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Homework assignment: Sharing successful community engagement activities
We began the meeting with a review of our homework assignment which was
to individually generate a list of community engagement list that we knew
were somehow being effective. The following list was generated by
the group in a brainstorm fashion:
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Activities that involve food-family-fun
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All school night at Spencer Butte, parents attend with their child, karoke,
wacky hair, computers
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Open computer labs for Native Americans, adults and students, at Jefferson
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Coburg Harvest Festival
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South Eugene's School Improvement Plan which includes "community engagement
goals"
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LCC center at Churchill, serving the community at large
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U of O workshops "Middle School Girls" "Middle School Boys"
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Teacher training. Student teacher program
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School Enrichment Classes
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Curriculum which involves student and parent homework/projects
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School Newsletters
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Carnivals, Health Fairs
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SMART
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OASIS reading program
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U of O International student volunteer program
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ESCAPE, UO's student intern program
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Jefferson's "Culture Clubs," taking instructional time for cultural/diversity
education w./ community members
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Kennedy's mentor program
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Neighborhood Newsletters and Organizations
The listing and discussion of these successful activities led us to identify
key elements that are present which aid in the effectiveness of programs/activities.
They are:
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Family focused
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Consistency, calendar of events
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Safe - Supervised
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Communication and expectations are clear
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Positive attitude and Trust
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Activity serves an identified specific need
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Implementation is sensitive to culture
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It is a part of the building's School Improvement Plan
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There is a "user friendly" person to contact
As we listed and discussed these key elements we began developing ideas
that focused on the organization. A discussion of "what ifs,"
"what should be," and "what could be" took place which includes these ideas:
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The organization, as much as possible, needs to be on the same page.
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4J needs to develop a relationship with the community from the top down.
This relationship would be a mission of the district and followed at each
building. This mission of community engagement might be embodied
in each school's School Improvements Plan.
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4J and the City of Eugene, City of Coburg and Lane County would develop
programs which compliment each other.
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A sense of community starts at the neighborhood level, so individual schools
must be involved in reaching out to and connecting with neighbors and businesses
near them, to develop community "ownership" of the schools.
We then talked about what would be happening and in some cases is now happening
at schools where successful programs and community engagement is nurtured:
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Schools have a welcoming feeling for all people: kids, parents, community
members.
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Parents, students and community have a feeling that their issues and ideas
are being heard.
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The school is "user friendly." This includes considering language
and cultural differences.
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The administration and staff at the school are committed to involving community
in the educational process.
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People, parents and students feel valued.
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There might be a regional coordinator that works with each building to
train volunteers: both students helpers, parents, community. This
coordinator would also help develop the relationship between the school
and community.
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School employees, from the "top down," would do the "little things" consistently,
acknowledging that these things add up. Such as, saying hi to volunteers,
helping people when it's "not your job," being courteous on the phone,
etc.
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