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EDU 532 Unit 1 Question 1

This document discusses the importance of school-community relations and ways to improve them. It notes that relations are important because parents now have more school choice, and positive relations are needed to attract and retain students. Relations sometimes fail due to poor communication, reactive rather than proactive engagement, and lack of training. To improve relations, schools should openly share both successes and challenges, improve staff morale by listening to suggestions, and work more closely with the business community. Maintaining strong school-community relations through open communication is key to meeting the increased public interest in education.

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166 views4 pages

EDU 532 Unit 1 Question 1

This document discusses the importance of school-community relations and ways to improve them. It notes that relations are important because parents now have more school choice, and positive relations are needed to attract and retain students. Relations sometimes fail due to poor communication, reactive rather than proactive engagement, and lack of training. To improve relations, schools should openly share both successes and challenges, improve staff morale by listening to suggestions, and work more closely with the business community. Maintaining strong school-community relations through open communication is key to meeting the increased public interest in education.

Uploaded by

Brandon Andreas
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Grad Student 74495 February 21, 2018

EDU 532 School-Community Relations


Unit 1

Unit 1 Question #1: Describe the importance of school-community relations. Identify why
these relations fail and ways to improve the relations.

School-community relationships are so important today because now more than ever,

parents have a choice where to send their children to learn. In fact, according to Moore, Bagin, and

Gallagher (2016), the percentage of students in grades one to twelve attending a chosen public

school increased from eleven to sixteen percent. Thus, improving school-community relations is

important to keep students coming to a particular school. Unfortunately, relations at times do fail

due to a number of different reasons. However, there are ways in which relations can be improved,

all of which will be thoroughly discussed in this essay, along with certain examples from this

author’s experience with school-community relations.

Today around the United States, and indeed many countries around the world, taxpayers

are letting it be known that they care about the quality of education and its cost and want to be

informed about it (Moore et al., 2016). Due in part to the fact that more school systems are offering

parents some sort of choice when it comes to selecting school their children will attend, creating a

positive relationship with those in the community is an essential part of administration (Moore et

al., 2016). Basically, it comes down to the fact that since more choice is being given, there is an

added urgency to present a positive, open, and communicative image to the public. Moore et al.

(2016) notes that this is also a reality in nonpublic schools, where attracting, enrolling, and

retaining students is a major responsibility for the administrations. This author can most definitely

attest to this having worked in private international schools for the past eight years. As a member

of the senior leadership team this author has frequently been called by the board of directors to
explain his role in the school, and the English Language Arts curriculum he oversees. Indeed, the

importance of effective communication is being recognized more prominently, as more states are

requiring that administrative employees complete a course in the field of community relations

(Moore et al., 2016).

Despite the best efforts of teachers, administrators, and support staff, breakdowns in

school-community relations do occur at times. Moore et al. (2016) notes that one reason school

and community relations fail is due to the fact that educators fail to understand that communication

is a two-way process (Moore et al., 2016). Simply disseminating information at a monthly Parent

Teacher Organization meeting does not qualify as effective communication. Another reason for

the breakdown in relations could also be that school communication and engagement are often

reactive to events and situations (Moore et al., 2016). This was most definitely one of the main

frustrations many staff members had at this author’s former school, where teachers had identified

problems, only to see them go unsolved until a breaking point is reached. Finally, Moore et al.

(2016) notes the inexperience and lack of training educators possess as a major reason why

ineffective communication is so frequently cited as one of the top grievances parents have with

their child’s school.

In order to combat these breakdowns in relations between a school and the community,

Moore et al. (2016) suggests letting the public know about the successes and challenges the school

faces. Opening up to the community and sharing what the school has accomplished is a great way

to improve public relations. Additionally, admitting that there are problems that the school faces,

and providing insight into what is currently being done to address these challenges reassures the

public of the sincerity of the administration. Doing this also encourages staff members to assume

risks to try programs that could potentially improve the school (Moore et al., 2016). Another
method of improving school-community relations is to improve staff morale (Moore et al., 2016).

According to Moore et al. (2016), teachers and principals do not suggest ideas as much anymore

due to the fact that although they are listened to, changes are hardly ever undertaken. This author

can attest to this point, as at his former school, suggestions to improve the efficiency of the

department which he left were frequently disregarded. Indeed, people need to be asked their

opinions and told when they do a good job in order to improve employee morale (Moore et al.,

2016). This is important, because as Moor et al. (2016) states, staff morale affects external relations.

Other suggestions for improving school-community relations include taking the public’s concerns

about discipline more seriously, personalizing and creating a more comforting atmosphere in

schools, and working with the business community more closely, among many others (Moore et

al., 2016).

School-community relations important in today’s society because image matters, and in

order to attract, enroll, and retain students, schools must show the public that they are ready and

willing to improve the level of communication (Moore et al., 2016). Thus, although relations

between the school and community may fail at times, effective and successful schools use specific

strategies to work towards continuous improvement in this area. With the increase interest from

the public when it comes to educations, teachers, administrators, and support staff must all work

together to provide an inviting learning environment for both students and their parents.
References:
Moore, E. H., Bagin, D., & Gallagher, D. R. (2016) The school and community relations (11th ed.).
Boston, MA: Pearson

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