BUILDING SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY SUPPORT

Operating Principles	Resources
All stakeholders (teachers, students, parents, community members and partners) are vital to school success and, in turn, inclusiveness is one key measure of success. Communication is essential to developing support for ELT. It is not possible to “over-communicate.” It is very important to keep all stakeholders “in the loop”.
Action Steps
1.       Identify key stakeholders within the school staff and school district, as well as those outside of the school and the optimal means of communicating to each group.	QS #1*
2.       Identify potential allies and skeptics within the school and broader community (PTA, business leaders, afterschool organizations, school committee members, teachers, parents).	QS #2* Letters to Parents Letters to Teachers
3.       Meet with small groups of stakeholders to seek input on school design ideas and, later, on specific design scenarios.	Steps 3 & 8 in “Designing Educational Program”
4.       Develop a communications plan on how to keep stakeholders (especially teachers and parents) informed and involved.  Be sure to communicate overall planning goals, timeline and process.  The communications plan should also include your strategy regarding coverage by local media.	Communications guide
5.       Identify the key audiences that will be crucial to the success of this initiative (e.g., parents, school committee members, students, teachers, etc.).  Develop documents that communicate information each particular group would want to know about on the planning process, the goals of the expanded time, anticipated meetings, etc.  If possible, tailor these documents to your audiences.	Q&A about ELT school redesign Research on time & learning
6.      Use members of the planning team that represent particular constituencies as messengers to gather input from key stakeholders groups and to keep them informed.
7.      Hold regular parent meetings at each participating school and seek feedback on school design, parental needs and expectations, logistical challenges, etc.
8.      Determine who, at both the school and district level, will serve as the spokesperson for media inquiries.	Sample press release

      Question Set #1: Identifying Key Stakeholders
        [Back to Action Steps]

CORE QUESTION
What individuals and groups are impacted by the schools, generally,
and a change in the school schedule, specifically?

• What is the neighborhood around the school like?  Are there businesses or homes which feel the impact of the student body?
• What kinds of afterschool activities are students involved in?  Will there be any that will be impossible/difficult to do if the school day were lengthened?
• Who are the major afterschool program providers?
• Is the parent community organized?  What associations are there?
• What are the local business organizations?  Are they active in school and community affairs?
• What is the connection between schools?  If there is a major change at one school, how is this likely to affect others? 

      Question Set #2: Identifying Allies and Those Skeptical of ELT
        [Back to Action Steps]

CORE QUESTION
Which groups and individuals have the most to gain or lose by
extending the school day and year?

• Who are the potential allies and skeptics on the School Committee? What is the most effective way to approach each member? How will the superintendent keep the members informed?
• What are the issues that people have responded to and reacted to around the schools in the past two years that might shed light on the ELT process?
• What do you think are the potentially contentious issues around ELT in your community? What evidence do you have for this answer?
• How do you gather information on skeptics’ arguments and rationale?
• How can you include skeptics in the planning process and address their concerns?
• How will you answer the question, “Why were these schools chosen?”