Public Character
of Schools
1
Introduction
 In a democratic society, the relationship between
the school and the community is a necessary and
natural relationship.
 Schools are public institutions that are answerable
to the public they serve.
 Schools cannot survive in a vacuum – the court of
public opinion shapes policy and practices.
 The Public influences the nature and direction of
change in schools.
2
Public Character
of the School
 Only the farmers’ realization that
they would be in charge of
everything, from the building of the
schoolhouse to the firing of teachers
to the raising of money to pay for it
all, made free public education
acceptable to them.
Wayne Fuller, The Old Country School House. (1982)
3
The legal structure of education resides at
the state level which is usually delegated
to local community control.
 The federal government has no rights (14th
Amendment) yet intervenes in the affairs of
schools at both the state and local level.
 The power to manage schools actually resides in
the people.
–
–
–
–
To elect legislators
To support/oppose legislation affecting education
To elect school boards.
To lobby for the modification or repeal of laws.
4
The School Board
 Expected to carry out the popular will
 Time should be set-aside at board meetings
for public comment.
 Meetings must be carried out in public
 No votes can be taken in private (Sunshine
Laws)
 Minutes of the meetings must be made
available to the public
5
The Rules and Laws of School
Boards
 Emphasize the public character of schools
 Citizens share in the ownership of schools
 Citizens pay taxes that support their schools
 Citizens expect a good education in return
for their investment.
6
Role of Superintendent
Critical – most influential
member of certified staff
 S/he must lead people to a place they would not




otherwise go by themselves.
Unless s/he is involved in strong community
relations, nobody is going to get excited.
Responsible for opening channels of
communications
Responsible for keeping board, staff, and the
public informed.
Assuring there is a viable plan and that it is
assessed regularly.
Provide info to community leaders that will cause
them to act in behalf of the community’s children
and their education.
7
Mistakes Supt. Make
 Listing to and responding to parental complaints
without referring them to the proper channels.
 Fails to listen to principals , other administrators,
or teachers.
Making political appointments – avoid politics
 Making ill-informed decision just to try to show
everyone that they are “in-charge.”
Showing more concern for finances than
employees
 Failing to have both internal and external
publications that show the activity of their office –
should regularly publish information
8
Role of Director of S-C
Relations
 Interpret school board policies for the public




Serve as a source of information and the
communicater of matters regarding schools
Assess public attitudes and opinions and keep
appropriate personnel informed
Compose and/or edit all written communications
(internal and external) from the school system
Interface regularly with members of the media
Assist school officials with crisis management
plans
Provide professional development in the area of
s-c relations for all school personnel.
9
Role of the Principal
 More than any other individual in the school, determines








the degree to which people feel welcome, accepted, and
comfortable within the school walls.
Emphasizes relationships with all stakeholders
Engages in two-way communications
Is a good listener
Helps the staff develop good communications skills
Has an open-door policy – is accessible to all!
Keeps the superintendent informed of success and failures
Recognizes and celebrates accomplishments
Maintains internal and external publications to keep all
informed.
10
Role of the Assistant
Principal
 Liaison between Principal and staff
 Maintains positive rapport with staff
 Communicates effectively with parents
and students
 Motivates students and faculty
 Tries to build high morale among the staff
 Has a professional demeanor with all
 Establishes a disciplined student body.
11
Role of the teacher
 Has a profound effect on students’
feelings and what parents think about the
school.
 If Johnny is miserable at school, then the
parents will be miserable.
 Should be
–
–
–
–
–
Visible and accessible
A communicator – regularly
A person with a positive attitude
Able to make business partnerships
Able to teach students the importance of being
12
a member of the community.
Role of the Office Staff
and other non-certified
staff
 First person that people often interact with
in a school
 First impression is a lasting impression
 Must understand that they are part of a
team that wants to promote the school
positively.
 Must understand that EVERYONE counts
in affecting the morale of the entire
school.
13
Shared ownership
 Citizens must be given accurate and
adequate information
 Citizens must have access to facts and ideas
in order to be able to discuss and develop
informed opinions.
14
The Influence of the Citizenry
 How they feel about schools determines the
selection of the school board and if they support
–
–
–
–
–
tax rates
passage of bonds
curriculum
salaries
special services
 They establish limits and shape policy and guide
operational practices.
15
School leaders need to
understand…
 Public attitudes in a democracy and how
that effects the education of children
 What public attitudes mean to the schools
 And why people think and feel as they do
about the schools.
16
The Influence of Public Opinion
 Public opinion during the space race lead to the




strengthening of math and science in the educational
curriculums across the nation.
Attitudes are always accompanied by some positive or
negative feelings – some may be intense.
Pubic Opinion is defined as any widespread belief of
consensus arrived at by member of one or more groups, or
as prevailing customs and traditions handed down by
previous generation.
Generally opinions concern controversial matters or are
potentially controversial.
The story of Appalachia and Ban the Books where customs
of the people they served were disregarded.
17
School Community Relations
– history
 1920s Articles published about a formal
approach to keeping the public informed –
referred to it as “publicity”
 Publicity soon replaced with school public
relations because
• “publicity“ can be positive or negative
• needed to tell a fuller story that reached a wider
audience.
18
Moehlman definition: “ organized factual
informational service for the purpose of
keeping the public informed of its
educational program.”
In the 1920’s he stressed the importance
of
•
•
•
•
social contacts,
parent teacher associations,
appraisal of results.
social interpretations – or, two-way communication
and keeping the public continually informed.
 He spoke about active parental involvement
as a partnership.
19
Schools are dynamic organizations and
cannot adapt to change or make
improvements without involving the
stakeholders in its affairs.
 WITH the stakeholders the school leader
should have a better handle on the
community expectations.
 WITH the stakeholders, governmental
agencies and organizations, there should
evolve a climate of cooperation.
 Which should lead to an increased use of
community resources.
20
The best definition (Bagin and
Gallaher, 2001):
 Sound and constructive relationship
between the school and community are
achieved through a process of exchanging
information, ideas, and viewpoints out of
which common understanding are
developed and decisions are made
concerning essential improvement in the
educational program and adjustment to the
climate of social change.
21
Planned Relationship
 Most plans fail because the plan is for a single
pressing issue – there really is no C-R plan.
 A comprehensive and continuous program must be
PLANNED and it must address
• involving those who are the responsible parties for the
education of the children.
• adjusting to social change
• communicating the character, needs and services of a school
• Developing and communicating a shared vision.
22