Community Engagement Leadership

A principal in a diverse community leads a school that does not currently have a Parent Teacher Organization in place. The school leader assembles a PTO for the forthcoming school year. Which of the following is the best reason for having a PTO in place?

• Having a PTO will reduce the number of families passing through and create a shared vision for student achievement and improved attendance rates.

• Having a PTO will offer parents a way to be more involved in their children’s education and nurture a sense of community between the families and educators.

• Having a PTO will help the school leaders in making decisions about the impact of education.

• Having a PTO will allow fundraising events to add to the school budget allowing for more purchases to be made.

Answer explanation

B.

This answer allows for relationship building between the school, the PTO, and the families in the community, while the other answer choices do not.

Which of the following is the best reason for a school leader to ask the community, teachers, and parents for suggestions to improve teaching and learning at the school?

• To give teachers an opportunity to make requests for instructional materials.

• To encourage community businesses to mentor students.

• To justify yearly professional training for teachers and other school staff.

• To build a shared vision among various stakeholders.

Answer explanation

D.

While the other answer choices seem like a good idea, D is the best choice for this question. The school leaders should solicit input from stakeholders to build the school’s shared vision.

Which of the following school resources is most appropriate for school leaders to offer when creating community partnerships?

• 1. Venues for advertising time and space.

• Locations for meetings and special events.

• Storage space for extra inventory.

• Opportunities to use staff as volunteers.

Answer explanation

B.

After school hours, it is appropriate for the community to use the school facilities.

The school leader at ABC Elementary School is planning to invite community members to serve on the improvement team at the school. The school leader should make sure that the potential members of the team have which of the following?

• Representation of diverse community voices.

• Support for the school leader’s decisions in the past.

• Have children who attend the ABC Elementary School.

• Are able to gather donations from the community.

Answer explanation

1. A.

Having one person from the community present is not enough. The school leader must make sure that many different voices from the community are heard at the school improvement meetings.

Which of the following is the first thing a school leader should do to seek community support for the school?

• Develop a list of potential community partners.

• Conduct a needs assessment.

• Distribute information about the needs of the school.

• Provide community partners with a status report on how resources are used in the school.

Answer explanation

B.

The first thing a leader should do is conduct a needs assessment to identify areas where additional resources are necessary. The other answer choices are good, but a school leader needs to know where the deficiencies are before asking for support from the community.

Which of the following is a barrier to parent involvement at the school?

• Lack of transportation to the school.

• Legislation at the state.

• Policy changes from the district.

• School administrative rules.

Answer explanation

A.

Lack of transportation is a barrier for some parents to be involved at the school. School leaders need to recognize that not all parents have personal vehicles to drive to the school and participate. Notice that all of the other answer choices are very similar because they have to do with policies. Answer choice A is the only option that pertains to a barrier.

A technology teacher has students work on a research project to identity different social media platforms students, parents, business professionals, and the community use to communicate. What would be the most appropriate way a school leader can use this data?

• Identify platforms that school leaders can use as an additional resource to communicate information about the school.

• Collaborate with community members through the platform apps.

• Encourage parents to use the platforms to stay informed about the school.

• Transition all critical information for students and parents to these platforms.

Answer explanation

A.

The most appropriate way for a school leader to use this information is to identify additional resources to communicate information about the school. Answer choice D can be elementated because it has strong language about transitioning all communication to the platforms. Answer choices B and C put the onus of communicating through the platforms on the recipient, which is not the best approach. School leaders should use this as an additional resource, not replace their existing communication methods. 

A media communication plan should include all of the following elements EXCEPT:

• 1. Staging area location for media personnel.

• Personal phone numbers of all school faculty and staff.

• Press release templates for emergencies.

• Media contact list.

Answer explanation

B. 

A good media communication plan includes template press releases, a plan for media to be on campus at a staging area, and contact list for media personnel. The media communication should not include personal contact information of all faculty and staff.

Which of the following would be the best group to involve in a new dress code policy?

• District office representatives.

• School leadership team.

• School advisory council.

• Student body representatives.

Answer explanation

C.

The school advisory council is typically made up of representatives from the student body, parents, teachers, and community members. School dress code policies tend to unfairly target specific groups of students. It is important to include representatives from students, parents, teachers, and the community in discussion of a dress code policy to ensure it is a fair and equitable for students.

Which of the following situations would input from families be most important?

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  1. Developing new disciplinary policies.

• Assessing teacher performance.

• Conducting building maintenance projects.

• Implementing new after-school programs.

Answer explanation

D.

Input from families would be most important when implementing new afterschool programs. These programs are provided to support families, so it is really important to have their input on what works best. The other answer choices are responsibilities that the school leadership team should be managing.