Inviting the local neighbourhood into the school community might be a daunting task for many school administrators. Even if they put a lot of effort into one particular event or activity, results may not meet expectations, reinforcing the existing belief that families and community don’t want to be part of education. Time is wasted; frustration is high. Why would this be the case?
For decades, schools and local communities have been separated, interacting with each other only on ‘as needed’ basis. It takes more than individual efforts to change this attitude. To nurture an understanding of innovative educational practices among community members and form relationships, schools need to treat community engagement as an important educational strategy. In other words, they need to make the engagement a priority.
