At the core of American society is the notion that
the problems of communities cannot be left to policymakers and other leaders
alone. Citizens must participate, either directly or through the election of
those who represent their beliefs. Democracy is more than just a belief in the
importance of basic human rights such as equality, freedom, opportunity and the
pursuit of happiness. For 244 years, Americans have answered democracy's
clarion call: coming together to solve problems openly and thoughtfully. More
recently, devolution - the shift of major activities and services from federal
to local control - has bolstered the belief that local communities can and
should solve their own problems. This shift of power and responsibility has created
new demand for services and supports at state and local levels. Across a wide
range of issues - health, welfare, education and economic development -
communities are struggling to improve the capacity to solve problems
collectively. But often, a community's capacity for problem solving is
challenged by changing demographics, disengaged citizens, fragmented public
policy and inequitable distribution of resources. Local responsibility for
healthy, productive and successful schools requires different kinds of
collaborative relationships between schools and their communities.
Community-based organizations often are catalysts for bringing people together.
They provide services and supports that once came from government. They serve
to strategically organize and mobilize groups toward specific actions, outcomes
and goals. Community-based organizations are not political entities, but they
do represent the beliefs of their members and often add value to the political
and policy debate. They represent democracy in action. Local problem solving
requires new relationships, decisions, behaviors and norms. After they've been
developed, community leaders and residents can move toward sustainable,
long-term change.
A recent survey reported that the vast majority of Americans have a
deep-rooted commitment to make schools better for all children. Americans see
their public schools as the centers around which community life revolves, and
they recognize that quality public schools have a value beyond measure. Public
schools are the key to the well-being of our communities and our future
prosperity as a nation. The health of public schools is a barometer of our
democratic way of life. We believe that community demand for change is
critical, particularly in low-income communities, where schools are failing and
students are not succeeding. Where the education system is not working, the
public needs to reclaim its responsibility for community change. The public not
only has the right to demand high quality in its schools; it also has a
responsibility to improve and protect public education. But in the very
communities where students face the most barriers to achieving at high levels
and meeting new academic requirements, residents are often disengaged from
their schools. Many community members have given up on their local schools,
feeling that they have no control over school quality. Indifference,
disillusionment and outright hostility between parents or other community
members and educators often replace dialogue, common goals and collaboration.
For more than 16 years, local education funds (LEFs) have helped to create
sustainable change in public education systems nationwide. As independent
community organizations, LEFs work with local school districts and communities
to design collaborative solutions that improve public schools and promote
student achievement. They have played the roles of conveners, brokers and
coordinators of school reform activities. LEFs have built partnerships between
schools and communities, leveraged resources and spearheaded community action
to improve individual public schools and entire school districts.
More local education funds have developed a body of knowledge about
mobilizing local resources and engaging the public to support long-term and
systemic solutions to the problems of public education. This historical
perspective has deepened the understanding of what it takes to create a
community with new relationships, norms and capacities for problem solving and
has led to new thinking about a framework of strategic interventions for
community change. These interventions are expressions of democracy. If citizens are truly to
help define what they want for their public schools, and if they are going to
act to help achieve those ends for all students, it is important to bring them
together to articulate their beliefs, goals and areas of shared understanding.
In public dialogue, citizens can come to agreement on goals for their public
schools and their community and develop plausible local strategies to work
toward those goals. Community dialogue presents opportunities to educate
communities about important concepts: how the education system works,
meaningful data that show how effective the system is and what constitutes a quality education. With a new,
common understanding, citizens can then develop a collective commitment to
improving their public schools. It's not enough just to talk; public dialogue
needs to be structured to produce action-oriented outcomes. Engagement
opportunities broaden the diversity of people involved and renew their
commitment to common goals. In many cases, dialogue serves to raise
expectations for community change. The knowledge gathered in public forums
informs and convinces people of the need to advocate for specific action to
improve public schools. Local education funds often serve as conveners and
facilitators in this work. LEFs don't convene community conversation and
dialogue simply to put forth a point of view. Instead, they create
opportunities for dialogue by building effective partnerships among
community-based organizations, schools, faith-based groups, elected officials
and citizens. Forums for this dialogue include strategic planning processes,
town meetings and education roundtables. Local education funds face the
challenges of moving communities from talk to action and of including
appropriate stakeholders at the right time. Often, as conveners, LEFs also need
to mediate divisive, deeply entrenched beliefs to keep the dialogue productive.
Source:
https://ezinearticles.com/?Collaborative-Relationships-Between-Schools-And-Their-Communities&id=10301830
