Encouraging public involvement in public education
Enhancing school boards' connections with their local communities is a strategic focus for the ASBA. "The lack of public involvement in publicly funded education is a threat to the health and welfare of an education system governed by locally elected school boards who represent their communities," says ASBA President Heather Welwood. See these resources and research to support your local board's efforts. For more information contact , Director Communications at 1.780.451.7122.
Public Engagement Guide
School Board Budget Discussions: Town Hall Meeting
The ASBA has developed these templates to assist school boards who wish to host a town hall meeting to engage their local community about the upcoming budget.
Public engagement plan (PDF–58K)
Templates:
Site lay-out plan (DOC–47K)
Email to school principals (DOC–47K)
Invitation email/letter (DOC–24K)
Website and school newsletter email/letter (DOC–28K)
Invitation reminder email/letter (DOC–24K)
Confirmation email/letter (DOC–24K)
Agenda: Town Hall Meeting (DOC–25K)
Instructions: small group facilitators (DOC–38K)
Script: main facilitator (DOC–33K)
Opening and closing remarks (DOC–28K)
PowerPoint presentation with speaking notes (PPT–554K)
Sign-in sheet (DOC–33K)
Name tags (DOC–29K)
Evaluation form (DOC–34K)
Handouts:
School Board Budget Principles (DOC–34K)
School Board Budget Backgrounder (DOC–117K)
Agenda: Debrief session (DOC–26K)
Session summary outline (DOC–67K)
Thank you letter (DOC–23K)
Reaching out
President Heather Welwood’s January 26, 2010 letter (PDF–328K) to those who attended last year’s Putting the Public Back in Public Education summit.
A Guide to Face-to-Face Public Engagement for School Boards
Guide (PDF–753K)
Videoconference: Tips and Techniques for Public Engagement
Requires high speed internet connection and Adobe Flash Plug-in v10
Complete video: 59 minutes
Presentation Godfrey Huybregts: 17 minutes
Presentation Bruce Buruma: 17 minutes
Questions and answers: 25 minutes
Templates for a town hall meeting
Background example (DOC–32K)
Town hall agenda (DOC–68K)
Checklist – general (DOC–36K)
Discussion sheet (DOC–620K)
Fax reminder (DOC–72K)
Instructions for group leaders (DOC–88K)
Invitation letter (DOC–40K)
Registration cards (DOC–48K)
Script notes (DOC–44K)
Seating cards – parent (DOC–48K)
PowerPoint presentations
Town hall meetings that work for school boards (PDF–1.8MB)
PowerPoint presentation, Lethbridge Public and Red Deer Public
Effective focus groups (PDF–118K)
PowerPoint presentation, Anne Jacox
Public consultation (PDF–92K)
PowerPoint presentation, Garth Norris
Tips and tools for planning a successful public engagement (PDF–169K)
PowerPoint presentation, Alberta Community Development Branch
Handbooks
Best practices in public engagement (PDF–312K).
Describes public engagement strategies used by Alberta school boards
Summit handbook (PDF–243K)
Prepared for the ASBA’s March 2009 Keeping the public in public education summit
Research
Albertans advice to school boards: Putting the public into public education (PDF–152K)
A summary of the advice provided by the 350 people who attended the ASBA’s March 2009 Putting the Public back into public education summit.
Opinion poll/focus group results: Public attitudes about involvement in public education (PDF–177K)
A summary of the opinion poll and focus groups the ASBA conducted to explore Albertans attitudes about the work of school boards and public engagement in public education.
