promoting impactful stakeholder engagement · promoting impactful stakeholder engagement 1 |...
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PromotingImpactfulStakeholderEngagement
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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.