2 Engage Community
to protect the civil rights of all children by holding states and schools accountable for excellence and equity in education.
Imagine > But Currently > What must be done > What we can do together
Imagine
Imagine schools…
- As the heartbeat of communities, centers of discussion, and shared decision-making that value the diversity of all citizens.
- That pro-actively reach out to parents and diverse citizens and community, tapping into their funds of knowledge, wisdom and experience as valuable resources to the learning process at every level.
- Where all families are welcomed, are valued and feel at home.
- That recognize that their primary role is to serve the local community and that recognize that their primary service is to the community, for everyone’s benefit.
Imagine communities…
- Working together with schools for shared accountability to ensure that every child succeeds, graduates, completes higher education and has all the supports needed to be a fully engaged and productive citizen.
- That pro-actively engage with schools at all levels, pre-kindergarten through college.
- Whose sense of ownership of their public schools and their proper operation is so powerful that the public insists on being engaged at every level of the school’s operation.
But Currently…
Often, the voices of parents and other stakeholders in education are not heard when important educational decisions are being made. Parents and community members are made to feel inadequate and unwelcome in many school settings, especially parents whose culture, home language or economic status is not mainstream. Critical educational decisions are not always communicated with parents in a language they understand, nor is there shared decision-making or a process by which community and schools work together to resolve problems for their mutual benefit.
What must be done…
Schools and communities must see their present and future well-being as inextricably linked. Community members and parents must be valued, served and incorporated by the school as important resources in the teaching and learning process. Engagement is based on mutual interest and mutual gain. Schools must apply their resources to problems that matter to the community. School faculty must work in conjunction with students and residents to identify and address problems of mutual interest and engage in shared accountability for student success.
What we can do together…
- Ensure that important school meetings are planned to accommodate parents’ schedules of work.
- Provide transportation and child care for parents attending meetings.
- Ensure that translators are available to assist in meetings where all decisions are being made or problems discussed, as well as meetings to review general student progress.
- Require that all correspondence and documents be translated into the language(s) of the community being served.
- Require that home-school liaisons be in place to assist parents and communities in engaging fully.