If you plan it, they will come!!

One of my passions is community engagement.  I believe that if we create a genuine space, people will come and share their ideas and passions--and commitment to public education.  When I talk about this, I often get pushback from the people who work and lead our school districts.  No one comes.  People don't have time.  We don't have time, or money, to plan it.  Only the cranky people come.

I understand that perspective as it is based on experience.  One that often comes out of what we encounter in public hearings.

Here is an example of what a community can do when visionary leadership calls for  genuine community engagement.  In Bibb County, Georgia, 4,000 people are participating in the district's strategic planning process.  Read more about The Macon Miracle here.

What if school districts had to apply for superintendents?

An interesting idea.  Suggests the need for some self-reflection on the part of board members and the community.

What if school districts had to apply for superintendents?

What might the future look like?

Yesterday, at the Wisconsin Association of School Board's Legislative Advocacy Conference, innovation and transformation were center stage during the morning session.  After presentations by CESA 1, CESA 6, and Wisconsin Way, school board members spent a little time talking about the information presented.  One question posed to the group : For transformation to occur, what kind of advocacy is needed?  One table talked about how they need guidance, they are not sure how to talk with legislators about new possibilities.  School board members don't want to go to the state legislator, simply asking for more money.  Some at the conference went so far as to say, "We need to stop whining."  At the same time, they are not sure how to talk about possibilities for the future.


Here is a link that describes some of the activities a 21st Century Teacher would use in her or his classroom.  I post this here to get the conversation started.


There are lots of ways to learn about possibilities that can serve as a starting place for conversations in your community.  Read books.  A number of relevant titles are listed on this blog.  Don't have time for a whole book, watch TED Talks.  They are short, interesting talks that will touch, move, and inspire you. In less than 20 minutes you can learn about something interesting and innovative that is going on in our world.  Follow blogs.  If you are reading this, you are off to a good start.  Another interesting blog:  dangerously irrelevant!: Technology, Leadership and the Future of Schools.


To develop meaningful talking points about possibilities for the future in your school district, you need to bring interested stakeholders together to talk about the future. What do teachers and administrators already know about transforming public education?  What do your students think?  They are most likely already plugged in in ways that the adults in your community may never have thought of.  What do the business leaders in your community have to say about the needs of their businesses? How can you present possibilities to parents and others in the community who may not see the need for transformation?


From these conversations, you will begin to see what will work best in your school district.  You can then develop your own stories to tell your legislators about the possibilities for your schools and your community.

The Conversation Prism

The Conversation Prism by Brian Solis and Jesse Thomas

At the WASB Presidents/Leadership Conference a few weeks ago, a board member commented that she didn't get social media. I explained that all it is really is a simple way to connect with other people using some kind of technology. It provides a way for us to transcend time and space. It opens up the way people can communicate with each other.

It is not a passing fad. It is not something for the young people (although many times they seem to get it faster). For folks who are intimidated by social media, I like to point out that the telephone is a social media tool. You talk with someone who is not in the proximity of your voice. Today, there are many more options.

Today's social media reside on the internet and a physical tool like a computer or smart phone connects you to these media. AND, you are not limited to audio expression. You can post pictures and documents. Videos. Music. Furthermore, you do not have to be "on the phone" at the same time. You post content that others can access when it is convenient for them.

Many of these tools can help you plan and execute community engagement events in your district.

For now, I will let you be with the prism. I will talk about it more in the weeks ahead.

I would like to end by thanking my friend, Brad Saron, superintendent from the Cashton, Wisconsin school district for alerting me to the prism.

What a Great Day!

On Saturday, over 3300 people gathered in 19 locations to discuss the state of the United States' economy and what they thought Congress needed to do about long-term debt.  I had the honor to serve as a table facilitator at this event.  What an inspiring day!  The day was long--seven hours.  It was a beautiful Saturday in June.  The topic was difficult.  Yet the people gathered in Chicago (I assume the same for the rest of the sites ) did a remarkable job of engaging in thoughtful conversation about a difficult issue.

The people at my table came from different backgrounds, races, and ages. They all came in not sure of what the day might hold and some were outright cynical about the process. There were different positions, some held quite strongly by the participants.  Not surprisingly, one Gen-X man had a different view about social security than the baby boomers at the table. We all got a chuckle out of that one. There were different ideas about the extent to which the government should support the less fortunate.  This conversation had the potential to turn into a confrontation as one participant started to point fingers at particular people, but cooler heads prevailed as others in the group were quick to point to the ground rules.

At the end of the day, all of the participants at my table felt it was a worthwhile experience and that they were glad they came.  They all learned something, most importantly, that even though they did not always share positions, they did share important values.  All felt that those less fortunate deserved support, that those better off needed to share more of the burden.  All felt that Congress did not represent their values; that special interests and money ruled the day.

It was a great day for democracy.

Go to AmericaSpeaks if you are interested in following up on this exciting event.  Top leadership from America Speaks will be presenting this work to Congressional leaders and the President's Commission on the Budget.

America Speaks is hosting a town hall meeting on the economy

America Speaks: Our Budget, Our Economy will engage the American public in an unprecedented national discussion about our federal budget. Thousands of Americans reflecting the demographic, geographic and political diversity of our nation will come together on June 26, 2010 for a National Town Meeting connected via satellite video, webcast, and interactive technologies to weigh-in on the difficult choices involved with putting our federal budget on a sustainable path.


The National Town Meeting will take place in up to twenty AmericaSpeaks 21st Century Town Meeting locations across the country, in many Community Conversations, and online.  All of the town meeting locations will be linked together by live satellite, webcast, and interactive technology.  Chicago is one of the major locations.  The UW-Madison is hosting the conversation in the Red Gym.  Check the America Speaks website for more details.


This is an important opportunity for school district leaders.  Consider attending the event and encourage others in your community to participate as well.  

Can you deliberate and still be civil?

Today I had the pleasure of discussing Peter Block's Community: A structure of belonging with a group of students from UW-Madison, and my research colleague, Rob Asen.  Rob wondered if Block was just a little too optimistic and that he didn't really allow for much deliberation in his model of community engagement.  One perceptive student referred to a section on appreciating paradox, that Block was not suggesting that a community engaging in successful discourse  had no room for disagreement.  Rob mentioned "reasonable hostility" an idea proposed by Karen Tracy, who suggests that disagreement is productive, particularly since people tend to pay more attention when there is disagreement.  In Who wants to deliberate--and why, Neblo et al argue that citizens are turned off by the adversarial nature of partisan politics; that they are interested in participating when political activity engages in deliberation. Groups like  America Speaks or Everyday Democracy practice this deliberative form of engagement.

One interesting twist on the whole idea of solving the world's problems is presented by Jane McGonigal who argues that gamers are developing the skills (including the ability to collaborate) needed to address the complex issues facing the world today.

An amazing book on community engagement

Last week I read, Community: The Structure of Belonging by Peter Block.  It is an amazing book.  When I was working on my dissertation, one of the professors on my committee would always ask, "How do you define EFFECTIVE community engagement?"  For the longest time, I felt like I could recognize it when I saw it, but I could not describe it in the way academics like you to define things.

Block's book has helped me answer the question!  Perhaps most importantly, effective community engagement builds social capital.  In order to do this, we have to turn to different practices and structures. Public hearings that focus on problems are not the way to do it.

 Rather than focusing on problems, Block suggests that we focus on possibilities.  He asks the question, "What do we want to create together?"  People are more likely to commit to that which they have had a hand in creating.  The goal is not to generate buy in.  Instead, inviting people to help develop the solution is more like to lead to commitment.

New practices need new structures if we are going to be successful.  Public hearings are more likely to create heat than light.  Block posits that THE SMALL GROUP, one that represents the larger system is the unit of transformation.  Diverse small groups that are in conversation with the large group are the way to engage in conversations that build social capital.  He sites processes like World Cafe, Open Space Technology, and Future Search as examples of effective small group/large group processes that work.

A bonus:  If you don't have time to read the whole book, Block includes a "Book at a Glance" beginning on page 177 in the paperback edition.

MASA Spring Conference coming up!

The Minnesota Association of School Administrators Spring Conference is just two weeks away. In the latest issue of The MASA Leaders Forum, Spring 2010, I asked that you take a few moments to review the International Association of Public Participation's Core Values and Spectrum of Participation Think about how adoption of these core values challenges your notions of community engagement. How do these core values challenge your practice as an educational leader? What questions does the Spectrum of Participation raise for you? Post your responses and I will bring these postings to the conversation we have on March 19th.

Why we need to get better at dialogue

Recently, I have taken on the responsibility of assisting with the planning of a large-scale community engagement summit here in Wisconsin.  One of the first things I have learned in the less-than-two-weeks that I have been involved in this project is that community engagement means different things to different people.  Last week's post included a description of a number of models that people think of when they use the term "community engagement."  There is clearly some confusion about what we mean when we use this term.

I am concerned that before we can have community engagement dialogue, we need to have a dialogue to define what we mean by community engagement!

Successful community engagement values the input of all who come to the table.  AND, successful community engagement works to include all voices, no matter how disagreeable they may appear to to the conveners.

Successful community engagement also reaches out beyond parents.  Parents continue to make up a smaller and smaller percentage of the community.  Focusing only on parents ignores the concerns of a majority the citizens in our communities.

Finally, our society has diversified considerably over the last thirty years.  New ethnic groups now make their homes in our communities.  We have a responsibility to make a concerted effort to welcome these new comers into our communities.  Their customs and ideas may be different from long established practice and thinking, but it doesn't mean there is something wrong with them.

This TED Talk, Weird or Just Different, illustrates this concept and gives us something to think about as we consider how to successfully initiate community engagement activities.

Social reformers have a history of acting like they have the answers; that all the "clients" have to do is take their advice and all will be well.  This paternalistic attitude has never worked.  It didn't work during the Progressive Era.  It didn't work in the 1960s.  And it won't work today; even if we dress it us as community engagement.  The experts have to remember that community members have an expertise that is as important to the conversation as their own technical expertise.

I welcome your thoughts about community engagement.  Also, I'd be interested in learning more about your experiences, especially with successful community engagement practices that encourage dialogue among diverse groups.

Community Engagement: What Does This Term Mean?

I've been thinking more about this term since I last talked about community engagement and extending genuine invitations a few weeks ago.  I've decided that I was a bit too definitive in describing community engagement; that others have different definitions than I.  Below I list other ideas about community engagement that go beyond the deliberative model to which I am drawn. This is hardly a definitive list, simply a place to start thinking about the various aspects of community engagement.

For example, Joyce Epstein's Center on School, Family, and Community Partnerships categorizes involvement activities as parenting, communicating, volunteering, learning at home, decision making and collaborating with the community. Part of Epstein's model focuses on parents and the role they can directly play in their own child's educational development, work that I would categorize as important but not necessarily community engagement.

Others would point to advocacy work as community engagement.  Groups like the Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools and Parent United Network work to educate citizens on important education issues and encourage citizens to form local parent groups to advocate for policy changes at the state and federal levels. I see advocacy as a persuasive model, whereby parents work to encourage policy makers to include parent perspectives in their policy decision making.

I think these are important components of the community engagement continuum.  For me, however, at the end of the day, I am drawn to models that encourage conversation and relationship building. Models like  World Cafe and Study Circles provide opportunities for dialogue that might lead to developing a better understanding of others' positions.

We live in a time of perpetual change.  In fact, I think it is safe to say that change is the new status quo.  How can we cope with the pace and pressures of change?  Our ability to build relationships is a key component of the solution.

In her book Turning to One Another, Margaret Wheatley writes:

 "I have learned that when we begin listening to each other, and when we talk about things that matter to us, the world begins to change."

It is this idea, the power of dialogue to make a difference, that draws me to more deliberative models of community engagement.

Extending Genuine Invitations

Community Engagement is on the minds of many school board leaders today.  They struggle trying to understand how community engagement differs from traditional public hearings. And they struggle trying to get other than the usual suspects to attend.

Community Engagement is more deliberate and provides for two-way dialogue with school district stakeholders--including parents, students, teachers and other staff, community leaders--basically anyone with an interest in the district.  Ensuring that you get more than the usual suspects requires a little bit of effort.

After identifying the purpose of your community engagement work, it is important to give consideration to the "guest list" and the way you go about inviting people to participate.  If your stakeholders do not perceive your invitation as genuine, your agenda could be derailed before the process even begins.

Developing multiple modes for delivering your invitation is important.  Because you have different groups with various connections to your district, you need to send invitations specifically directed to each group.  Simply sending a notice home in student backpack mail is not sufficient--even for parents.  Not all students are responsible and timely mail carriers! 

Other ways to reach your stakeholders--announcement on your website, press release to local papers, special notice to key communicators asking them to invite five people to the meeting; notices in staff newsletters.

Of particular note:  how to reach those groups who traditionally fail to attend our events.  Ask people from those groups to invite people on your behalf.  America Speaks designs large scale town meetings on public policy issues and works to achieve a representative sample from the community.  They accomplish this by asking leaders in under-represented groups to extend invitations on behalf of the America Speaks organizers. Then they ensure that these groups have a genuine opportunity to attend by scheduling meetings at times and in places that are easily accessible.  They also provide transportation and child care.

Also keep in mind that when you decide to move from the traditional public hearing format to formats that allow for dialogue, you may be working to overcome community skepticism that may go back a long way. Be patient.  Once you begin to engage with your community in two-way dialogue, people will come to understand that you are genuine in your invitation.  Word will get around and more people will be interested in participating the next time.

Community Engagement in the new year

Happy New Year!

Have you made any resolutions for the new year?  I hope one thing your school district resolves to do is develop new strategies for engaging with your community.  Times have changed and one-way communication is no longer sufficient for many members of our communities.

What do we mean when we use the term "community engagement?"  We are talking about two-way communication that provides opportunity for genuine dialogue.   A recent study by Archon Fung of Harvard found that citizens are willing to participate in public affairs when new practices are used, and "politics as usual" is set aside.

There are lots of tools available to help you develop new communication habits.  Everyday Democracy offers study guides that your community can use to explore important school issues like student achievement and diversity.

Throughout 2010 I will introduce other engagement tools that can help you engage with your community in ways that will lead to productive conversations.  I welcome your stories about how your school district and community worked to practice two-way communication in the new year.