At the recent BOE meeting this week, communication was a major topic of discussion. There was considerable back and forth about Steve Colarossi's draft motion to create a communications committee and put Board documents on the NPS website. A couple of the Board members clearly thought the committee would be a forum for the public to air their grievences as opposed to a group that would devise strategies for the Board to improve communication with the public.
I spoke with Robert Rader, executive director of CABE (Connecticut Association of Boards of Education), this morning and he said that "many districts have had communications committees at one point or another."
The purpose of a communications committee can be manyfold according to Mr. Rader. "The purpose of the committee depends on the priorities of the district. It could be a committee to reach out to parents or the business community or the broader community, since many people in cities don't have children in the schools," he said.
In his experience, Mr. Rader has seen committees comprised of the Board only and committees with members of the public, especially those that have a Public Relations background.
Take a look at the Stamford Public School website. Stamford has an ad hoc "Public Engagement" committee and it also has a very informative website. Like ours, it includes BOE meeting agendas and minutes. Unlike ours, it includes superintendent reports and presentations, BOE meeting background information, BOE policies and bylaws and the budget. It translates documents into nearly 50 languages.
I understand that the Web is not the only way to communicate with our parents and community, but it is an important one. So much so, that the state requires important documents to be publicly available on the website. In fact, I am waiting for Norwalk to put the Grant Application for the ARRA Special Education Funds online which is State requirement.
We expect our children to have a 21st century education and skills. Shouldn't we lead by example?
Communication was a defining issue of the BOE elections last month and arguably one of the primary reasons that the incumbents were not reelected. It must be addressed by this Board.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
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Moina, thank you for looking into this issue and provding some perspective on what's going on.
ReplyDeleteAs I mentioned in a previous posting, I left the meeting when the discussion began to move from honest and constructive to a series of "let's figure out a way to derail this thing" questions (such as, why not make it a "committee of the whole" or, could it develop into a "double board" or, wouldn't it be "micromanaging" central office?).
Nonetheless, I would like to make a few observations.
1. The experienced board members who raised questions about the proposal should have known that BOE communication committees, in one form or another, are quite common.
2. If true (as reported), it is difficult to believe that both the interim superintendent and a long-time board member truly believed it would be time-consuming to add agendas, backup, Friday reports, etc. to the BOE website.
3. What is so terrible about parents coming to committee meetings to vent or complain? How would that deter -- in fact, it probably would help -- the committee from doing its work.
4. One final, unrelated point: The interim superintendent, if I heard correctly, in his very vague presentation of the operating budget, said essentially that the budget document was too difficult for Board members to "understand." If I heard him correctly, I suggest someone on the Board speak to him about his choice of words.
Thank you Moina for stepping up and providing this in depth discussion forum.
ReplyDeleteThank you Bruce for staying involved.
Difficult to understand?
Translation - ya all, will find out after I am outta here.
Hasn't made much progress putting humpty dumpty back together again, however, there has been significant backfilling, problem is no matter where you fill your making the hole bigger somewhere else.
As a parent who is starting to navigate the public school system and not used to the "politics" involved in the BOE meeting, I am appalled by the conduct of certain BOE members. How could anyone oppose a communication committee? Why would you not be interested in having a more informed community with access to pertinent information? Why do you fear approaching the community and devising a plan as to how to distribute information? You were elected by this town and it is your responsibility to communicate with us. It should be your priority to find out how to do so in the most efficient way possible. Ms Rivas- you voiced a laundry list of problems: what language to have the information available in? what about people who do not have computers? what if the thoughts of the entire board are not supported? Do you only think of ways to shoot ideas down, or do you ever brainstorm solutions? Thankfully more thoughtful members offered you answers to all your conundrums. And, wouldn't having a communications committee be exactly what you need to further investigate the solutions to all the questions that you have raised? I am worried that we have elected Ms Rivas to a board who is in charge of providing guidance to the Public School System. We have one of the biggest educational achievement gaps in the country. We need people who are able to work on problem-solving strategies, not someone who wants to build road blocks to deserving ideas. Ms Rivas, with your ignorant rantings, you do a disservice to the minority population you supposedly represent. I hope the rest of the members realize that a communications committee is instrumental. Finding the best way to communicate with the people you represent is imperative.
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