Throughout history, education has been a powerful force in the unity and strength of our nation. It has also been the target of intense scrutiny and public criticism. Ask me why I care, personally, about the state of our public education system, and I’ll tell you that it all comes back to what I want for my children. I want their future to be even brighter than my own, and I’m pretty sure that’s how all parents feel when they look deep in to the eager eyes of their child and imagine all the things he or she could become. Even if you ask those who don’t have children, you will most likely hear them say that our education system has everything to do with the future of our country and is ultimately accountable to mold and shape the future leaders of America. John F. Kennedy once said, “Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our nation.”
The perception of the people regarding the condition of our schools is critical, not only on the national level, but right here in our own back yard. What we communicate, how we communicate, and how effective we are when we communicate as school leaders plays a crucial role in the public perception of our schools. The school leader that believes our schools can survive without the support of our communities is terribly mistaken. Perhaps at one point in history, public support for teachers and schools was a given factor, but we are at a point in time when public support has to be earned.
As leaders in education, we cannot leave it up to the politicians and mass media to make the only declarations regarding the state of our education system. Amy Gutman (1987) suggests, “Schools along with the media, libraries, and the Internet, are central to the process of disseminating knowledge to the public.” When we communicate effectively with our communities, we have a profound influence on local, district, state and national decisions affecting student learning. According to Frattura and Capper (2007), that also means communicating in a way that makes our data “clearly visible and understandable to anyone in the community.” The public wants to know about our schools. They want to have a voice and know that their participation matters. They want to be informed, and they care about the educational ideology that drives our decisions as a system. People care about current events and what schools are doing to engage students, families and the local community in the process of learning. We have a responsibility to disseminate information related to our schools in a way people understand to connect with stakeholders and increase public support for our schools.
Our district recently added family liaisons at the school level, which was a huge step ahead in our efforts to improve communication with families, especially of diverse backgrounds. However, making phone calls and waiting for parents to stop by the school is probably our least effective communication strategy. We live in an age driven by technology, and when people want information, their most immediate source is the Internet. There is currently no better vehicle of communication than the social media sites that our families already visit at least once if not periodically throughout the day. Maintaining a school’s web presence and updating social media coverage is one of the most effective ways to promote a positive public perception of our schools. We need to make use of the tools we have and employ people who have the knowledge and capacity to use and maintain such forms of communication.
The support of our communities is crucial, not just for the popular vote and financial support, but because of the message it sends to our students. No matter how young or old, our students hear and pay attention to what adults are saying about our district and our schools. If the conversations they hear reflect our efforts to work as a team, they not only feel the backing of the masses, they start to see the bigger picture and the role each individual plays in the greater society. Communication is the key, and we need to use every resource we have to take our communication to the next level and engage our communities in supporting our schools.
REFERENCES
Browne, Ian (1992). Conventions on the Rights of the Child. Basic Documents on Human Rights, 3rd Edition. New York, NY: Oxford University Press
Frattura, E. M. & Capper, C. A. (2007). Leading for Social Justice: Transforming Schools for All Learners. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Gutmann, Amy (1987). Democratic Education. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Kennedy, John F. (1961) Proclamation 3422 - American Education Week. Online by Gerhard
Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=24146.
Spring, Joel (2011). The Politics of American Education. Taylor & Francis; New York, NY
The perception of the people regarding the condition of our schools is critical, not only on the national level, but right here in our own back yard. What we communicate, how we communicate, and how effective we are when we communicate as school leaders plays a crucial role in the public perception of our schools. The school leader that believes our schools can survive without the support of our communities is terribly mistaken. Perhaps at one point in history, public support for teachers and schools was a given factor, but we are at a point in time when public support has to be earned.
As leaders in education, we cannot leave it up to the politicians and mass media to make the only declarations regarding the state of our education system. Amy Gutman (1987) suggests, “Schools along with the media, libraries, and the Internet, are central to the process of disseminating knowledge to the public.” When we communicate effectively with our communities, we have a profound influence on local, district, state and national decisions affecting student learning. According to Frattura and Capper (2007), that also means communicating in a way that makes our data “clearly visible and understandable to anyone in the community.” The public wants to know about our schools. They want to have a voice and know that their participation matters. They want to be informed, and they care about the educational ideology that drives our decisions as a system. People care about current events and what schools are doing to engage students, families and the local community in the process of learning. We have a responsibility to disseminate information related to our schools in a way people understand to connect with stakeholders and increase public support for our schools.
Our district recently added family liaisons at the school level, which was a huge step ahead in our efforts to improve communication with families, especially of diverse backgrounds. However, making phone calls and waiting for parents to stop by the school is probably our least effective communication strategy. We live in an age driven by technology, and when people want information, their most immediate source is the Internet. There is currently no better vehicle of communication than the social media sites that our families already visit at least once if not periodically throughout the day. Maintaining a school’s web presence and updating social media coverage is one of the most effective ways to promote a positive public perception of our schools. We need to make use of the tools we have and employ people who have the knowledge and capacity to use and maintain such forms of communication.
The support of our communities is crucial, not just for the popular vote and financial support, but because of the message it sends to our students. No matter how young or old, our students hear and pay attention to what adults are saying about our district and our schools. If the conversations they hear reflect our efforts to work as a team, they not only feel the backing of the masses, they start to see the bigger picture and the role each individual plays in the greater society. Communication is the key, and we need to use every resource we have to take our communication to the next level and engage our communities in supporting our schools.
REFERENCES
Browne, Ian (1992). Conventions on the Rights of the Child. Basic Documents on Human Rights, 3rd Edition. New York, NY: Oxford University Press
Frattura, E. M. & Capper, C. A. (2007). Leading for Social Justice: Transforming Schools for All Learners. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Gutmann, Amy (1987). Democratic Education. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Kennedy, John F. (1961) Proclamation 3422 - American Education Week. Online by Gerhard
Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=24146.
Spring, Joel (2011). The Politics of American Education. Taylor & Francis; New York, NY