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Improving
Education through Communication Partnerships
Chris Mortensen, Principal
Greenville Junior High School
Communication with students, parents and community is an aspect of the
school district’s responsibility that is never ending. New developments
over the past several years have led to changes in state required
testing, data collection related to students and families and
requirements for school involvement with local community organizations.
In order for us to be successful as educators we need to have the best
possible relationship with families and the community organizations
that surround us. This communication is not always easy to achieve and
can often be a daunting task to do well for the best possible
development of our students’ educational growth. We find ourselves
asking the following questions around this very topic: How can we
involve the community organizations in our school’s activities and
programs; What steps can we take to develop two-way communication with
our parents and offer a variety of volunteer opportunities; and How do
we incorporate students into this process, so that they feel empowered
to actively participate in this communication and involved in
developing their own learning opportunities.
As we have worked to address the challenges of improving and increasing
our communication as a school district in all of the areas previously
mentioned, we have set into motion an opportunity to open dialogue
between all of these groups. The junior high and the south building
have joined efforts in bringing parents, teachers and community members
together for conversation. This group is referred to as the PTP or
Parent and Community Partnerships Committee. The purpose of the group’s
efforts are to assist in identifying methods for improving the
communication and breaking down existing barriers that inhibit positive
two-way connections.
We have held one meeting and were thoughtful in the selection of the
parents who participated in this process with us. This was not done to
exclude, but rather to insure that we had as many of the demographics
for Greenville’s community touched and could obtain feedback that
supported discussion and positive change in how we do our daily
business for all involved.
Our first meeting appeared to be a huge success and involved
communication to these groups about the desire of the school to foster
this change to meet their children’s needs and develop stronger ties
through better two-way communication. Unfortunately, not all groups
were represented as with life there are many aspects that pull us in
different directions. With this in mind, we are preparing for our next
meeting and will discuss how to make sure that we get all demographics
represented and able to offer their opinions and ideas on how to
achieve this desired growth as individual buildings and as a district
committed to the growth and success of all our young people.
Our next meeting will be occurring in the next few weeks. As we lay the
ground work for open discussion, we press forward with the
understanding that while we desire to be the best that we can be for
your children, we cannot achieve this without your support. First, we
would welcome any parents of the junior high and south buildings to
provide support through offering to volunteer to participate in these
meetings and discussions. Our goal will still be to have representation
from all demographics. Second, if possibly participating with us would
not be feasible, we would still love to gain the valuable information,
opinions and ideas from our parents and community. You could call in
and share or even write some of your ideas down and send them in with
your son or daughter.
In the end, we ultimately desire to have a better process for two-way
communication, support our children’s learning and growth for a
brighter future, and develop a system that allows us to be proactive in
meeting all aspects of our youth’s needs rather than being reactive in
the moment. If you have had bad experiences in the past, see this as a
step in correcting aspects where we have possibly failed to meet your
expectations and needs at the time. If you have had nothing but
positive experiences then look to see how this process could have been
improved through the lens of communication to you or back from you.
Please remember that the communication we desire to foster is two-way.
We would welcome suggestions on how to get student, parent, community
and staff communication improved from all directions and will accept
and discuss all suggestions provided. We know that we will improve
through this process and make a community aimed at developing the whole
student for success and growth. Thank you in advance for being a
partner in this work.
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