Community Engagement
Any changes to school boundaries should be preceded by an effective community engagement process that elicits feedback from all stakeholders, including parents, educators, and community members. Strategic and authentic community engagement can build buy-in and support for change. Our community engagement efforts focus on clarity, transparency, equity, inclusivity, and growth. We strive to learn from district leaders and community constituents what is important to them and their children. We then center our efforts on how we can equitably solve problems for communities through data-informed planning work. The communications strategy may include the following key elements:
- Focus groups
- Open houses
- Parent surveys
- Communication materials (e.g., key messages, fact sheets, posters/flyers, and FAQs)
- Website content
- Direct mail
- Social media
- Email/enewsletter
- Generating press coverage
- Decision announcement
We also have partnerships with communications firms across the country who understand the local communities and can help create tailored communications for your community. One of our local partners based in New Orleans, Louisiana, is The Hawthorne Agency, Inc. They led the community engagement efforts for two of our redistricting projects for the New Orleans City Council and the Orleans Parish School Board. The community engagement process is described on the redistricting engagement portal for Orleans Parish School Board. The portal includes links to the live recordings of the community engagement sessions and a timeline of engagement. To learn more about The Hawthorne Agency, please visit their website.