Communication

Communication is a particular area of emphasis in my campaign. Last year, as a part of my principal licensure program, I conducted action research into the impact of parental communication on student achievement. Here's the gist: We have long known that the more parents are engaged with their child's school, the better that child does. And not all communication is created equal: When teachers and administrators engage with parents in a personal, conversational manner, this elicits greater achievement than when the communication is one-sided, for example, in a e-mail blast or a Remind text.

With that in mind, I'd like to see us increase the communication that takes place between the school and the parent community and that very much starts at the top, with our Board of Education. As I've engaged with our current Board of Education, there seems to be a disconnect between the communication that is being provided (or the lack thereof) and what parents expect. In the age of digital media, it's easier than ever to communicate! Our BOE should be using every outlet possible to keep the community informed, going beyond the newspaper announcements of BOE meetings required by the Sunshine Law. We have active and engaged online communities via Facebook, Twitter, and NextDoor that we should leverage to get the word out about what is going on with the BOE! I would advocate the following communication strategies:

• A certified BOE presence on major social media (Facebook, Twitter, NextDoor)
• A clear answer about the ability for constituents to send emails to the BOE and expectations for responses
• A BOE Public Comment policy that respects that the residents of Chesterfield have important ideas, and that their opinions have value.
• Use of Parent, Student, and Community Liaisons to communicate with specific subsets of our population
• "Coffee with the Principal" events so that administration can better put their finger on the pulse of the school community
• The expectation of a website "presence" by all of our Chesterfield educators

Moreover, I want Chesterfield families to feel like the members of the Board of Education are there to listen. Board members should be responsive to the community, not defensive. In order to change the climate of the school board, we have to elect individuals such as myself who see value in listening to the needs/wants/opinions of the community and who are invested in engaging in a productive dialogue.