Adriane Tasco
When students' social and emotional needs are addressed, they are able to focus on learning. Schools have the opportunity to enrich the lives of their students and staff by engaging the local community in meeting these needs. Inviting agencies and organizations into a school to assist with health and wellness efforts can bring about positive outcomes for both groups of stakeholders.
Most schools in the United States are not equipped to handle the various needs of the children they teach every day. However, schools can schools can help meet their students' diverse needs by reaching out into their local communities for help. To build successful school–community partnerships, schools must consider principal support; reception of external partners by the students, staff, and families; and two-way communication (Sanders and Harvey, 2002).
One of the first steps in engaging community stakeholders is for the principal to reach out to them. For various reasons, the principal may or may not be on the health and wellness team but should, at a minimum, have an awareness of the goals of the team and support its efforts. Principals are their schools' public representatives, much like company CEOs.
There are many ways that a principal can reach community partners and leaders. Inviting potential community partners to school events, whether health related or not, will help them become familiar with the current school environment. These invitations let community members know that the school considers them to be an important part of what goes on there. Another helpful tactic is putting a press release in the local community newspaper. Creating a Healthy School Using the Healthy School Report Card: An ASCD Action Tool has various templates and tools to help the principal and team identify community partners and participants, including sample press releases and letter templates. Community members may or may not immediately offer their assistance with programs and special events, but the team will, at least, have made a connection or contact for future opportunities.
Once the potential partners have visited the school, the principal should make every effort to introduce them to the health and wellness team leader and members. The team leader should extend the invitation to join the team if the principal has not already done so. The community partner should be treated as an equal stakeholder in the meetings and encouraged to contribute ideas and suggestions to committees. Because the partner, as an outsider, may initially intimidate the students, the team and principal must help the partner work with the students to effect positive change in the school community. The students, faculty, and support staff must understand the community partners are a part of the team and can help provide resources and expertise in their respective fields.
Effective communication is essential when working in a team environment with community partners. Many of them may not have been inside a school since they were students years ago. They may not have an understanding of education jargon or vernacular, so the team leader and the principal should help to lessen this strain. One way to do this is to have an open-door policy that ensures partners are able to ask questions of the principal and the team as situations arise that may need clarification. Another easy step is to brief partners on terms and acronyms used often in the school and provide a reference sheet for them to use during meetings. EdSpeak, by Diane Ravitch, a glossary of buzzwords, phrases, and jargon used in the education field, is a good example of a helpful resource for partners. Resources such as these can help the internal and external partners on the team speak a common language. The more people on the team, the more important communication is.
There are many types of partnerships and collaborations that can work within a school community. Depending on the needs of the students and community and the available space, the school may offer to let partners set up on-site to provide services and resources. This type of collaboration is convenient for students and parents who may struggle with transportation and various work schedules. For example, Barclay Elementary and Middle School in Baltimore, Md., is developing a dental clinic on the school premises to increase its medical screening capacity (Hayward, 2008). The school currently offers vision screenings and has a licensed practical nurse on staff who assists students who have asthma and diabetes. Partners may also offer support by mentoring students who have an interest in their particular field. In Boston, Mass., local dance, music, and visual artists support the Boston Arts Academy by mentoring, serving as role models, and even teaching courses for the students (Hayward, 2008).
Alternatively, the community can welcome the school to use their off-site facilities to support students and families. Hills Elementary in Hills, Iowa, partners with a local trailer home community to help students with homework and provide a monthly dinner program to expose families to healthier choices (Hayward, 2008). These activities are held in the neighborhood's community center. Another way for the community to support schools off-site is for a local gym to allow schools without a gym to use their facility. The gym may also provide health and physical education studies where a traditional program does not exist.
In school–community partnerships, schools must commit to engaging the local partners. There are many strategies a school could implement. Welcoming community partners and giving them the chance to assist in implementing important health and wellness changes will help the school's initiatives, and the team's work as a whole, be more successful. Community leaders and businesses are realizing that they have a vested interest in the welfare of the students in their area. When they have a genuine commitment from the principal, health team, and students, community stakeholders are able to work in partnership with the school to provide needed services.
Hayward, C. C. (2008, April). Healthy School Communities pilot program enters its second year. Education Update, 50(4), 8.
Sanders, M. G., and Harvey, A. (2002, October). Beyond the school walls: A case study of principal leadership for school-community collaboration. Teachers College Record, 104(7), 1345–1368.