Improving Long-Term School-Community Relations on Behalf of Case Study

improving long-term school-community relations on behalf of Bay Meadows High: Interest-based negotiation, community service programs, and student on-loan positions. Two strategies for improving short-term school-community relations will also be presented: Monthly summit meetings, and job shadowing.

Interest-based negotiation. The first approach is an overarching strategy that will facilitate the development and implementation of the other strategies. Interest-based negotiation is an approach to mediating the disparate interests of, typically, disputing parties. However, like most negotiation strategies, interest-based negotiation has application beyond the courtroom, the mediation center, the corporate meeting room, or the property line fence of two backyards. Interest-based negotiation begins with the premise that the parties participating in a disagreement -- whether formal or informal -- bring to the table interests that are particular to their perspective. Unlike conventional negotiation strategies -- where the goals of each side are not disclosed in order to reduce vulnerability to strategic negotiation by the opposing side -- interest-based negotiation functions best when both parties know and understand the goals of the other party.

Application of interest-based negotiation to this case resides in the concerns that schools often have regarding community support and, particularly, community support of bond campaigns, property taxation, business involvement and support -- plus, perhaps less directly, legislative policy and budget allocations. Often, educational policy mandates are underfunded, leaving schools and districts hard pressed to meet their statutory obligations.Community support, which may be fiscal or take the form of volunteers for programs, say, can make all the difference to program success and the motivation of teachers, students, and administrators. As the school board considers how to attain its primary long-term and short-term goals for the year, it would do well to consider how each may be impacted by an action plan based on interest-based negotiation strategy. For instance, the long-term goal of creating a safe learning environment for students translates easily into an interest of community members -- creating safe neighborhoods, entertainment venues, and business districts. The school environment is essentially a component of the community -- a community made safer for its inhabitants is likely to be associated with schools that are made safer for students. A wide range of mutually satisfying activities can be built on this mutual symbiotic relationship. The Safe Schools / Safe Streets campaign is an existing model of just such an interest-based platform.

Community Service Programs. The idea of students providing service to their communities as a required component of the curriculum is not new, however, some schools and districts implement such programs better than others. It is easiest to operate a community service program in college,….....