School-Community Relations » (2nd Edition)

Dr. Douglas J. Fiore, a former teacher, principal, and college professor, is currently the Director of Professional Practice with the Virginia Department of Education and an adjunct faculty member at Virginia Commonwealth University. Dr. Fiore is the author of Educational Administration: Standards, Theories, and Practice, which is widely used at colleges and universities throughout the United States. His other books include Making the RIGHT Decisions: A Guide for School Leaders, Six Types of Teachers: Recruiting, Retaining, and Mentoring the Best (co-authored with Dr. Todd Whitaker), Creating Connections for Better Schools: How Leaders Enhance School Culture and Dealing With Difficult Parents: And With Parents in Difficult Situations (co-authored with Dr. Todd Whitaker). Dr. Fiore often presents at state and national conferences, and he frequently delivers workshops to school districts, individual schools, and various educational groups, both in the U.S. and abroad."jkcnjdfnjdfnvjfnvbjfnjbn

Table of Contents
About the Author
Showcases
Preface
1 Paying Attention to Public Opinion
2 Reading the Pulse of the Community
3 Establishing Everybody's Role
4 Communicating Effectively: Everybody's Job
5 Opening Up to Your Internal Publics
6 Embracing Your External Publics
7 Improving Media Relations
8 Putting It All on Paper
9 Communication in an Electronic Era
10 Saying What You Mean: Meaning What You Say
11 In Crisis Situations You Must Have a Plan
12 Three Opportunities to Shine
13 Evaluating Effectiveness and Building Confidence-The Future
References
Index

About the Author v Showcases xii Preface xv
1 Paying Attention to Public Opinion 1 Trends in the Public's Perception 6 Misconceptions Regarding Public Opinion 12 The Purpose of a Plan 14 Three Kinds of Plans 18 The Coordinated Plan 18 The Centralized Plan 19 The Decentralized Plan 19 Chapter Summary 21
2 Reading the Pulse of the Community 25 Get to Know Community Leaders 27 Look to Local Civic Organizations 28 Neighborhood Schools 31 Important First Steps 32 A Neighborhood Tea 36 Don't Forget the Parents 36 Information Shared by the Teaching Staff 37 Information Shared by the Students 37 Information Shared by Business and Community Leaders 38 Information Shared by Other School Administrators 39 Multiculturalism and School-Community Relations 41 Chapter Summary 43
3 Establishing Everybody's Role 45 School-Community Relations at the District Level 47 The Superintendent 48 Mistakes Made by Superintendents 50 The Director of School-Community Relations 51 School-Community Relations at the Building Level 54 The Principal 54 The Teacher 56 The Office Staff 58 Organizational Standards 60 Goals 2000 60 Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium Standards 68 The National Parent-Teacher Association 71 Community Schools 72 Chapter Summary 74
4 Communicating Effectively: Everybody's Job 77 The Communication Process 80 Idea Formation 80 Idea Encoding 81 Communication Channel 82 Receiver Decoding 83 Nonverbal Communication: It's Not What You Said, But How You Said It 84 Communication Barriers 87 Language Barriers 87 Cultural Barriers 87 Barriers Inherent in Specific Physical Disabilities 88 Barriers Related to Time 89 Overcoming Communication Barriers 89 Perception Checking 89Communicating Regularly 90 Communicating Purposefully 91 Chapter Summary 92
5 Opening Up to Your Internal Publics 95 The Principal as Role Model 98 Visibility Is the Key 99 The Need for Effective Human Relations Skills 100 The Student as an Internal Public 101 The Use of Discipline 103 Teachers-The Most Important Adults in the Building 104 The Friday Focus-A Tool for Positive Internal Communication 105 Positive Relationships with Noninstructional Staff 107 Other Members of the Internal Public 108 Substitute Teachers 108 Student Teachers 110 The Importance of the School Secretary 110 The Entire School Staff: The Key to Strong School-Community Relations 111 Chapter Summary 112
6 Embracing Your External Publics 115 Appropriate Parental Involvement 117 Involving Parents While They Are at School 118 Welcome to Our School? 119 Involving Parents While They Are at Home 122 Other Members of the External Public 124 Establishing Key Communicators 126 Where to Start With Key Communicators 127 The Importance of Community Members with Grown Children 128 Intergenerational Programs in Schools 129 Presenting Students to the Community 130 Athletics 130 Plays 131 Other Artistic Endeavors 131 Academic Competitions 132 Be Forewarned 132 Chapter Summary 133
7 Improving Media Relations 135 All the News That's Fit to Print 138 When the Reporter Initiates the Contact 138 When the School Leader Initiates the Contact 140 Involving Staff Members in the Process 141 The News Release 144 Communicating Through Local Radio 147 Spreading the Good News 147 Public Service Announcements 147 Lights, Camera, Action! 149 You Look Marvelous 151 Do Not Feed the Monsters 152 Be Proactive 152 We All Make Mistakes 154 Parting Shots 154 Chapter Summary 156
8 Putting It All on Paper 159 Three Kinds of Readers 161 The 20-Second Reader 162 The Newspaper Reader 162 The Novel Reader 163 Does Impressive Language Make the Impression You Desire? 163 The School Newsletter 164 The Use of Technology 168 The Student Report Card 169 A Personal Letter From the Principal 169 Words or Phrases to Avoid 173 Written Communication From the Classroom 175 Communicating Via the World Wide Web 178 Points to Consider 180 Chapter Summary 181
9 Communication in an Electronic Era 185 The Resistor 187 The Dabbler 188 The Avant-Garde 188 Electronic Communication Devices 189 Communicating Via E-mail 191 Using E-mail Internally 192 Using E-mail Externally 194 Proceed Cautiously with E-mail 194 The Acceptable Use Policy 197 Using Technology for Instructional Purposes 202 Chapter Summary 203
10 Saying What You Mean: Meaning What You Say 207 Telephone Etiquette 209 Telephone Calls From the Principal 211 Face-to-Face Conversations 212 Speaking to a Large Group 215 Communicating During a Campaign 217 Communicating With a Citizen's Advisory Committee 220 The Campaign's Conclusion 221 Chapter Summary 224
11 In Crisis Situations You Must Have a Plan 227 The Importance of Planning 229 Select Individuals to Serve on Crisis Response and Aftercare Teams 231 Establish a Headquarters for the Crisis Response and Aftercare Teams 231 Select an Individual to Be the Official Spokesperson During a Crisis 232 Establish a Procedure for Activating Community Support Services 232 Establish A Procedure for Developing Channels of Communication 233 Establish a Procedure for Controlling Rumors 234 Establish a Procedure for Assessing the Crisis Management Plan 234 Establish a Procedure for Bringing Closure to the Crisis 235 An Opportunity for Staff Development 236 Communicating in a Time of Crisis 238 Media Relations in Crisis Situations 240 Provide Facts About the School and the Crisis 241 Log All Information Released to the Public 241 Release Names of Victims Only After the Next of Kin Have Been Notified 241 Be Aware of Photographers on Campus-You Have Every Right to Control Photographers on Your Property 242 Repeat Key Messages as Often as Possible, and Stay Focused on Those Messages 242 Dealing With the Aftermath of a Crisis 242 Crisis Aftermath 243 Chapter Summary 245
12 Three Opportunities to Shine 247 Open House 250 Open House Tours 250 Open House Programs 251 Classroom Visits 253 Timing Is Everything 254 Advertising the Open House-Calling All Parents 255 The Cleanliness of the School 256 Parent-Teacher Conferences 257 Helping Teachers Prepare for Conferences 261 Conducting the Conference 263 Convocations and Celebrations 267 Graduation 267 Awards Programs 268 Chapter Summary 270
13 Evaluating Effectiveness and Building Confidence-The Future 273 Determining the Effectiveness of Your School-Community Relations Efforts 276 Verifying Results in School-Community Relations 276 Making Intangibles More Tangible 280 School Choice in the Twenty-First Century 281 Chapter Summary 285 References 289 Index 295