" (Gouthro and Gibson, 1996)
Identified to be "…an important aspect of building school community" by parents was the factor of "communication." (Gouthro and Gibson, 1996) Also emergent in the study was the factor of "resources" in that parents and community organizations are more willing and able to provide for the school community in the area of resources but are often unsure of what is needed and suggest that school administrators ensure that the needs are well-known in the school community.
III. Three Components Identified
Stated as three components community development and bringing about effective change through school community building are the following three identified components in the work of Johnson and Friedman (2006) as published in the 'School Administrator' journal: (1) Taking time to plan an effective process- "Engagement can include face-to-face community dialogues, school-based meetings, online strategies, media partnerships and information campaigns. But these elements cannot be thrown together haphazardly. Poorly designed, half-hearted engagement reaps poor results and can even backfire, frustrating and alienating people rather than bringing them together"; (2) Including choice work -- "Giving people alternatives to consider is an effective spur to deliberation and dialogue. It is also one of the most efficient ways to help people become more knowledgeable and subtle in their thinking about how to set priorities and use limited resources" (Johnson and Friedman, 2006); and (3) Reaching...
If engagement includes only those people who already attend nearly every school meeting, little will be learned and little will change." (Johnson and Friedman, 2006)
Bibliography
Florida Principal Leadership Standards -- Community and Stakeholder Partnerships -- High Performing Leaders (2005) Online available at:
https://www.floridaschoolleaders.org/fpls.aspx
Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium Standards (2009) Educational Leadership. Online available at: http://www.uni.edu/coe/elcpe/edleadership/professionaldevelopment/isllc_standards.shtml
Florida Principal Leadership Standards (2005) SBE Rule 6B-5.0012, Approved April 19, 2005. Online available at: https://www.floridaschoolleaders.org/fpls.aspx
Johnson, Jean and Friedman, Will (2006) the School Administrator. Feb. 2006. American Association of School Administrators. Online available at: http://www.aasa.org/publications/saarticledetail.cfm?ItemNumber=5211
Gouthro, Elizabeth and Gibson, Diane (1996) Ties that Bind: Building School Community. Paper Submitted to the Center for Leadership in Learning April 30, 1996. Online available at: http://www.ucalgary.ca/~cll/resources/gouthro.html
