Schools and the Public - A New Relationship

Regardless of what often seems to be overwhelming negative perceptions, the public is still largely sympathetic to the mission of public education. In the 1999 Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll, 71 percent of respondents favored public schools, and strengthening them rather than starting to look for an alternative system (Rose and Gallup, 1999).

The difference between this public and that of earlier generations is that people today want to be a part of any changes that are planned at their local schools. People used to be content to let administrators make the decisions. In the past, when bond measures for new school buildings came up, the need seemed understood by all, and the money was readily approved. Today, the funding may be approved, but not without a lot of explanations and justifications.

Because today's public demands accountability, educators have to provide ever more detailed information about schools. But merely shoveling out information is not always a good thing. According to one district's public relations specialist, the biggest mistake school public relations staff can make is to talk at people. She says, "If the message is not getting across, the answer is not to buy a bigger megaphone "(P. Farrell & L. Frederick, personal communication, June 1, 2000).

The answer is engagement - interactivity: People want to participate in decisions and policymaking because they rightly perceive that public schools are their schools. This means that to create a satisfying partnership with the community, one that will reap the reward of community support, educators must seek outsiders' input in areas that used to be the sole province of administrators: designing new assessments, approving new graduation requirements, setting standards, providing input on new construction, and hiring key staff.

Of course, most people are not education experts. Schools do not have to yield to every whim of their partners, whether they are parents, legislators, or the business community. And that is the public relations challenge: to sincerely accept and welcome public input, and to lose the insular tendency to deny outsiders' opinions, while still maintaining the integrity of an administrator's ability to be the final arbiter in any decision. It is a fine line, one that educators years ago did not have to walk.

The superintendent of one large urban district tells citizens, "This is your district. Let's do this together." He believes it is far worse to be accused of hiding something than it is to own up and get information out, even if the news is bad. He knows that strength and a partner-orientation must start at the top. Every employee gets the message: the public is your partner. His pledge to share complete information is beginning to restore the public's trust in the district, observers say (Sherman, 1999).

The bottom line in school public relations is not about letting everyone make decisions; it is about letting them feel that their input is valued and considered seriously, and they are welcome and needed.