School districts across the state are facing unprecedented challenges such as housing shortages, lack of adequate childcare, and declining enrollments and changing demographics. Many of these challenges are outside of the district’s direct control but contribute significantly to the challenges of operating the district. Schools in these communities are not simply places of education. In many cases, they are community centers, safe spaces for kids, and the unifying element of culture in the community. As such an integral part of our cities and villages, the viability of the school district is inextricably tied to the viability of community. How then do we address the challenges at hand? The Board Leadership team wants to support your district and community through a custom designed, collaborative, community-wide planning initiative that identifies the most pressing challenges of your community, and how those challenges affect the internal environment of the school district. 

Customized to fit the needs of the community and school district together, the Community Alignment process uses comprehensive engagement to discover local data to inform mutually beneficial solutions and galvanize collective development. The challenges facing our schools and communities are not readily solvable as single entities. A collaborative effort to address these common challenges not only improves the quality of solutions but builds the capacity of the community to work collaboratively, better integrates the school district into the community, and transforms school board members into true community leaders.