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November 18 Minutes: Community Engagement

Time: 6:00 - 8:00 pm
Location: Ed Center
Present: Our group has twenty-nine members, one facilitator and one recorder.  Approximately fourteen members attended our second meeting. 
Absent:  
Notetaker: Patrick W. Fraleigh
Time Topic Presenter

Charge to the group:

Develop a set of recommendations within our task group area adhering to the vision and guiding principles established by the Schools of the Future Committee and the Council of Community Advisors.  Recommendations will be in the form of statements of characteristics to which we believe we should aspire as a district.  The report needs to include appendices on research that we have done, community input and other areas that we determine are important for background information. 
6:00

Introductions:

New members introduced themselves to the group

Review homework assignment:

  • We reviewed the assignment in small groups, identified commonalities in our emerging visions of what is meant by the term, community engagement, and how it would appear -- a snapshot -- if community engagement were operational in 2010.
  • As a large group we developed "emerging gestalts" of common threads among the subgroups so that focus group topics could be identified and we could begin studying them in subgroups over the next weeks/months. 

Clusters identified:

Currently, these are "impressions", glimpses, not crystal clear photographs.  The group agreed to think about these clusters before our next meeting and modify the wording so that each becomes clearer and more complete.  We will begin our next meeting with small group discussions of each of the clusters so that a clearer picture will result and people can assign themselves to study one cluster.

Reciprocal partnerships:

  • among families, educators, business and industry people and service agency people
  • breaking down barriers currently dividing these groups
  • permeable boundaries separating the groups
  • pledges of support and commitment over time asserting that "we are in this together for the 'long haul'"

Schools as hubs:

  • extended community centers
  • life-long learning centers
  • sources/sites for services from organizations and agencies
  • education available for all members of our community (not just K-12)

Inclusivity:

  • teaching/learning about diversity and its impact on education and our whole society

Customized education:

  • small group interactions
  • individualized plans for learners with rich involvement of educators and community members from the workplace
  • non-traditional curricula for non-traditional students

Quick response:

  • to emerging, ever-changing needs
  • flexible education responsive to regional (neighborhood + site councils) needs
  • using technology (e-mail, internet) to inform of opportunities for learning; specialized communication

Two ideas remained identified as important but not yet attached:

  1. Governance at the individual school sites and with regard to the total district;
  2. Relationships as the "lifeblood" of what will make community engagement viable. 

Next meeting:

  • Next meeting: December 2, 1999, 6:00 - 8:00. 
    		•
    8:00

    Adjourn
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