Syllabus

Master of Science in Education

EDU 706: School-Community Relations & Communications

Credits - 3

Description

An effective educational leader promotes the success of all students by communicating the learning community’s vision, policies, and successes to staff, students, parents, community, decision-makers, legislators, and media. This course provides 80 hours of field-based work, in which aspiring leaders will develop a plan to build and maintain partnerships with multiple constituent groups within the community in a way that positively impacts the education of students. Before registration can be made available for this course, students must complete all of the required internship paperwork. Please contact your Student Support Specialist for details.

 

Materials

Learning Objectives and Outcomes

This course is aligned with Standard 8 of the Professional Standards for Education Leaders 2015.

Students will:

• Integrate the concepts and skills from various prior learning experiences and focus them to meet Standard 8 of the Professional Standards for Education Leaders 2015.
• Apply the knowledge and skills acquired through coursework and previous experience to authentic school leadership settings and situations.
• Plan, organize, coordinate, direct, and evaluate how schools engage families and the community in meaningful, reciprocal, and mutually beneficial ways to promote each student’s academic success and well-being.
• Plan and implement solutions to educational issues related to family and community engagement.
• Communicate and work with various education stakeholders in order to promote the academic success and well-being of all students.
• Explain the importance of understanding, appreciation, and use of the community’s diverse cultural, social, and intellectual resources as a way of leading successful schools.
• Use the tools of technology, research and data, and community resources to showcase how to effectively engage families and the community in meaningful, reciprocal, and mutually beneficial ways to promote each student’s academic success and well-being.

Assignments

Discussion Forum: Students will respond to whole-class discussion questions each week that will provide an opportunity to think about broader issues related to the field experience, and to share ideas/insights with the other students in the course.

Field-Based Experience Journal/Log: As part of the 80-hour field-based experience, students must document and record all activities in the “Field-Based Experience Journal/Log.” Each week students will post a 1­ – 2 paragraph summary of their field experience activity for the week as well as any reflections and insights about the week’s activities. The journal/log will be submitted in Week 2 for feedback from the instructor and will be submitted in entirety for grading in Week 7.

Leadership Project Progress Report: Students will write up a status report which provides a summary of the project, the tasks that have been accomplished, the tasks that are in progress, the tasks that are yet to be completed, the risks that may challenge the project, and any support needed from the mentor or instructor.

Leadership Project Summary: Students will reflect on the success of their field-based experience and in meeting the goals set in their Leadership Proposal. 

**The University of New England provides students, staff, and faculty with free access to RefWorks, a fantastic tool for collecting and managing references and making style-correct citations. Access the tool through the link in Course Resources. For instructions and tutorials in setting up your account and getting started, visit http://success.une.edu/blackboard-support/refworks/.

Grading Policy

Your grade in this course will be determined by the following criteria:

Grade Breakdown

Assignments	Points
Discussion Boards (4 @ 6 points each, 1 @ 3 points, 1 @ 8 points)	35
Leadership Project Progress Report	15
Field Experience Journal/Log (week 7 submission)	25
Leadership Project Summary	25
Total Points	100

Grade Scale

Grade	Points Grade	Point Average (GPA)
A	94 – 100%	4.00
A-	90 – 93%	3.75
B+	87 – 89%	3.50
B	84 – 86%	3.00
B-	80 – 83%	2.75
C+	77 – 79%	2.50
C	74 – 76%	2.00
C-	70 – 73%	1.75
D	64 – 69%	1.00
F	00 – 63%	0.00