Northwest Sampler:
Forest Grove School District, Oregon

Description

If you can't get the public to come to your school open house, maybe you should try taking your open house to them. That's what the Forest Grove School District has done for the past four years. All nine schools take part in a districtwide open house at the local Fred Meyer department store.

Bringing the school to the community may seem like a novel concept, but for Connie Potter, the district's Public Information and Volunteer Coordinator, the idea just made good sense. Only about one-fourth of the community has children in school, and those without children don't usually get into the schools to see what's going on, says Potter. Schools have changed dramatically from what they were just a few decades ago. Students must meet rigid academic standards and then demonstrate what they have learned. So why not have the students show what they have learned to the entire community, rather than just to parents?

The open house is set up like a trade show, with about 16 different stations along the main aisles of the store. At one station students dig for artifacts in a huge wooden box. At another, fifth- graders demonstrate "hands-on algebra "using manipulatives. Further down the aisle, high school artists demonstrate their techniques using clay, drawing, and painting.

The open house is not simply a way to showcase the student's work, but also allows the community members to interact with the students. One year several senior citizens danced in the aisles to the music of student violinists.

Coordinating the open house logistics is certainly not easy, admits Potter. Teachers must send 150 kids on the bus to and from the open house. Substitutes must be provided for the teachers who accompany the students. "It takes a great deal of cooperation among the bus drivers, transportation department, teachers, parents, and students to make it all work, but we think it's well worth the effort," according to Potter. The National School Public Relations Association agreed; it liked the idea so much that it awarded the district its Golden Achievement Award in 1999.

This unique partnership with a local business is just one strategy to communicate effectively with the community. Many other successful projects are in place as well. Experience Corps, a federally subsidized program, places senior citizens in one of the elementary schools as volunteers. An internship program gives high school students the opportunity to work in a local auto dealership, where they spend two hours a day rotating among different departments. A career motivational workshop, "Soar With Your Dreams" held at the local university, gives kids the opportunity to experience a variety of careers through hands-on exhibits in a variety of trades.

One might think that Forest Grove School District has a large communications department to be able to do all these things. Not so; in fact, Potter is the communications department in a district of 5,300 students. That is why she believes it is so important to have a targeted communications plan to understand what the important goals are, because you can't do it all. "By mapping it a out at the beginning of the year, and providing a tangible tracking of what you do, you can really justify what you do," says Potter. "The district really needs to make communications a focus, whether or not you have a full-time person. A hit-or-miss approach to effective communications will not work."

One major accomplishment last fall that showed just how well these communications strategies are was the passage of a $39.4- million bond measure to build two new schools and renovate existing schools. The bond measure was approved by more than 64 percent of the voters in a district where elections have traditionally been close. The superintendent, Jack Musser, credits this passage to a strong citizen volunteer effort. "I feel the reason this was successful is that it wasn't only a school district bond levy, but a community bond levy," he said in the district's November community newsletter. Potter also emphasizes that it couldn't have passed without strong community participation. The bond committee did everything from producing mass mailings, to delivering voter registration forms to the homes of senior citizens, to presenting information about the bond at about 40 different community meetings.

The district was invited to give a presentation at the Oregon School Boards Association's Bonds and Ballots workshop in January. One of the things Potter will stress at the workshop is that no one piece stands alone in a bond campaign. You must educate the public before you ask them for anything. Ways to educate the public are ongoing, from newsletters to meetings to the open houses. Good PR may look easy, says Potter, but it is more than just what goes into the newspapers. A lot of strategy and planning goes into it.

Observed Outcomes

• School improvement bond measure passed with more than 64 percent of the votes.
• The number of volunteer hours contributed to the schools increased from 30,000 in 1997 -98 (the first year of a formal volunteer program) to more than 51,000 in 1999 -2000, about 10 hours of adult help per student. More than 83 percent of parents rated the district as "exceptional" or "very good" in a survey last spring.

Keys to Success

• Administrators should make communications a priority. This means not only committing someone to the role of communications coordinator, even part time if necessary, but also committing to funding the programs.
• Develop a communications plan so the communication goals can be targeted to specific audiences, and so the programs will not be hit or miss.
• Don't be afraid to take a few risks along the way. Try a strategy; if it doesn't work; do something else the next time.
• Understand the news media's importance in getting the word out. They won't know what you are doing if you don't tell them.
• Cultivate contacts with local reporters.