Educational Leadership

meetings of varying lengths, never assume that the audience has prior knowledge of the topic, are scrupulously stripped of jargon, and encourage audience feedback.

4. Build teams.

Teams, not individual presenters, carry the message to the community. Although almost any group of two to four people can form an effective team, I favor teams composed primarily of willing teachers and staff members. Administrators and board members can and should participate in the process, but it’s better if they’re not presenters. Polls indicate that teachers inspire more trust among audiences than administrators or board members do. Also, having new faces represent the school creates interest and raises audience receptivity.

5. Conduct a communications audit.

In an effort to reach everyone in the community, educators need to create an inventory of all the ways that the district (or school) “talks” to the public, both directly and indirectly. Most channels are obvious—for example, websites, newsletters, e-mails, newspaper columns, and public-access cable. Others are not, but they can be used to advance the cause.

For example, the physical appearance of district facilities sends a powerful signal to the public about pride and discipline that can intensify the community’s sense of ownership. The amount and quality of student work displayed throughout the community give the public information about academic rigor and the strength of the curriculum. Inviting community members to shadow a teacher or an administrator for a day can foster trust and appreciation. Every communications tool at the district’s disposal can be used to reinforce the message of the formal track.

Schools are rooted
in the culture of the
community.

6. Create a presentation schedule.

We define the community’s turf when we create our map. We conform to the community’s convenience when we schedule our teams to make their presentations when and where the people of the community normally congregate.

The process is straightforward. Call the designated contacts, explain the Great Conversation and its goals, and request an opportunity to make a presentation at one of their scheduled meetings at their earliest convenience. With each call, whether it be to the Rotary Club, the garden club, or the Ministerial Alliance, explain that this presentation is the first in an ongoing series focused on the topic of increasing student success and strengthening the community. This announcement places everyone on notice that something new has begun and that more will follow.

Engaging community members on their turf at their convenience may seem unwieldy. But the logistical control we surrender is vastly outweighed by the control we gain over the behavior of the audience, the flow of our message, and the tone and quality of the feedback.

7. Launch Phase 1.

We launch Phase 1 by having the teams make their first presentations. By offering our message and soliciting feedback, we begin to dive deep into the community’s cultural matrix and confront public perceptions with professional reality. As each phase pro-gresses and we return again and again to meet with all the disparate groups, understanding, trust, permission, and support grow. The people of the community begin to act as partners in the most important enterprise of our time: moving our schools and students from where they are to where they need to be.

Taking the First Step

Every district, rich or poor, regardless of location, already has the personnel, expertise, and resources it needs to execute the Great Conversation and reap its rewards. This approach can remove obstacles to student achievement, reduce staff and community resistance to change, and foster an environment conducive to innovation and progress. It accords to teachers and administrators their proper status as important professionals within the community.

The most important thing schools and communities can do is take the first step. We already have everything we need to start. Without breaking the budget, the Great Conversation can position every school district to secure the public sentiment it needs to unfold the full potential of every child. EL

Jamie Vollmer is the president of Vollmer Inc., a public education advocacy firm working to increase student success by raising public support for America’s schools. He is the author of Schools Cannot Do It Alone (Enlightenment Press, 2010); jamie@jamievollmer.com.