COMMUNITY SUPPORT



A key component of a successful Technology Plan is building financial and moral support. Increasingly, public and private organizations are interested in assisting schools with funding and implementing technology programs. Once you have developed your Technology Plan, it is a good idea to have a strategy in place for creating public awareness and garnering community support. This section is designed to direct you toward the creation of a campaign which will maximize community support.

Meeting Conducted by: Steering Subcommittee Member
Meeting Attended by: Technology Planning Committee, Funding and Community Liaison Subcommittee

Sample Agenda (Estimated Time Required: 1 hour)
Suggested "Getting Support for the Plan" Meeting Preparations (Steering Subcommittee)

Proposed Action Items (Technology Planning Committee)

Proposed Action Items (Funding and Community Liaison Subcommittee)



Helpful Resources


Appendix:


Online Resources:


OVERVIEW

(Slide 1)

During the past five sessions you have discussed the various elements of a successful Technology Plan and the means to develop this plan.

In this session you will discuss the approach you will use to get support and funding for your plan once it has been documented. Support for the plan must be well established and understood within the community. Unless you first gain the community's support, you may lose valuable time promoting the plan after you have received your desired funding.


BUILDING SUPPORT

(Slide 2)

1. Demonstrating the plan's benefits: In order to gain firm community support, you need to be prepared to demonstrate how technologies can enhance instruction and, perhaps, reduce administrative costs.

2. Leveraging: You can start by explaining that, unlike many funds which benefit individual school programs, dollars spent on networks can be leveraged across many school programs.

Libraries and library programs will benefit by having the ability to bring new information resources into the school. More importantly, networks allow librarians and media specialists to share such electronic services as online catalogs throughout their community, thus making efficient use of the shrinking dollars available to them.

Instructional activities are enhanced as the Internet provides access to scientists and scientific data located all over the world. Students interested in almost any scientific area of study or work can gather and exchange information with one another and with working practitioners.

Additional benefits for teachers and students can be derived from communicating with others living in different cultures and with those involved in different social issues. Access to the Internet can break down the walls of your classrooms and bring your teachers and students within a keystroke of the people and places of interest to a diverse student population.

Teachers, librarians, administrators, and other support staff in your schools can also benefit from access to networks and networked information. The ability to communicate with peers and experts in almost any educational specialty is one benefit of Internet access. Staff can be mentored and share ideas on content and teaching methods.

A solid network infrastructure will also assist the administrative staff with its communications and reporting tasks. Staff reminders and updates can be quickly distributed throughout the school, just as the teaching and support staff can conveniently provide input to the school and district offices.

3. Leveraging beyond school programs: Finally, it is important to remember that access to your networked resources can be extended to the community outside of the school walls. Many members of your community may be willing to pay a subscription fee for dial-up access to the Internet or other online resources made available through your library or other school programs.


INVOLVING THE COMMUNITY

(Slide 3)

1. Parent involvement: Parents are probably the most important advocates for a Technology Plan. If the parents in a community want something to happen in their schools, they will make it happen. Provide them with enough information about what you are trying to achieve so they can see that the implementation of the plan is critical to your children's education and the effective management of your school.

2. Business involvement: Local businesses can also be important advocates for your plan. They can lend credibility to its viability by explaining that you are providing access to tools and technologies students will need in order to have gainful employment after graduation. Businesses can also be important sources of technical expertise in ensuring that the plan, once implemented, will be functional. In some instances they may even be a source of funding for your project.

3. Community liaison: As you go about garnering support for your plan, you might want to assign an individual to operate as a community liaison or spokesperson. Parties interested in knowing about the plan will have a single point of contact for further information. A liaison is especially useful when dealing with local press and other highly visible and vocal organizations. By ensuring that interested community members get answers to their questions, you will go far toward promoting an image of organization and commitment. When you assign a liaison, the community is also assured of receiving a single message about your goals and objectives. The liaison may be able to bring funders together in a fashion that allows them to cooperate in providing monies toward the project.

Considerations for Rural Communities

(Slide 4 - optional; for rural communities)

1. Fewer local resources: Rural communities may face particular challenges in finding local sources of funding, especially in the form of businesses in their community that are large enough to adequately assist the school community with such a major undertaking. And rural communities may not have access to local businesses or institutions that can contribute their technical expertise to your project.

2. Non-local partnerships: Partnerships outside the local area may provide the funding and expertise traditionally available only to non- rural communities. Most levels of government, as well as large federally funded institutions may be interested in assisting rural communities with overcoming their unique obstacles. Rural communities represent an important aspect of the general population which some of these organizations serve. Therefore, the organizations are often interested in promoting the use of technology in rural areas as part of a general recognition that access to technology, including network technology and resources, may provide a critical component to the continued economic viability of a rural area.

Large businesses which don't have a presence in your immediate community may also be interested in supporting your efforts. Network technology vendors may be interested in creating pilots which demonstrate how their products can be of benefit to rural schools and communities. Also, busineses in industries other than high technology may be interested in promoting rural communities in an effort to ensure that their contributions to schools and communities remain as equitable toward all segments of the general population as possible.



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This NASA K-12 Internet Initiative Web page was last updated on May 30, 1996.