by Opal Minott

Created on: November 22, 2009   Last Updated: November 23, 2009

Ways Teachers can engage local Communities to Support Schools.

There are copious ways by which local communities can support the school and teachers can take steps capitalise on these. Teachers can best accomplish this through an organized approach. Stakeholders within the community can affiliate themselves to associations and societies, such as the Parent Teacher association and Friendly Societies attached to the school. These voluntary organisations can launch fund raising drives for the procurement and maintenance of up to date, state of the art equipment and other fixed assets for the best possible instructional technology within the school. These registered associations can enjoy the benefits accorded to non-profit organisation such as tax exemption and zero rated import duties.

Community interests groups such as service clubs (for example Optimist International and Kiwanis) can enlisted by the teachers for volunteer services from their members. These could include repairing, maintenance and upgrading of the physical facilities of the school. They can also make a contribution through the organisation and ongoing regulation of school service clubs such as Key Club, for the development of civic consciousness among the students. Through extracurricular activities they can offer coaching, personal development, and mentorship for students. The contributions of these interest groups should be well coordinated to prevent duplicating roles and services provided.

The teachers can also propose that the local community support the school through collaboration of the security forces, citizens and the school, for protection of faculty and students of the school. There can be neighbourhood watches which emphasize school safety and a reporting system on any questionable activity close to the school or its pupils. Officers of the security force can make frequent and ongoing visits to establish a presence and to impart valuable information on self defence and safety tips for protecting one's self from abduction or other forms of attack or assault. They can also disseminate information on how to obtain assistance in times of crisis.

All the various occupational and professional groups within the community can be invited to support the school by hosting appropriate expositions on the various careers. They can share experiential knowledge about their particular profession, such, as the entry qualification, the salary scale, fringe benefits, upward mobility and job satisfaction.

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