The Importance Of School-Community Relations In The Community

There were numerous key ideas discussed in this week’s readings. One key idea is that school-community relations are important to the success of all stakeholders, and must not only involve families and students, but the development of community partners. As stated by Sanders (2001), “regardless of its definition, community involvement is generally reported as beneficial for children and youth, schools, neighborhoods, parents, and the larger society” (p. 20). School personnel often feel overwhelmed with the numerous tasks they must accomplish, and may overlook the importance of improving school-community relations beyond seeking involvement from families. Also stated on the Coalition for Community Schools website, “public education is essential

As part of this goal, we must instill trust in community members that school personnel are knowledgeable professionals who have the best interests of students and the community in mind (Vollmer, 2011, p. 70). The conversations and communication methods that school personnel have with community members and organizations must recognize these factors, with the hopes of instilling positive conceptions regarding schools throughout the community. To accomplish this, school leaders must have what Vollmer refers to as “The Great Conversation” with community members, involving presenters making it “clear that their schools cannot meet society’s demands and unfold the potential of every child without the help of the entire community” (p. 71). If community members are involved in conversations that instill an understanding of the importance of their participation and support in the success of students, schools will be in a much better position to foster successful school-community

For example, due to the many responsibilities that school personnel already have, developing effective school-community relations may not receive the dedication and effort necessary for a successful outcome. Teachers may focus more on relations with families and students, and not recognize how important it is to engage the community as well. If the benefits of school-community engagement are discussed with all stakeholders, and an understanding is developed regarding research findings that show that school-community engagement efforts result in positive results in student achievement, neighborhoods, and society overall, school-community engagement initiatives will receive the attention it deserves. Related to the importance of school-community relations, Sanders’ (2001) research shows us that, in one specific study, even if the number of community partners is not as large as was hoped for, the satisfaction with the community partnerships that were developed was high amongst all stakeholders, with 88% of schools reporting satisfaction with the quality of their partnership activities, even though 43% were not satisfied with the number of activities (p.