Recognizing Community Partners in Your Schools

Every Partners In Education program relishes the big business that starts a community engagement initiative by choosing to work with local schools. These same programs; however, tend to skip over smaller partners. The partners that work with one or a few schools or provide one resource (like school supplies) on an ongoing basis can be repeat donors, but never get the recognition they truly deserve. That’s a missed opportunity.

The truth is that there are lots more partners in this second category and keeping track of them and encouraging them to continue and perhaps become more engaged with your schools is an objective you should strive to meet. Ask your schools what organizations or businesses are making small donations. Did they receive an acknowledgment? Or are they falling through the partner cracks because your schools have not shared how long or how much the partner donated over the years??

Making changes in how you handle your smaller partners begins with communication. If you don't compile a list of partners across your district it is hard to reach out to all of them for announcements and upcoming events. It's also hard to keep them informed about what schools need. Suppose you want to contact partners working in one of your district-wide programs, like STEM. Hosting a centralized database with this information aids in reaching out every month, once a semester, or yearly.

Categorizing partners by school, program, or industry and sending creative (and informative emails) that include current school requests improves this communication and engagement level as well. Do you know how much each partner has donated to your schools in terms of supplies, professional development, or volunteer time? When partners are involved in volunteering do you track how many show up and what they actually do? Keeping track of these outcomes assists with celebrating their contributions at the end of the school year. Everyone wants to be appreciated. To show your appreciation in a meaningful and informed manner means your district needs to track who is partnering with your schools and in what ways.