Engaging With Your School’s Community: 5 Strategies

Your school is part of an interconnected community comprising parents and guardians, community organizations and institutions, businesses, and more. If your school isn’t taking advantage of this web of connections that’s right at your fingertips, you’re likely missing out on opportunities to expand your offerings, execute exciting school fundraising ideas, and enhance student learning.

Families and community members typically want to feel connected to local schools, but busy schedules and administrative strain on educators make it hard to spark and sustain those relationships. In this guide, we’ll share actionable strategies for engaging your community and fostering long-term connections.

Form a dedicated team

Put together a team to be responsible for:

• Identifying opportunities (e.g., a new business with shared values, like an independent bookstore).
• Reaching out to potential connections or asking for introductions from existing members of your network.
• Pitching opportunities to collaborate.
• Developing and promoting involvement opportunities.
• Serving as the point of contact for these connections.

While this team’s size and specific roles will vary, consider designating a staff member with experience in communication-related areas like marketing, PR, or media relations to lead. This ensures communications remain consistent with your school’s standards and voice.

Host events with community organizations.

Partnerships with community groups or businesses should be mutually beneficial. You gain access to valuable resources and student opportunities, and the partnering organization is able to enhance its reputation, brand awareness, and talent pipeline. Here are some fun and strategic community event ideas:

• Resource fairs: Work with local nonprofits, libraries, or health providers to share important information in a convenient setting. The organizations can highlight their knowledge and resources, and your school will be known as a hub for community support. 
• Cultural events: Embrace the arts through partnerships with local arts and culture organizations. This could be a workshop event at a local dance studio or a joint production with a community theater.
• Community nights: Organize community nights that combine fun and learning. For example, say your town has a small museum with thorough exhibits about local history. You might have students study the history and attend the museum for a competitive trivia night and guided tour.

When working with businesses, consider pitching a corporate partnership. As Double the Donation explains, these partnerships are a type of corporate giving in which a business collaborates with mission-driven organizations to benefit both groups. Formalizing the partnership allows you to establish clear expectations, promote future collaboration, and negotiate unique benefits (e.g., a mentorship program with employees from a tech company for STEM students).

Coordinate community service projects.

Don’t just focus on what you can get from your community. Look for ways to give back, too. Organize school-wide volunteer initiatives that benefit the community and teach students the importance of doing good. 

First, reach out to local nonprofits and agencies like your community’s parks and recreation department. Work with these organizations’ leaders to identify opportunities that align with community needs. Then, organize events like:

• Neighborhood or park clean-ups
• Food drives
• Meal delivery or services (e.g., mowing grass, changing lightbulbs) for seniors 
• Community gardening initiatives
• After-school clubs or peer tutoring programs

Plan and share a few service projects at a time so students, staff, and their families can sign up for the ones that best fit their interests and schedules. Take plenty of pictures and track metrics you can share with your community to highlight the positive impact your school is making.

Offer clear pathways for involvement.

Not every parent or guardian has the time and bandwidth to be president of the PTA or attend every after-school event. However, they still want (and deserve) to be involved in their child’s education.

To drive more community connection, give everyone the chance to participate in school life by offering many varied pathways for involvement. Here are a few tips for providing more equitable and accessible opportunities:

• Prioritize flexibility. Offer flexible volunteering options that can accommodate non-traditional schedules or meet unique needs. This might include virtual, after-hours, and micro-volunteering opportunities. For instance, virtual volunteers might share school news or fundraising campaigns on their personal social media pages.
• Consider different strengths and interests. Managing your school’s bake sale booth won’t be every parent or guardian’s preferred way to support your school. Some would rather help kindergarteners sound out words, offer classroom support, or pitch in at extracurricular events. Try to think outside the box, considering both your needs as well as diverse interests.
• Seek out feedback. Invite families to provide input on school initiatives through surveys or listening sessions. Ask them how they feel about your current pathways to involvement. Are they aware of all of them, or do you need a better promotional strategy? Are there opportunities that aren’t working well, or do they have ideas for new ones?
• Reward effort and dedication. Have any particularly driven or dedicated volunteers? Don’t let their good deeds go unnoticed. Show that you value their support by rewarding them with leadership opportunities, such as serving on school councils or committees.

However, recognition shouldn’t be limited to those with the most volunteer hours. Frequently acknowledge and thank each volunteer, highlighting the specific things they’ve done to help your school and its students. 

5. Boost awareness and school spirit.

Brand awareness encapsulates how familiar an audience is with a brand. While your school isn’t a brand in the traditional sense, it still has many of the same elements: core values, a mission, a voice, and consistent visuals (logo, colors, etc.). Increasing awareness and recognition of this brand or identity keeps you at the top of community members’ minds, cementing your school as a community fixture and making your campaigns more effective.

Selling custom merchandise can check multiple important items off your community engagement to-do list, such as raising funds and cultivating pride in your school. As Bonfire’s guide to creating custom merch highlights, these campaigns can benefit your school by:

• Providing an additional revenue stream
• Enhancing brand awareness and recognition
• Forging stronger connections with supporters
• Offering a cost-effective marketing channel (i.e., people become walking billboards when they wear your merch)

Additionally, these benefits can stretch far into the future. One of your staff or a student’s family member might wear their school t-shirt or carry their custom tote bag for the next ten years, serving as a small but meaningful reminder of your place in the community.

Strengthening your school’s connection with families and community organizations doesn’t have to require major investments of time or money. Instead, approach these potential collaborative relationships with intentionality and creativity. Whether you organize a service project or an awareness campaign, these strategies can help you build a strong network that provides excellent experiences to students.