School Committee Considering New Ways To Engage Parents & Community Members

WILMINGTON, MA — The Wilmington School Committee’s Family Engagement & Communication Subcommittee recently held its first meeting. Member Jennifer Bryson provided an update on the subcommittee’s work at this month’s School Committee Meeting.

Bryson highlighted three new initiatives the subcommittee is suggesting the School Committee launch this school year:

• Utilize Facebook, An E-Newsletter & Other More Modern Communication Methods: The Committee wants to make sure people are well aware of what’s going on in the district. The Committee also wants to become more intentional with the way it communicates with the public. The Committee is considering creating a Facebook page (not a Facebook group), noting the SEPAC has had success informing the public with its Facebook page, as has individual members with campaign pages during election season.
• Institute School Committee Coffee Hours: The Committee would pick a topic (e.g., budget, school improvement plans) and invite parents and members of the community to share their thoughts. Feedback and ideas gathered from the coffee hours would then be brought back to the larger committee for consideration.
• Invite Donors To Meetings & Always Send Thank You Cards: The Subcommittee would like to see the School Committee become more systematic and consistent about thanking donors. Sometimes donors are invited when the committee votes to accept donations; sometimes they’re not. The Subcommittee noted the meetings are a good opportunity for the donor to take a few minutes to highlight their community group or business’s giving program.

The Subcommittee also discussed possibly moving the “Public Comments” portion of the School Committee meetings. It’s currently towards the very end of the meeting, which audience members may not be able to sit through. The last School Committee Meeting, for example, lasted 2.5 hours.

The Subcommittee would also like to see School Committee members have more of a presence at events throughout the district, including Open Houses, Concerts, Sporting Events, and Plays.

The Subcommittee, which consists of Jennifer Bryson, Julie Broussard and Tom Talbot, will be scheduling another meeting to further discuss these ideas and more soon.

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