Community Relations

Community Relations 101 for Charter Schools

Why Does Your Charter School Need Community Relations?

Almost daily there are newspaper headlines screaming: CHARTER SCHOOL STUDENTS FAILING!, CHARTER SCHOOL TEACHERS NOT QUALIFIED!, and even CHARTER SCHOOL UNDER PRESSURE TO CLOSE!. And because most people believe what they read or at least part of what they read…the accused charter school may need some support to diminish the bad press. A strong community relations program has the ability for your charter school to be known, understood, and supported by the community.

Generally people become interested in a subject when it is relevant, of interest, or effects them and that is why community relations are essential to the birth, life and growth of a charter school. Ones community is important to him/her, therefore people want to know the who’s, what’s, when’s, where’s, why’s and how’s of the community. People also want to support and be part of their community and a charter school can be an essential element that brings the community together. The problem is that charter schools can’t easily identify “our community”. Children are transported, sometimes over large distances, to be educated in charter schools, thus defying the far more customary concept of the “neighborhood school” and especially so in the case of the early grades. Thus if/when those dastardly headlines surface, there isn’t an automatic and “natural” constituency coming to the rescue with countervailing and balancing information. Here’s where a well-conceived and carefully orchestrated community relations campaign may be of benefit.

Understanding Your Charter School’s Community:

The first question that you should be asking is, “Who is your charter school’s community?” The community of any charter school is two-fold:

• The student/parent population and the school’s faculty
• The community that actually surrounds the physical location of the school

Definition of Community Relations:

According to Lesly’s Handbook of Public Relations and Communications, “Community relations, as a public relations function, is an institution’s planned, active, and continuing participation with and within a community to maintain and enhance its environment to the benefit of both the institution and the community.”

Community relations are an essential element to the success and acceptance of a charter school and will help your charter school respond to community needs, inquiries, and recommendations.

The 8 Commandments of Community Relations:

1. Know your community.
2. Develop a community relations policy.
3. Review your charter school’s practices, policies, and procedures in order to evaluate how community relations can work for your school.
4. Consider different types of issues in the community (i.e. social service issues).
5. Utilize all means to communicate with your community.
6. Collaborate and get involved with organizations within your community.
7. Utilize local businesses for your business needs (i.e. banks, caterers, printers, etc.).
8. Evaluate effectiveness: Determine the amount of time that your school will spend on community relations vs. the results that your school and community will receive. Remember you still need to run your charter school successfully.

How to Perform Effective Community Relations:

Community relations is a concept to which you will need to commit sometime. First, evaluate and outline a plan of attack. Once a thorough evaluation of the charter school’s mission is completed, a better understanding of the charter school’s connection to the community may be formed. Lastly, you will need to implement a strong community relations program by fulfilling the set objectives and playing an active role within your community relation’s program.

First Evaluate:

Determine objectives: What do you want to accomplish?

List your objectives in both long-term and short-term goals.

Know your community: Population, ethnicity, socio-economic status, etc.

Know the community strengths and weaknesses:

What problems exist in your community?

What are your community’s weaknesses and how can your school enhance them?

What does your community know and/or think about your charter school?

If your charter school resides in a large community find your target audience. Think about the sub-groups that lie within your community.

Civic and community groups, such as: the Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club, Lions Club, etc.

The charter school’s sponsor

Parents and family members or current and potential students

The school district and/or board

Local government officials

Corporations and small businesses

Set priorities: What does your community need most?

“Failure to spell out specific goals kills some community relations programs before they get started” (Lesley’s Handbook of Public Relations and Communications, 120). By evaluating the mission of your charter school and the needs of the community in which the charter school resides you will be able to determine your charter school’s role in the community.

Second Implement:

Host an open house—Charter Schools Week (28 April through 2 May 2003) is a great opportunity to do this.
Organize a speakers’ bureau. Click here for more information about Charter Schools Week.

Volunteer: Sign up for walks, recycling, cleaning, etc. Schedule student performances at local events.

Donation of social products: Arrange a food and/or clothing drive.

Make facilities available for public use—when available.

Collaborate with other schools, companies, and/or organizations to fulfill your objectives.

Community relations is just one more piece of the puzzle to running a successful charter school and just like good public relations can make or break a charter school—community relations has the same power (if not more) only the relations are closer to home.

The key to community relations is positive, socially responsible activity.

By Andrea Zavislak, Communications Coordinator