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Promoting Impactful Stakeholder Engagement 1| Empowerment Essentials, www.empowermentessentials.co Purpose of the Guide What information does this guide provide? This guide provides instructions for district leaders and principals to develop survey questions for use as a part of their stakeholder engagement process. The guidebook takes staff through a step-by-step process to assess district and school needs for their survey questions and to support development of effective questions. Who should use the information contained in this guide? This guide provides information for anyone who needs to develop survey questions. This instruction is particularly helpful to staff working on a district or school site annual plan update or review. When should we use this information? In California, schools and districts are in a process of continual improvement as they develop and implement rolling three-year plans called Local Control Accountability Plans (LCAPs) and annual school site plans. Thoughtful needs assessment and stakeholder engagement processes are vital parts of that cycle. In the fall/early winter, districts and sites should develop a stakeholder engagement plan that includes a needs assessment. This needs assessment involves a process to ask stakeholders about the needs and strengths they see, as well as to gather feedback on specific goals for student achievement. How should we apply this information? The information in this guide supports staff to develop survey questions and/or a process for stakeholder engagement. Steps for Survey Development Understand the Context To get the most out of interactions with stakeholders, it is important to be clear about the PURPOSE of the engagements, the PEOPLE one desires to engage, and the PROCESS by which to engage with stakeholders. The reflection questions below provide district and site leaders a process by which to assess the current relationship with stakeholders and to begin to self-evaluate recent engagement processes and intended outcomes, both for what information they want to gain, and for the relationship they want to build with stakeholders. The table below provides sample questions that can be adapted for a specific context.

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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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1|EmpowermentEssentials,www.empowermentessentials.co

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.