arethereparticulargoalsthatyouwanttogatherinputon?Howwilltheinformationbeused?

Supportsclarityofpurposeforsurveyingcommunity.

Istheleadershipclearaboutwhatinformationtheyseeking?

Whensolicitinginputthisyear,isyourpurposetorefineaplanalreadyinplace,tobemorefocusedontheschool’sordistrict’spriorityareas,ortobeopentoanyinputthatthestakeholdermayoffer?

Helpstoclarifyhowwelldefinedthedistrict'svisionisandthekindofquestionsthatareaskedofthecommunity.

Whethertheschoolordistrictisrefiningorre-envisioninggoalswillimpactthetypeofquestionsaskedandtherangeofinformationsought.

Doyouhavespecificplansandstrategiesinplacethatyouwouldliketomaintain?

Sameasabove. Sameasabove.

Youwillknowyou'redonewiththeContextAnalysiswhenyouareabletodescribethecurrentstateofstakeholderengagementanddevelopoutcomestatementsforthedistrict’sorschool’srelationalandinformationalgoalsforengagingstakeholders.Example:123SchoolDistrictBelowisanexampleofthekindofinformationyouwanttobeabletohaveattheconclusionofacontextanalysis.Creatingthiskindofbriefsummaryandsharingitwiththeengagementteamensuresthatthereisasharedvisionforstakeholderengagement.Context:Thisisthesuperintendent'ssecondyearin123District.Beforeshearrived,thedistricthadtoclosefourschoolsduetodecliningenrollment.Theengagementprocesslastyearwassometimesdifficultbecauseofthelong-standingdistrustbetweencentralofficeandstakeholders,andwasparticularlytenseduetotherecentclosures.Thesuperintendentmadeanefforttobetransparentandhonestlastyearthatpaidoffinimprovedcommunitymeetingsbytheendoftheengagementprocess.Thedistrictwouldliketomaintainthesameengagementprocessaslastyear,butalsotofindawaytosystematizetheengagementsandalignthemwithotheroutreach/meetingsalreadyinplace.Process:Continuetobuildtrustwithstakeholders.Bringinrepresentativesfromstaff,teachers,parentsandstudentstoensurethatallvoicesareheard.Continuetoworkontransparencyandclarity.ThedistrictisparticularlyinterestedinwaystoincludeparentsofELstudents,whowerenotasinvolvedlastyear.Purpose:Uponreflection,thedistrict’splanwastooambitiouslastyear,withtoomanygoalsandtimelinesthatthedistrictwas

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notabletomeet.Thedistrictwantstoengagestakeholderstoprioritizegoalsandtogetfeedbackonarefinedsetofgoalsfornextyear'splan.

NarrowtheFocus

OnceyouhavecompletedtheContextAnalysis,itistimetodevelopgoals,formatsandquestionsfortheengagementsthisyear.Thefirststepisfortheschoolordistricttodeterminewhatkindsofengagementformatsandquestiontypeswillbemostimpactfultowardsmeetingthosegoals.EngagementFormats:

Thereseveraldifferentkindsofformatsforengagingwithstakeholdersinordertoconductaneedsassessmentand/ortosurveythemonkeyissues.Thekindofformatthataschoolordistrictchoosesshouldreflecttheuniqueneedsofthecommunityandcanbeacombinationofafewdifferent

EngagementTypes:

ü Largemeetingsincentralizedlocationsü Smallermeetingsatschoolsitesü Community-basedone-on-one/smallgroupdiscussionswithtrainedliaisonsü Districtlevelandschoolsiteleadershipteammeetings(DAC,DELAC,SSC,etc.)ü Writtenorelectronicsurveyü Coffeechatsandmoreinformalstructures

Inadditiontoengagementtypes,therearealsodifferentkindsofEngagementStrategies:

Strategy Frequency,TimeCommitment Size

AdvisoryGroup(Public):agroupofindividualswhomeetregularlytoadviseandprovidefeedback.Thisgroupisopentoanyonewhochoosestoattendameetingandsometimeshaselectedmembers.Thesemeetingsusuallyoccuronaregularbasis,buttheycanbeconvenedtodiscusstopicalissues.

OfficialgroupssuchastheParentAdvisoryCommittee(PAC)andEnglishLang.AdvisoryCommittee(ELAC)maymeetmonthly,othergroupsmayformandmeetonly1-2timestoaddressaneed

Variable,dependingoncontentofaparticularmeeting

AdvisoryGroup(Private):amoreflexibleandmorefrequentlyconveninggroupdesignedtoadvise,providefeedback,anddevelopproductsforreviewwiththelargergroup.Thismightbeasubsetofpeoplefromalargeradvisorygroup,oragrouprepresentingmultiplestakeholdergroups.

Duringplanningtimes,thisgroupmightmeetweeklyorbi-weekly

Small--upto10people

TaskForce:agroupdesignedtosharetheresponsibilitiesandburdensofimplementation.

Dependsonrole,likelymeetsatdistrictorschoolbi-monthly

Mid-size--20-30people

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Strategy Frequency,TimeCommitment Size

CommunityMeeting:apublicandvoluntarymeetingofdiversecommunitymembers.

Variable,likelynomorethan3meetingsayear

Variable--10-200people

FocusGroup:atargetedquestionandanswersessionwithasmallgroupofstakeholders,controlledbyafacilitatorwithspecificgoalsinmind.

Variable--Theremaybeseveralfocusgroupsonthesametopic,oritcanbeaprocessusedregularlytogatherfeedback

Upto10people

StakeholderInterview:one-on-onequestionandanswersessionwithcarefullyselectedinterviewees,initiatedbyafacilitator.

Severalinterviewswiththesamesetofquestions

Small--likelynomorethan20peopleinterviewedtotal

Survey:aseriesofquestionsaskedinelectronicorwrittenformat,askingforfeedbackonatargetedsetofquestions

Intentistogatherfeedbackfromlargegroupsofpeople

Goal--upto50%ofthetargetpopulation(i.e.,parents,students)

Spendtimewiththeengagementleadershipteamdiscussingwhatoptionsareavailableandthebenefits/trade-offsofeach.Whendetermininganengagementstrategy,beawareoftheuniqueneedsofstakeholders.Hereareafewquestionsthatmaybehelpful:

Logisticalquestionstoconsider:

1. Doesthedistricthavetheinfrastructure(staffing,ITcapability,etc)tomanagealarge-scaleoutreachprocess?Arethereadditionalfundsneededtosupportthiswork?

2. Aretherelocationsoutsideofofficialschoolbuildings/districtofficesthatcanbeusedforourengagementsthatwouldbemorecomfortableforparticipants?

3. Whichstaffwillbeleadingthesurveyandengagementworkwithus?4. Aretherestandingmeetingsateitherthedistrict-leveloratschoolsitesthatwecanusetohold

ourengagements?5. Doesthedistricthavecommunicationsorcommunityengagementteamsalreadyinplace?Are

theyawareofandprovidingguidanceonthisinitiative?

QuestionTypes:

Whenengagingwiththecommunitytogatherinput,thekindsofquestionsweaskisimportant.

Therightkindsofquestionscanleadtomoreclarityandbuildtrustbetweenthedistrictandthecommunity;thewrongkindsofquestionscanproduceresponsesthataredifficultforthedistricttointerpretoruseandcansetupthecommunitytofeelignoredorasiftheirinputdoesnottranslateintoclearactions.

Engagementscantakeplaceinpersonortheycantakeplaceviaasurvey.Hereissomeinformationregardingsurveyquestions.

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Therearetypicallyfourtypesofinformationtoconsiderwhenusingasurvey:

QuestionType ExamplesKnowledge:Determinewhatthetargetaudienceknows.Knowledgequestionsseekaskabouttheexistinglevelofknowledge,understanding,orawareness

Whatismajorcauseofcaraccidentsinthemidwest?Whatisthelegalageforobtainingadriver’slicenseinCalifornia?

Attitudes/Perception/Beliefs:Determinetherespondentsfeelings,thoughts,beliefs,valuesaboutacertaintopic,ideaorconcept.Thequestionsmeasureperceptionsofarespondent’sstateofthinking.

Inyouropinion,shouldstudentsbepermittedtobringcellphonestoschool?

Whatareyourethicalbeliefsaboutplagiarism?

Behavior:Determinebehaviorsthatpeopleengagedinthepast,present,orwilldointhefuture.

Howmanytimeshaveyoudietedinthepastyear?Whatpositiononthescalebestdescribesyoursleepingpatterns?

Attributes:Determinearespondent’scharacteristicsortraits.

Howmanypetslivewithyou?Whatisyourmaritalstatus?

Whatstyleofsurveyareyouinterestedin?Thiswillinformtheformatofthequestions.Stylesinclude:

� RatingonaScale� ShortAnswer� Yes/No,True/False

� MultipleChoice� Acombination

Considerationsforeachresponseformat:ResponseType Description Benefits Challenges

Yes/NoorTrue/False

Seeksadefiniteanswertoaspecificquestiongiventworesponseoptions.

Iseasytoquantify,especiallywhencollectingresponsesfrommanypeople.Isappropriatewhenthereisonebestanswertoaspecifiedquestion.

Ifthequestionisnotunderstood,theanswercouldbemisinterpreted.

RatingScaleSatisfaction--attitude/perception

Requirestherespondenttoindicateachoiceatthemostappropriatepointonascale.Forexample,howstronglyhe/shefeelsaboutaparticulartopic,ortoplacevalueonatopic,basedonpre-setcriteria.

Iseasytoquantifyandcanbeusefulwhenpollinglargegroupsofpeopletostandardizethefeedbackonspecifictopics,ideasorconcepts.

Requiresthatthenumberofresponsechoicesonthescalebechosencarefullyasitbecomesmoredifficulttodiscriminatebetweenanswersthemoreitemsthatareonascale.

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ResponseType Description Benefits ChallengesMultipleChoice

Providesrespondentswithseveralpossibleanswersfromwhichtochoose.Respondentscanselectonlyoneanswerorselectseveralanswersfromalistprovided.

Providestherespondentwithmoreflexibilitytocustomizetheiranswers.Thesequestionsaregoodforprovidingrespondentswitharangeofoptionswhilealsokeepingtheanswersboundedtoasetofanswers.Multiple-choicequestionsarefairlyeasytoquantify.

Requirestherespondenttomakeachoice.Soitiscriticalthatthetopiciswelldefinedandoptionsprovidedarewidelyrecognizedbyrespondents.

ShortAnswer Allowstherespondenttoprovideanswersthatarespecifictotheirpointofview.Answerscanbeboundedbyanumberof“characters”orspaceonapage.

Allowtherespondenttoprovideanswersthatmostcloselyrepresenttheiropinions.Thesequestionscanbeusefulwhensolicitingopinionsontopicsthatdonotneedtobequantifiedorthatdonotrequirea“right”answeroradirectresponsefromtheLEA.

Canbedifficulttoquantifytheinformationcollectedandrequiresutilizingaqualitativecodingprocess.Askingrespondentstoprovidetheiropinioncansetexpectationsthattheirfeedbackwillbeused,andifitisnot,couldbreaktrust.

CraftQuestions

Thereisanopportunityinthequestionsweaskstakeholderstoalsoinformthemaboutwhattheschoolordistrictalreadyhasinplaceandtodiscussthevisionmovingforward.Toprovidethisinformation,weneedtobeintentionalaboutthekindofquestionsweaskandquestionstemsweuse.Havinggoodquestionssupportsreliabilityandallowsrespondentstohaveasmuchinformationaspossibletoanswerthequestions;italsoallowsthepersondoingthedataanalysistohavethefullsetofoptionsforcoding.

Thegoalistohaveaquestionstemthatiswrittenwellenoughtoallowtheusertounderstandwhatisrequiredofthemsotheycananswerthequestionreliably.Vaguequestionsthatareopentointerpretationcreatesalotofnoise,andyouarenotlikelytogetanswerstothequestionsyouseek.

Note:Schoolsordistrictsshouldonlysurveyiftheyplantousethedatathattheygather.Ifthestaffcannotnamethepurposeofthedatacollected,theymightnotwanttotakeonthisworkrightnow.

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Kindsofquestions:

Actionable Confirming VagueProvidesstakeholdersanopportunitytoprovideinputonkeydecisionpointsrelatedtoakeystrategyorrangeofoptions

ü Shortanswerquestionsü Multiple choice

Requestsstakeholderstoexpressagreementordissentonpre-determinedoutcomesbyseekingvalidationorapproval

ü Yes/Noü True/False

Questionswithoutaclearpurposeorcontextorthatallowforalotofvariabilityinstakeholderresponses.

ü Open-endedü Opinion-based

DevelopingQuestions:

Whengatheringresponses,includethreeingredientsineachquestion:

Context,RelevanceandQuestion.

SampleQuestions:

Questionaboutthebasicservicestheschoolordistrictprovidesstudents(RELEVANCE)Accesstoappropriatetextbooksandlearningmaterialsisimportanttoensuringthatstudentssucceedinschool.Inadditiontohavingbasiclearningmaterials,weknowthathavingclean,well-maintainedschoolsisimportanttostudentlearningandprideintheirschools.(CONTEXT)Weensurethatallstudentshavetextbooksandaccesstoallmaterialstheyneedfortheirclasses.

SAMPLEQUESTIONS

Yes/No Areyouawareofanyinstancewhenyourchilddidnothaveaccesstothetextbooksormaterialshe/sheneededforclass?

RatingorScale

Onascaleofonetofive(onebeingNotAtAllSatisfiedandfivebeingCompletelySatisfied),howhappyareyouwiththeconditionofyourchild’sschool?

MultipleChoice

Pleaseselectyourtopthreeprioritiesforhow(fillinschoolordistrictname)canimprovethebasicservicesitprovidestostudents:

� Hiremorehighlyqualifiedteachers� ProvideteacherswithsupporttoteachtheCommonCorestandards� TrainallteachersinwaystouseEnglishLanguageDevelopmentapproachesintheclassroom.� Ensurethatallschoolshavegreenspacesandgardens� Provideallstudentswithtablets

ShortAnswer

Howelsecan(fillinschoolordistrictname)ensurethatallstudentshaveaccesstothematerialstheyneedfortheirclasses?Whatrecommendationsdoyouhavetoimproveourschoolfacilities?

Context:Whatisalreadyinplace/whatistheLEAplanning?

Relevance:Whyisthisareaimportant?

Ques_on:AchonableorConfirming,doresponsesprovideuseableinformahon?

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Questionaboutthewaysadistrictassessesstudentneedandgrowth(CONTEXT)Inadditiontostudentachievementonstandardizedtests,thedistrictassessesstudentoutcomesintheotherareasincluding:physicalfitness,responsestotheCaliforniaHealthyKidsSurvey,studentresponsestoschoolclimatesurveys,rateofstudentsbeingdesignatedasEnglishProficient,etc.(RELEVANCE)Weassessstudentsinbothacademicachievementandinsocio-emotionaldevelopmentbecausewebelieveinservingthewholechild,andweknowthatstudentslearnbetterwhentheyfeelsafeatschool.

SAMPLEQUESTIONS

Yes/No Areyouawareofthevariousmeasurestheschoolusestounderstandyourchild’sacademicandsocio-emotionaldevelopment?

RatingorScale

Howwellinformedareyouofthevariousmeasuresbeingusedtounderstandyourchild’sneedsinschool?(OnebeingNotatallAwareandfivebeingFullyInformedandInvolved).

MultipleChoice

Whatstudentoutcomesaremostimportantforschoolstoconsiderwhendevelopingplansforyourchild?(Selectallthatapply):

� Academicproficiency� Physicalfitness,visionandhearing� Socio-emotionalwell-being� EnglishLanguageLearnerstatus� Attendanceandtardyrates� Disciplinerecord� Other:(pleasefillinaresponse)

ShortAnswer

Howshouldschoolsandthedistrictusestudentoutcomestoinformourbudgetsandpriorities?

AFewConsiderations:

Purpose:

ü Betransparentattheonsetofthesurvey/meetingabouttheinformationbeingsoughtandwhy.

ü Questionscanbegroupedinvariousways:Alignedtothecurrentschoolordistrictplan,alignedtostatepriorityareas,targetedononeortwospecificissues,etc.Determinewhichgroupingwillmostlikelyprovideyoutheinformationthatyouneed.

Process:

ü Toomanyquestionscanbeabadthing.Youcanoverwhelmtherespondentandhe/shemaydisengageratherthanparticipate.

ü Trytoselectbetweenfiveandtenquestionstoaskonasurveyorinameeting.Thosequestionsshouldgetattheheartofwhatinformationtheschoolordistrictisseekingtounderstand.Ifconductingstakeholdermeetingsandprovidingsurveys(tocollectfeedbackfromthosethatcouldnotattendthemeeting)makesurethatthequestionsarealigned.Thissupportstransparencyandensuresyouaregatheringconsistentinformation.

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People:

ü Makesurethatthelanguageyouuseisaccessibleandfreeofeducationaljargon.Besuretohavesurveyquestionstranslatedintoalllanguagesservedinthecommunity.

ü Ifconductingthesurveysinperson,havetranslatorspresentandconsiderconductingthemeetinginthehomelanguage(iftherearemorenon-EnglishspeakersthanEnglishspeakers).

ü Haveengagementsattimesandlocationsthatareeasyparticipants.

CommunicateResults

Attheendofanyengagement,andespeciallyafteraseriesofengagements,itisimportanttocommunicateboththeresultsoftheengagement(informationgatheredandparticipationrate)aswellashowtheinformationisbeingused.Byprovidingthisinformation,theschoolordistrictisacknowledgingthetimeandeffortprovidedbythestakeholderstoparticipate,andwhenclearactionsresultfromtheengagements,itgoesalongwaytobuildingtrustandincreasingparticipationdowntheline.

Whilesometimesitcanbedifficulttodoso,itisalsoimportanttobeastransparentaspossible.Forexample,ifadistrictconductedalargecommunityengagementcampaignbutthenwentsilentfollowingtheoutreach,thecommunityhasarighttoknowwhy.Withoutdisclosinginformationthatisconfidentialorthatwouldplaceblameononepersonordepartment,itisimportanttoexplainwhathappenedandwhattheschoolordistrictisdoingtoaddressit.Whilethecommunitymaynotbehappythattheirinputhasnotbeenputintodirectaction,theywillbemoreunderstandingiftheyaregivenaclearrationaleandnextsteps.

Communityengagementshouldbeanongoingprocessthatvaluesandsolicitsfeedbackinserviceofaschool’sordistrict’svision.


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