Policies
Middletown Public Schools No. 1090
Parent/Community Chats
PARENT/COMMUNITY CHATS
PURPOSE
The purpose of a Parent/Community Chat is to provide the public a forum, facilitating dialogue between community members, parents, with the Administration and School Committee. Not all school issues fall in the realm of public information. Therefore, the Chat is not a “free-for-all”, but has guidelines so that healthy communication can take place. Due to the limitations imposed upon the Committee by the R.I. Open Meetings Act, a Parent/Community Chat is a better forum for allowing conversations to take place between the public and elected officials regarding education in the district. Two primary goals of the Parent/Community Chat are to inform the public and to increase the public’s confidence in the School Committee/Administration by providing transparent windows on decision-making, state regulations, district goals, district policies/practices and School Committee activities. By having an active, informed public, the Middletown School Committee believes that the performance and achievements of our district will show improvement. The Parent/Community Chat is intended to be a forum designed to bring stakeholders together for the purpose of jointly moving the district to even greater heights.
REPONSIBILITIES
Chat dates are selected in advance and coordinated with the Community Outreach Director (COZ).
COMPLAINT POLICY ADHERANCE
Middletown School Committee members will not address complaints concerning individual students, employees, or staff while interacting with the public during Parent/Community Chats.
PROCESS/PROCEDURE – SCHOOL COMMITTEE AND ADMINISTRATION
A. Deliver Information – Communication from Middletown School Department to Community.
B. Start the dialogue - Introduce those School Committee members and administrators who will speak during the evening. Include a brief introduction of the evening’s topics and any staff in attendance who may participate in providing information during the session. Explain the purpose of that night’s Parent/Community Chat, what will be the presentation team’s roles and expectations, and preview the format for the evening.
C. It is crucial that a Parent/Community Chat retain the flavor of a dialogue. Failing to meet this guideline puts the public in the position of “receivers” rather than “participators”, which squelches their enthusiasm and desire to participate. The majority of the information given should be related to the questions asked. The community may be interested in the presentation topic, but may also have other concerns or need for information.
D. It is important to share the School Committee’s rationale for decisions along with any pertinent information not necessarily available to the general public.
E. Chat dates are selected in advance and coordinated with the Community Outreach Director (COZ).
Adapted from Tornillo School District
1st Reading – December 17, 2009
2nd Reading – January 21, 2010