engaging community partners

Professionals from industries and fields related to your project can add valuable authenticity, insight, and guidance. In fact, true place-based learning depends upon partners. Community partners can be engaged in a number of ways and at a number of points throughout the learning process. Use the tips below to learn how to utilize partners from start to finish.

Step 1: Start with the end in mind

Backwards design is a very effective method of curriculum planning which revolves around the final learning goals and project outcomes. In other words, you think about what you want students to have accomplished by the end of the unit, and plan your activities from there. Before thinking about what partners you may want to enlist, you should have these outcomes clearly identified. Use the following prompts to brainstorm:

What do you want students to learn?

What skills do you want them to gain?

Which standards do you want to work towards?

At the end of the project, how will you judge project success?

Step 2: Identify potential partners

Once you have your learning outcomes and topic(s) in mind, think about how these could be connected to your local community. Think about, and jot down ideas, for the following questions:

What are the big issues facing our community right now?

What are some places in our community that could connect to our topic(s)?

Who in our community might have an interest or stake in this topic(s)?

Based on this brainstorm, identify three specific potential individuals or groups that may have common goals related to your learning goals and topic(s). List them and their contact info in the chart on the next page.

Next, do some research about these potential partners. Perform an internet search and browse their website. Specifically, you want to learn about their mission, current projects, and any other information that may demonstrate a shared interest or opportunity to work together. (Not sure where to start? Check out our Lincoln County Resources Map)

For each potential partner you research, record:

Group/Organization:

Contact Name (if available) and e-mail:

Phone Number:

Notes (mission, current projects, opportunities,etc):

Step 3: Reach out

Now it’s time to contact some potential partners! You may choose to do this either via phone or email. You may find that some partners respond better to phone calls than to emails, or vice-versa. Choose whichever method you feel most comfortable with to communicate, and if you don’t receive a response within 1-2 weeks, try the other method.

By email: Draft your message in a Word document first so you can fix any typos and avoid accidentally sending an incomplete message.

• • Subject line: Provide a brief phrase related to the topic your students are working on – ideally, one related to their work (for example: wind energy on the Oregon coast).

  • Greeting: If you do not know the name of the person you’re contacting, begin the message with “To whom it may concern”. Otherwise, write “Dear (name)”, without any gender or title, unless you are certain of these.

  • Introduction: First introduce yourself, including your name, the name and location of your school, and what grade(s) and subject(s) you teach. Next explain your project: the topics your students are exploring and your learning goals. Then explain why you are contacting that particular person or organization, using the information you researched. Specifically state how their work is connected to your project. For example:

My students are interested in learning about how wind might be used to generate energy on the coast, and your company is manufacturing the devices being used to test wind energy production.

• • Ask: Next, state what type of involvement you are specifically seeking from this partner. Some examples may include: class speaker; field trip facilitator; consultant on projects; displaying or distributing student products; etc. If you’re not sure how you’d like this partner to be involved, offer some ideas. In either case, be sure to express willingness to work within the partner’s availability and capacity, i.e., Any level of involvement you can offer would be greatly appreciated!

  • Set a deadline: Finally, set some expectations for follow-up. Provide a timeline in which you would like to hear back from them. Also, provide your phone number with some times you can be reached and invite them to give you a call to discuss further.

By phone: This method of communication can be more intimidating for some people, but it can also be much more effective, because it gives you the opportunity to more quickly establish a relationship, ask and answer questions, and secure a potential partnership. Before you make your call, write a “script” you can follow with the following items. This will help give you confidence and talking points.

• • Introduce yourself: give your name, where you teach, and brief information about your class.

  • Explain your project: the topics your students are exploring and your learning goals.

  • Explain why you are contacting that particular person or organization, using the information you researched. Specifically state how their work is connected to your project.

  • Discuss specific ideas for how they could play a role in your project.

Below is a sample script with talking points that you can use or adapt:

“Hello, my name is _____________ and I’m calling from _________________ School where I teach ____________________. I will be teaching a unit on the topic of __________________ (this spring/next year/etc). My aim is for my students to meet their learning goals by working with professionals in our community. I would love to talk about how we might work together.

My students are interested in learning _________________, and your (company/organization/etc) seems to share some common goals, such as ______________________. I’m hoping you might be willing to ____________________ (ways that they could be involved with project).

I would also love if my students could help your organization meet its goals. Are there any ‘backburner’ projects which you simply haven’t had the time or resources to address which you could outsource to us?

Can you suggest any other local resources which I should know about for this topic?

If you’re willing to work with us can we discuss our potential partnership further, either via email (provide your email address) or could we schedule another phone call?”

Be sure to take notes during your conversation so you don’t forget what was discussed!

Step 4: Discuss and confirm partnership

You will need to clarify the goals and roles of your partnership over the course of several conversations. Be sure to take the time to have frank discussion about the following points:

• • Agree on and record common goals and outcomes

  • Discuss logistics and how exactly you will work together

  • Openly discuss what each party wants/needs to gain from the partnership

  • Honestly discuss what each party can contribute to the partnership

  • Establish the best methods and times to communicate

Once these points have been discussed, work with your partner to complete the Partnership Agreement on the Planning Tools page. Secure your partnership by having both parties sign the agreement. Print a copy for each party.

Step 5: Maintain and facilitate partnership

Once you’ve secured a willing community partner, it’s important you continually support and maintain that relationship. Here are some ways that you and your school can make your partner feel welcomed and appreciated:

• • Introduce your partner to the school faculty and staff

  • Be considerate of the time of day when you ask your partner to visit

  • Help partners navigate the school’s visitor policy and/or background checks, if necessary

  • Brief your partner on students’ educational levels and special needs

  • Respect your partner’s limitations regarding time, resources, etc.

It’s also important to work with your students to prepare them to interact respectfully and effectively with community partners. Here are some ways you can do so:

• • Brief students on how you wish students to behave and interact with partners

  • During visits, actively manage your class and help facilitate engagement

  • Have students write thank-you notes to partners after visits

  • For field trips, thoughtfully recruit chaperones who can help manage students and keep them on-task

  • Ask students to research your community partner’s field of work, and what it takes to work in that field. This will build empathy and understanding of the partner’s professional life.

It is vital that you keep clear lines of communication open with your community partners, so that both parties feel able to express what they need from the other. Often, community partners don’t fully understand the day-to-day demands and complications of working with students. Ask your partner to keep the following things in mind when working with you:

• • Teachers often cannot return calls or emails immediately. Plan ahead when it comes to communicating important information.

  • Ask for a list of the teacher’s classroom and school rules, and be respectful of them.

  • Learn about the educational and emotional needs of the students you’re working with.

  • Discuss your planned activities with teachers ahead of time to ensure they’re appropriate for the students’ skills and the teacher’s learning goals.

  • Recognize that classes often operate on strict schedules; try to work within the time limitations you’re given.

  • Students love learning about what it takes to be a professional in your field! Don’t be afraid to pause what you’re doing to answer students’ questions about your work, your education background, and what drove you to choose your career.

Many partners you approach may have never worked with teachers or students before, and may be nervous or unsure of how to do so. In this case, it could be useful to provide partners with a list of tips for working with your students. Use the "Tips for Community Members Who Come To My Classroom" handout on the Planning Tools page as a template, editing or adding your own items that relate specifically to your students as needed.

Step 6: Evaluate and reflect

In your Partnership Agreement, you should have chosen a date to review the project and the partnership. Both on this date and throughout the duration of the project, it’s important to reflect on the successes, challenges, and outcomes of the partnership.

Schedule a time after the project ends to have a reflective discussion with your community partner, and use the template below to guide conversation and record notes. Much of this template is informed by the Partnership Agreement, so be sure to have copies of this available.

How well did we achieve our partnership vision?

Did we meet our shared partnership goals?

Did the partner meet their goals?

Did the school/teacher meet their goals?

Did both parties perform all of the expected tasks?

Did we meet our timeline?

What were the biggest challenges we faced during this project? How did we address them?

What were our most memorable and impactful moments?

If we were to do this project again, what would we change?

What other opportunities for collaboration have we discovered or could we consider?

Step 7: Ensure longevity

When your students’ projects have ended, your partnerships don’t have to end too! Ideally, you have established a mutually beneficial relationship that can be utilized by both parties for years to come. Here are some ideas to maintain a connection between your school and your community partnerships:

• • Print copies of the Partnership Agreement, your Reflection notes, your planning pages, student materials, and any other useful material from your project. Put these items in a clearly labeled binder (for example, “Community Partnership Projects”) that can be kept in the school office, teacher lounge, or other central location for reference.

  • If student work doesn’t involve sharing projects with the rest of the school, be sure to let your colleagues know what you did. Take some time at a staff meeting to share details about your projects and partnerships, and how these benefited partners and students. If time allows you can even create a slideshow with pictures from the experience, to inspire your colleagues to try similar projects!

  • Ask students to write letters to your partner’s supervisor(s) or their organization’s main office, thanking the organization for their involvement, and sharing what the project meant to them.

  • Ask your community partner(s) if they have any other projects or collaboration ideas in mind. If any of these align with education standards or learning goals you’d like to address next semester/year, start the process of establishing a new project with them! If some of the partners’ ideas would be more relevant for other teachers at your school, connect them, and help the other teacher(s) establish their own partnership.

  • If no new project plans are immediately established, check in with your partner at the beginning of the next school year to see if they are interested in working together again.

Questions? Comments? Need more support?

Contact the Oregon Coast Aquarium Teacher Programs Manager at sara.shawroberts@aquarium.org.

Many of the materials in this guide were adapted from documents provided by the Cottonwood School of Civics and Science in Portland, OR. Check out their amazing place-based programs at the link above!