Assessing Your Community
Dave Eggers wish is premised on the idea that communities should be involved in their local public schools. His dream is on a micro-level. That individuals will choose to impact the lives of students by offering their talent and time.
The Public Education Network just released its Civic Index for Quality Public Education tool which considers this idea on a macro-level. The tool, to be used by community-based organizations, assesses the strengths and weakness of the community related to public education. It reflects the conditions outside a school which help create successful students and a successful school system.
The Index identifies 10 categories by which a community can assess their involvement in public education:
- Education leadership of local elected officials
- Commitment to the values of tolerance and inclusiveness
- Active parents
- Strong civic organizations (parent, philanthropic, civic/religious organizations)
- Utilization of school performance data to improve school quality
- Youth involvement
- Partnerships with higher education
- Knowledge of, and voting for, the school board
- An active business community
- Media coverage
“Research and public opinion polling shows that the public believes every person, and every group in a community, is responsible for making sure every child receives a quality public education. Once individuals and groups in a community know how much they are doing to support public education, along with what they are doing right and what they could do better, they can do the right kind of work that will make a significant and measurable difference in the quality of their public schools.”
Tags: community
