EDEL 626: The School and Community Relations.
Prerequisites: None
Credit Hours: (3)
Students will develop understandings of the principles and practices of human relations
within schools. The course includes research and best practices in school public relations
programs, development of mutual school and community understandings, public participation
in planning school programs and services, cooperative activities with appropriate
community groups, and the relationship of school administrators and staff. Students
will analyze their leadership skills, and their beliefs, values, actions and their
potential impact upon all stakeholders. Students will apply course content to the
examination of changing demographic populations, change processes, and the impact
of change on all aspects of school and community.
Detailed Description of Content of Course
This course will focus on the vital role of developing positives relations within
the community in which the school resides. Topics include:
1. School Climate
2. Schools and their communities
3. A model for human relations in the workplace
4. Elements of communication
5. Communicating with the school’s internal publics
6. Communicating with the school’s external publics
7. Group processing and consensus-building skills
8. Conflict resolution and problem-solving skills
9. Aligning community vision for school with school vision and with district vision
for schools
10. Developing a school relations and community relations plan
11. Analyzing district power structures and services
12. Working with diversity
13. Communicating in writing
14. Working with the news media
15. Establishing school-business partnerships
16. Evaluating a total school relations and school-community relations plan
Detailed Description of Conduct of Course
Course readings will serve as a primary content basis for in-class discussions. Case
studies and role-plays will be used in conjunction with material related to issues
involving the school and its community. Twenty hours of structured field experiences
with on-site mentor principals and/or supervisors will also be required for completion
of the course and will be discussed in class. A variety of written and/or oral assignments
(research reviews, reflective writings, narrative responses, journals, formal papers,
book-talks) will be used along with inventories to help students formulate their leadership
styles and to develop an understanding of leadership in school community relations
in diverse communities. Group and individual tasks will be used to process and reinforce
information/skills and for class sharing. Lectures by the instructor are utilized
to supplement and reinforce course readings.
Goals and Objectives of the Course
The goals, objectives, and assignments in this class address standards specified in
Regulations Governing the Review and Approval of Education Programs in Virginia, Administration
and Supervision PreK-12 and the National Educational Leadership Preparation standards.
The student will:
1. Demonstrate the capacity to collaboratively engage diverse families in strengthening student learning in and out of school.
2. Demonstrate the capacity to collaboratively engage and cultivate relationships with diverse community members, partners, and other constituencies for the benefit of school improvement and student development.
3. Demonstrate the capacity to communicate through oral, written, and digital means within the larger organizational, community, and political contexts when advocating for the needs of their school and community.
4. Demonstrate knowledge, understanding, and application of the conditions and dynamics impacting a diverse school community, including:
5. Demonstrate knowledge, understanding, and application of basic leadership theories
and influences that impact schools including the ability to identify and respond to
internal and external forces and influences on a school.
6. Demonstrate necessary knowledge of effective communication skills including consensus
building, negotiation, and mediation skills.
7. Demonstrate necessary knowledge, understanding and application of the purpose of
education and the role of professionalism in advancing educational goals (VAS e).
Assessment Measures
All instructors of the course will assess students in the following ways:
Additionally, instructors may choose additional assessment measures from the following to assess learning in the course:
Other Course Information
None
Approval and review dates
February 2000
2/27/09 reviwed and modified William Flora
May 5, 2022