Effective Communication Skills for CPF Members

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Effective Communication Skillsfor CPF Members
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Effective Communication

• Purpose
• To improve the effectiveness of parent
• communications with educators, school
• trustees and school board staff.

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Why are you here?

• The brain starts working the moment you are
  born.
• and never stops until you stand up and speak in
  public.
• -Anonymous

Easy reading is damned hard writing.
-Anonymous
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Do We Have Issues?

• Think about the issues we commonly face with FSL
  learning
• Well build the issues list today

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One Leg At A Time!

• Complex issues need to be approached in a logical
  fashion.
• You must know how the issue inter-relates to the
  whole
• Taking on the octopus is done - one leg at a time

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School Board 101
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School Board 101

• School boards in Ontario are governed by the
  Education Act
• Staff and trustee roles are also defined in
  legislation
• You need to determine the sphere of influence
• You also need to influence both the political and
  the administrative sides of the table

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School Board Structure
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School Trustees

• Elected every four years
• Member of the School Board
• Looks to Board staff for advice
• Represents the public interest
• Accountable to the Ministry of Education under
  the Ontario Public School Boards Act and the
  Education Act

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Director of Education

• The connection between the administration and
  political levels
• Secretary to the School Board (does not vote) and
  also a member of staff
• Ensures that School Board follows Ministry
  procedures

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Superintendents

• Board employee
• Executive staff member
• Represent a group of schools and/or a number of
  Board program areas
• Program, Operational or School Superintendents

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Principals

• Managerial level
• Immediate supervisor of teaching staff at their
  school
• Responsible for budget, hiring, health safety,
  implementing policy, behaviour and liability
• All certified teachers
• Report directly to their superintendent of
  schools

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Curriculum Consultants

• Board employee
• Responsible for delivery of curriculum
• Teachers/union members
• Provide training and direct support to teachers
• Have a budget for their program

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School Councils

• Parent representatives of individual schools
• Can make motions to School Boards which must be
  responded to
• Vary in effectiveness, cohesion

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French ImmersionAdvisory Committees

• Important means of exchanging ideas
• Board staff, principals, teachers, students,
  parents special interest groups
• Meet regularly and pass concerns onto other Board
  departments and trustees
• Influence policy and make recommendations to the
  Board

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The Sphere of Influence
Classroom Teacher Group of Teachers Lead
Teacher Program Parents School Principal/VP Relate
d Schools Superintendent Schools Local
Trustee(s) Superintendent Program FLAC Board of
Education Ministry of Education
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The Sphere of Influence
Many people in this sphere can be very helpful.
Understanding how to get the support you need
from the right person or group is a key to
success.
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General Advocacy Tips
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Advocacy Exercise

• Identify key facts you need to find
• Identify key questions you need to answer.
• Brainstorm ideas to obtain these answers.
• Who to contact
• Where to look
• How to generate additional data

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Setting the Groundwork

• Consensus among Chapters
• Networking get to know your trustees and school
  staff at meetings and other opportunities
• Do Time attend board meetings and workshops
  to build relationships
• Collect info read newspapers, read web sites

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Research

• Plan out things you believe you will need such as
  numbers, trends or policies
• Divide up expertise so that each person becomes
  the source of information for each topic
• Resources CPF web sites, Ministry of Education,
  local library, city hall, board web site, even
  other provincial web sites

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Interviews Surveys

• Talk to people and document what you find
• Interview trustee, superintendent, parents,
  board staff, students
• Survey students, parents
• Surveys need to be fairly large (200) and
  carefully prepared

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Visuals

• Can be very useful
• Create simple, large, high impact visuals if they
  can make your point more clear
• Graphs, charts, etc need to be easy to read

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Petitions

• Can be a dangerous tool
• Sets a tone of negativity, which may not be
  necessary
• Use with caution

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Writing Techniques
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Written Submissions

• Acknowledge past support positively
• Outline the problem and use real examples of
  consequences
• Always present a solution

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Tips

• Be concise and factual
• Dont be emotional
• Make sure written communication is perfect have
  someone else proof it

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Presentation Techniques
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School Board Meetings

• Getting on the agenda
• What happens at a meeting
• Rules of procedure
• Role of a delegation

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Presentations

• Its all in the preparation!
• Pick one or two key points and make sure they are
  clearly expressed
• Think of questions and concerns in advance and
  try to address them up-front

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Strength in Numbers

• Communicate through websites, (CPF/school),
  email, newsletters
• Stronger turn-outs at Board meetings get better
  results
• Use visual tactics (colours, stickers, etc.) to
  identify your supporters

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Avoiding Sweaty Palms

• Practice
• Dress the part
• Body language, eye contact
• Voice modulation, speed
• Fielding questions

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Successful Presentations

• Outline the problem
• Request a specific action from the Board (report
  from staff etc.)
• Be brief
• Submit a written handout for the Board to refer
  to
• Be prepared for questions