FOR SCHOOLS - It's Enrollment Time

As I mentioned in my last blog posting, I want to give you a taste of what you will learn at my upcoming seminar.  Today, I'm writing about a topic that causes lots of stress for many schools - ENROLLMENT.

This week I also have a SPECIAL OFFER FOR MY UPCOMING SEMINAR:

PAY WHAT YOU CAN 

OR

MAKE A DOWN PAYMENT 

Really, I mean it.  You don't really know what you're going to get unless you've already attended one of my seminars.  I'm literally taking 10 years of what I've learned and documented and sharing it. 

Plus, I love helping small organizations, and I don't want money to be a barrier to getting all that I'm offering.  When you're raking in the dough later on, you can send me another check if you want.  

WHEN YOU ACTUALLY EXPERIENCE WHAT I HAVE PLANNED, I trust you will think it's one of the best workshops you've ever attended.  I know, because that's what many attendees have told me in the past.  

To find out more or to register and take advantage of this special offer, click on the following: 

www.alineaconnect.com

www.deblukovich.blogspot.com

My YouTube Channel 

Now, on to today's topic! 

It's That Time of Year Again - STUDENT ENROLLMENT 

The most requested item my school clients ask for help with is STUDENT ENROLLMENT.

• Charter schools that are getting off the ground spend a lot of time developing their curriculum, but without enough students, they won't have the budget they need to fully implement their unique approach.  Often times, the new charter school is seen as a threat to the existing public schools, so being strategic is very important.  In addition, the whole concept of a charter school is confusing and sometimes carries a lot of negative baggage.  When my clients hire me, I can pretty much guarantee that if they use my approach, they will not only achieve their enrollment goal; they will achieve it ahead of schedule. 

• Public schools that are losing students to other districts or voucher schools are not used to having to promote their schools and woo families.  There was a time when students just showed up to the local public school for kindergarten and didn't leave until they graduated from high school.  Student enrollment can be very competitive, especially in urban areas where there is a lot of expertimentation happening with different types of schools 

• Private and Religious schools have been losing students over the past decade or so due to changing demographics and economics.  Some religious and private schools have tried to fill in the gap by participating in the school choice program, which means low-income families are allowed to attend their school and a portion of the money that the public school recieves to educate that child goes to the private or religious school.  While this is a good option for some families, these schools have had to redefine who they are and how they will meet the needs of a more diverse student population.  They struggle with communicating their mission and approach to the wider community.  

Key to Achieving Enrollment Goals - Two-Part Formula 

The key to achieving your enrollment goal is two-fold.  

The FIRST STEP is actually alinea's formula for effective community engagement = STORY + DIRECTION = RELATIONSHIPS.  You must NOT panic and use the "spray and pray" approach.  The more you are clear on which students are most likely to succeed at your school, the more effective you will be in attracting those students.  It doesn't feel intuitive, but the smaller and more defined your niche, the more prospects you will attract, because you are speaking directly to them instead of to everybody.  Hopefully, you've developed a professional case statement so you're clear on how to communicate your story. 

The SECOND STEP is to understand the formula for an effective student enrollment strategy = OUTREACH + CONSTANT FOLLOWUP UNTIL YOU GET A YES OR NO + RELATIONSHIP CULTIVATION.  

While it's tempting to want to spend what little resources you have on things like billboards, advertising, fancy videos and other expensive marketing items (you will actually be encouraged to do so), you will not get as big of return as with good old fashioned grassroots organizing - connecting with people on a personal basis.

I know this personally.  I was the first founding board member of a charter school in urban Milwaukee.  When we developed our enrollment plan, we assumed we'd have to GO TO WHERE THE PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS ARE.  It's kind of arrogant to assume that when you're opening a new school students will just find you.  Those families don't know you.  We held block parties and offered food, beverages, kids' games.  The founder and a group of volunteers stood outside gas stations and grocery stores.  We even borrowed an ice cream truck, and gave away popsicles just to get attention.  We'd talk to the kids, tell them about the school and why we thought it was cool and then we asked where they lived.  Then the enrollment team (lots of volunteers and our early family enrollees) went door to door, asking to talk with parents about the  new school.  It was really hard work, but that's what it took.  IT WILL ALWAYS REQUIRE MORE OUTREACH THAN YOU THINK! 

I've helped all kinds of schools (public, charter, choice, private, religious) in all kinds of settings (urban, suburban, rural) with enrollment.  The formula is ALWAYS THE SAME.   

Step #1 - Set a Goal and Determine Activities Needed to Achieve Goal 

Before you put my formula to work, you must have a goal.  Attracting and enrolling students is an activity-driven task.  You cannot control whether people say YES or No to coming to your school.  So you need to focus on what you can control - # OF OUTREACH ACTIVITIES AND # OF FOLLOWUP ACTIVITIES.  

Let's use a real example.  My client Tomorrow River Community School is a charter school in Amherst, WI.  They are in the middle of their first year and currently have 52 students.  Their goal is to recruit 25 new students, mostly in the kindergarten class, add an additional kindergarten class and expand their 1st grade by another class.  

They give preference to the siblings of current students, and they have identified that probably 8 new students will come from siblings of current students.  They are reaching out to those families right now.  That leaves 17 new students.  The director of the school does about one tour per week with interested families that have learned about the school and pretty much 100% of those families enroll a student.  With their enrollment period ending at the end of April, that means that probably about 10 new students will come from tours (they have done a great job of spreading the word - see my blog on creating ambassadors).  That leaves about 7 additional students they need to recruit.  They should plan on doing enough outreach to get at least three times that number interested in the school.  This school's strategy is holding monthly information meetings targeted toward current and prospective parents.  

My other client Granton School District has a goal of recruiting 75 new students for next fall.  When I started working with them two years ago, they said they'd be thrilled to add 10 new families.  With my guidance, they did that.  As I continued to work with them and build their confidence and skills in outreach, they recruited in excess of 25 new families during this current year.  Having a specific goal will allow you to determine how many prospects you need and how many outreach activities are needed to generate those prospects.

How did they do it?  The answer lies in Step #2. 

Step #2 - Outreach Activities that Generate Prospective Students 

  This is the hard work.  Well, it's not really hard, it's just where my clients get nervous because they're a little shy when it comes to doing outreach.  Outreach activities are any activity that can lead to connecting with prospective families and students.  

Here's another real example.  My current client, Nova Tech, the 5th school to be opened by TransCenter for Youth in Milwaukee, needs 100 students by this fall.  Their #1 outreach opportunity is students at one of their current schools who are interested in an education that focuses on technical and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) careers.  We estimate that there may be 20 students from that one source.  So, that's where we're focusing our efforts first.  And because one of our goals is to have at least one-third of the students be girls, we have different outreach plans for girls and boys.  Because we also know that girls have a hard time seeing themselves in this type of career because they lack role models, we've recruited about seven young, primarly women of color who work in technical and STEM careers.  We just held our first information session just for girls at TransCenter's other school and it was a wild success.  

So, the first thing is to strategize who your prospects are and where the biggest number of them hang out.  Here are the top two outreach strategies in my experience: 

• Information sessions - These are sessions for prospective families and/or students who might be a good match for your school.  You want to hold the sessions at locations where your prospects hang out or at your school.  For example, if you're trying to recruit students for a high school, then holding information sessions at middle schools would be a good strategy.  Start with the middle schools where you have a good relationship with the principal or guidance counselor.  Ask them if you can hold a session there.  They might say yes or they might say no - remember I said you can't control who says yes or no.  Some will definitely say YES.  Another good venue for information sessions are organizations that serve kids like Boys and Girls Clubs or the YMCA or community centers.  Often, these organizations are proud to offer another resource to their own constiuents.  

• Tabling at events - Tabling is one of those old-fashioned grassroots strategies.  When you go to a neighborhood block party or community festival or county fair, you will see "tables" with volunteers trying to connect with potential customers or asking for signatures on referendums, etc.  This is tabling.  Many of my rural school clients have volunteers working at "tables" at these types of events.  I provide them with the training, scripts and materials to maximize the number of interactions they have with folks who could be or lead to prospective families and students.  Anywhere there is a gathering of people who might be your prospects is a tabling opportunity. 

Step #3 - Put EVERY PROSPECT into a tracking document and follow up immediately and consistently until you get a YES or NO.  

Just because you made a good impression on someone and they expressed interest, doesn't mean they'll take the next step.  Rarely does that happen.  People are busy.  But if you were lucky enough to connect with someone who expessed an interest in your school, your job has just began.  You must follow up with your prospects and offer them whatever they need to make a decision YES or NO.  Here are possible next steps: 

• Tour of the school - You ideally want your prospect to come to your school so they can touch and feel the magic of what their child will experience.  If I haven't written a blog about how to conduct a compelling tour, then go to my website and sign up to receive my handout on Developing a Compelling Tour.  Don't let them just walk out the door after the tour.  Sit down and ask them what they think and what they need to know or do in order to come to a decision.  Then let their feedback guide your next steps. 

• Packet of Information - For some people, a personal tour feels too risky; they're not ready to be pressed for a decision.  They might just want to start with more information.  You should be ready to send a packet that includes your case statement, a school calendar, a newsletter if you have one, and some references if your're an existing school.  You will also want to offer educational pieces about your unique approach, like project based learning, Waldorf or Montessori philosophy, how awesome your athletic program is, your internship program - anything that helps them touch and feel your unique approach. 

• Application or Enrollment Paperwork - If you get a YES, don't look at it as a done deal.  This is an opportunity to really cultivate a relationship with a new family that might become a new active ambassador for your school.  In addition, think carefully about what information you could gather in the application that will enlighten you about the family and their child.  If you're a project based learning school, finding out about the new student's interests could help you determine what kinds of community partnerships you need.  If you get a NO, do not waste that opportunity either.  Ask the prospects who end up saying NO why they made that decision so you can use it as a learning opportunity.  Ask them if they know others who might be a match - this could result in new prospects. 

If you use this approach, I guarantee you will achieve your enrollment goal.  Personal outreach is a great way to get current families involved in your school or to put volunteers to work.  You'll need to do a little training and provide them with tools, but volunteers are your most effective ambassadors.  

My caution though is not to take your families and students for granted once you've enrolled them.  See this as only the beginning of relationship cultivation.  

Good luck this enrollment season!  Feel free to respond to my blog with a question or share a success story.  You'll inspire others and build awarness of your school and community.  

YOU'LL LEARN MORE ABOUT 

ENROLLMENT STRATEGIES

PLUS RECEIVE 

ALL THE TEMPLATES AND TOOLS YOU NEED 

AT MY UPCOMING SEMINAR 

Register right here on my blog!

Deb 

#1 Fundraising Tool - Part IV - What to Do With the Case Statement

Would you like a guaranteed way to get MORE AND BIGGER RESULTS for your nonprofit, school or church - like financial contributions, engaged board members, new students, in-kind donations, volunteers and increased awareness?  

I noticed that some of my most popular blog postings were about the PROFESSIONAL CASE STATEMENT, the most basic AND most important fundraising tool for nonprofits, schools and churches.  But I never really told you exactly what to do with it when after you wrote it.  

I've decided that I am going to devote the next four weeks to sharing everything you need to know about how to use it and the results you can expect.


The Case Statement is About Sharing Your Story in a Way that Inspires People

How do you feel when you learn about the impact these students are having on their community?  It gives me goose bumps.  That's what you want.  

Did you know . . .

Highland Students are changing the world NOW!

Within two years, students have literally changed the landscape of Highland School District.  When rain runoff, threatened the school grounds and the school building’s infrastructure, students, staff, and experts worked together to implement a solution.

Multi-age teams of students and staff surveyed the land, worked with experts to identify a solution, and coordinated with the Buildings and Grounds committee to build a rain-garden that would safely transport rain away from the building.  This school-wide project not only educated the community on environmental solutions, but also provided generations of students with a garden full of hands on research opportunities in the future.

Review of How to Create the Professional Case Statement 

Before you go any further, you may want to go back and review the first three postings I wrote about how to create a case statement for your organization.

#1 Fundraising Tool - Part I - Did you Know section

#1 Fundraising Tool - Part II - Mission, Vision and Unique Approach sections

#1 Fundraising Tool - Part III - Success Stories, Goals, How You Can Help sections and Credibility Box



What to Do With Your New Case Statement 

It's not the case statement DOCUMENT that gets results for you.  Often, nonprofits, schools and churches look to MARKETING as the answer.  In fact, organizations spend WAY TOO MUCH ON MARKETING.  You don't need fancy materials.  The materials don't do anything for you.  It's ABOUT YOU AND WHAT YOU DO with the marketing materials.  It's your job to bring your story to life, and the case statement is just a tool to help you do that. 

So, here are two ways to use the case statement right away.   


Use the case statement as an introduction piece.  

Give it to anyone and everyone.  Keep a pile in the reception area of your organization's office.  Carry them with you.  Make sure your board members and staff people have an electronic version of the document.  Allow people to download the case statement from your website.  

A really good way to use the case statement is as a followup to a conversation with someone.  For example, you may have just returned from a luncheon where you had the opportunity to network or just have good conversation with several people.  When you get back to the office (I recommend setting aside an hour on Friday's to pull all those business cards out of your purse/wallet and send follow-up emails to those folks that include an attachment with your case statement), send a short email to the people you met, refer to something interesting they said and then tell them you were excited to share your organization's story and that you're attaching a document that tells them a little more.  That's it.  Don't expect a response - don't expect any outcome at all.  It's just an opportunity to share the story.  You JUST NEVER KNOW WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN.  

The case statement is a really useful tool for board members.  When I do workshops for board members of nonprofits, schools and churches, and I ask the question, "How many of your are comfortable sharing your organization's story," only ONE-THIRD of the hands go up.  It never fails to surprise me.  These are the most important ambassadors for the organization, and the majority of them do not feel comfortable sharing the organization's story.  The sad thing is though that they will never admit that to their fellow board members.  Anyway, I've been told by many board members that the case statement made it so much easier for them to talk about the organization. 

In my next posting, I'll be talking about how to verbally share the story in an elevator pitch - a more casual and natural way for especially volunteers to share the story of their nonprofit, school or church.  


Integrate the case statement language into all communications materials.  

Now that you've figured out how to share your amazing story in a more effective manner - compelling, concise and consistent - YOU MUST MAKE SURE ALL YOUR OTHER COMMUNICATIONS MATERIALS ARE IN ALIGNMENT WITH YOUR CASE STATEMENT.  In fact, the case statement is the starting point for all communications materials.  It's how you have discovered how to communicate the essence - YOUR SPECIAL SAUCE - of your organization to others in a way that will inspire them to want to help.  For example, be sure that you communicate you use the themes in the Did You Know section and communicate your mission the same way in all of your materials - brochures, fundraising materials, website, facebook page, etc.  

Building awareness is all about hearing things a million times.  While you may feel like you're being repetitive, that's exactly how you build a buzz about your organization.  People begin to think, "I just heard someone else talking about the Interfaith Neighborhood Outreach Program.  There must be doing exciting things."     


Now, It's Time to Try This

If you simply start doing these two things, you will notice new results.  In fact, please be sure to share your stories in the comments part of this posting.  It inspires people to try new things when others share that it wasn't has uncomfortable was they thought it would be.  Remember, NO NEW RESULTS WITHOUT TRYING SOMETHING NEW!  

Next Post - How to Create and Use an Elevator Pitch

In my next posting, I'll be talking about how to verbally share the story in an elevator pitch - a more casual and natural way for especially volunteers to share the story of their nonprofit, school or church.

I'd love to hear what happens when you try this.  Feel free to share your success story or let me know if you have questions in the comment section of my blog posting or send me an email by via this link.  


Deb

alinea, LLC

P.S.  Click here if you are interested in purchasing my workbook - complete instructions on how to apply alinea's formula of Story + Direction + Relationships.  Let me know you're interested in purchasing the workbook for $7.95 and I'll follow up with you.

Fundraising: Keeping Your Endowment or Reserves Safe

• Does your church, nonprofit or school have an endowment or reserve fund? 

• Do you know what rate of return you need and what asset allocation will get that return? 

• Is your investment advisor also a member of your board? 

I met Dick Kinney, Principal of Legacy Wealthy Management, LLC, a couple years ago.  He's a board member for a school that serves the students that just can't make it anywhere else, and I love that about him.  I was really intrigued by his passion for helping nonprofits, churches and schools protect their assets.  I hadn't really thought about this too much, as my focus is usually on generating new revenue.

Dick and a few other impressive experts in the Milwaukee Community are sponsoring a seminar on September 18th at Concordia University about this very topic, and I have been invited to share my message of effective community engagement, along with quite a few other respected nonprofit consultants.

Sneak Preview of September 18th Seminar 
(For more details click here and request a flyer for the seminar)

I thought I'd give you a taste of Dick's message by inviting him to share some key concepts he shared in an article he wrote called The Eight Sins of Church (Nonprofit, School) Investment Committees.  


The Eight Sins - Are you Guilty? 

While over the years, clergy and church leaders have expressed frustration about their investment committee's approach to managing their endowment or reserve funds (e.g., lack of transparency, poor results, nonexistent reporting, substandard fiduciary practices, lack of purpose and direction for the funds), media attention of the increasing number of fraud and embezzlement stories has moved me to get the word out to prevent nonprofits, schools and churches from getting into these situations in the first place.

#1 - Conflicts of interest.  I never understand why the members of a church council (nonprofit board) would hire an investment advisor that is a member of the church, but this happens a lot.  You have to ask yourself, "How do you fire a fellow member of your church, who is sitting on the other end of the pew from you, when something goes wrong?"  DON'T HIRE THAT PERSON.  This is just one of the many mistakes that get repeated over and over.


#2 - NOT having a review process in place to prevent fraud.  It's not uncommon to learn that hundreds of thousands of dollars have been stolen from a church endowment (nonprofit, school) by its own fellow church member (board member), who was the money manager.  What's worse is that the fraud often is not found out for sometimes years after the fund is drained, and the defense for not finding out sooner is, "We trusted the guy . . . he was a pillar of the community . . ."  PUT A PLAN IN PLACE TO MAKE SURE AT LEAST TWO DIFFERENT INDIVIDUALS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR REVIEWING AND REPORTING THE RESULTS TO THE CHURCH COUNCIL (nonprofit or school board).


#3 - NOT knowing what you own.  While it is common practice to invest permanent funds in large co-mingled funds, there is a lack of transparency and long-term performance may be questionable.  In order to judge the success of your investment strategy, it is necessary to KNOW WHAT YOU OWN.




#4 - NOT asking the right questions.  Often when I meet with a nonprofit investment committee, the basic question of "How do you measure whether an investment strategy is successful" has not been asked.  An investment committee needs to understand the inflows (gifts coming into the fund), outflows (the spending) and the required rate of return needed to maintain the purchasing power of the fund.  KNOW THE RATE OF RETURN YOU NEED so you can you judge whether you have the proper asset allocation.





#5 - NOT having the appropriate spending policy to support the endowment purpose.  An example of a spending policy would be:  The fund will take out 4.5% per year on December 31st, and the 4.5% will be based on an average account balance over the past three years.  It is important for the investment committee and the church council (nonprofit board) to AGREE ON THIS FORMULA and the formula confirms to the desire and mission of the church.


#6 - NOT keeping track of the donor's intent for past gifts.  It is important to have a gift acceptance policy, which will identify the donor's intent and records it for future reference.  Ideally, all gifts would be unrestricted, but for restricted gifts, have the restriction be time limited if possible.  HAVE A GIFT ACCEPTANCE POLICY.


#7 - NOT having a Big Idea to excite members to give or leave legacy gifts.  Successful organizations think long term!  Successful endowments engage donors with a string of ideas that the congregation (supporters) WANT to support over a long period of time.  HAVE A BHAG - BIG HAIRY AUDACIOUS GOAL (that's Deb Lukovich talk).


#8 - NOT having the right kind of expertise on the investment committee.  The best investment committees have a mixture of professionals and non-professionals.  I believe it's good for professionals to have to explain their thinking to non-professionals.  The questions asked by nonprofessionals help legitimize the investment process for the church as a whole.  The committee agenda should focus on this question:  "Are we invested in the right asset allocation (investment mix) with the appropriate amount of risk to achieve our required rate of return?"  What often sounds like "dumb" questions get to the core.  HAVE SMART NON-PROFESSIONALS ON THE COMMITTEE THAT ARE COURAGEOUS ENOUGH TO ASK THE DUMB QUESTIONS.


Hopefully, some of these RED FLAGS will help you feel more comfortable about your own investment practices, or tip you off to something that's not quite right before it's too late.

Hope to see you on September 18th!

Dick Kinney
Principal
Legacy Wealth Management, LLC
www.legacywlth.com

I hope you enjoyed this perspective.  Click here to request a flyer about the September 18th seminar.  If you are interested in putting my formula for effective community engagement to work for yourself or your organization, consider purchasing my Sustainability Workbook (click on the BUY NOW button at the top of this page).  It's just $7.95.

Deb

alinea, LLC
www.alineaconnect.com

The Twelve Days of Gratitude: Day 2

Are you on a first name basis with your printer?

Have you ever thought to thank your printer? Do you know your printer or do they know you?

Next time you take a printing job to your regular neighborhood printer, ask if the manager is available, introduce yourself, and tell them what a great job they are doing.   Just think, have they ever gotten documents printed for you at the last minute, under deadline?  

It's important to recognize the people that are often overlooked but make an impact on your school or organization.  Take some time to tell them about some of the wonderful things happening at your school or organization and invite them to come take a tour.

And you’d be surprised what could come of this, by just letting someone know they are appreciated.  We’ve had clients who have just simply introduced themselves, said thank you, and the printer felt so appreciated that he donated the next printing job to the school for free.   

Do you have a go-to printer that you know by name? Have you taken the time to introduce yourself to him/her?

Next time you drop off a project, take some time to introduce yourself, and let us know how it goes.

Deb Lukovich's Very First Blog Entry

Welcome to my brand new blog!

This is a blog about education. Well, mostly. Why do we need a blog discussing our schools and education system? Simple. We have enough blogs about celebrities and food and music. What would you say is the most important resource for the future of our planet? It’s not oil. Or water. Or wind. It’s our children.

And our education system is in trouble. Which means our children are in trouble. We should pay as much attention to the education of our kids as we do to the economy, the environment and certainly more than we give to all those tabloid and celebrity gossip stories. We should be horrified by the statistics. The dropouts. The failures. The closings. It should be unacceptable to us.

So, this will be a blog about helping to make our schools and non-profit organizations work so well that our children all have the opportunity to learn and grow into individuals who will go to college and become the people that will eventually make our world a better place.

You may ask, who am I? What makes me an expert? And why would I care enough to write a blog on the topic?

It’s a question I would ask myself. And, to be honest, it’s the surprise of my life. I never imagined myself as a person that would dedicate herself and her company so passionately to the mission of improving schools and education. I’ve had other issues and causes I’ve been an activist for, like reproductive rights, women and politics, young women as leaders and entrepreneurship. At this stage in my life, my priorities have changed.

In the Beginning

Here’s what happened. First, I was shocked and disappointed by my own children’s experience in school. And I live in a pretty wealthy school district. If my children were not receiving the highest quality education, what did that mean for children in the other districts? Then, as coincidence (or not) would have it, my consulting firm stumbled onto an opportunity to work with an MPS (Milwaukee Public School) charter school about to launch. They were having many issues and hired us to determine what their shortcomings were and ultimately to fix them.

We worked with them for twelve months and learned so much, most of it horrifying, about how new schools are formed. Interest groups often focus on what’s best for them, not the children. We made it our mission to help this school be a wild success. And so it began…

I realized that it doesn’t matter if a school is public or private, voucher, religious, Montessori or Waldorf. If a school does a good job helping children prepare for success in life, we support them.

A Lack of Vision

A huge issue we were confronted with was that many schools really have no vision for what successful education looks like. With no vision, there is no direction. And every day another child graduates without even learning to read.

It’s Personal

For my company, and me it became very personal. I even became a founding board member for another charter school, Milwaukee Renaissance Academy, chartered by the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee. All of this experience gave me vast insight into what a school needs to not only survive, but to thrive.

I will nutshell it for you. It all comes down to two words: Community Engagement. It’s what makes or breaks a school.

What is it and why is it so important? My website, www.alineaconnect.com defines it for you in detail, but in simple terms it means communities and school must form a partnership to create and secure the resources needed for every child to achieve success.

The Community FEELS responsible for and ACTS accountable for their school’s success.

It may sound easy. I guarantee it isn’t. But for the many schools we’ve worked with since—we’ve developed a plan that works. And I’ll share it with you in this blog. We’ll visit the steps and the principles behind them in future blogs. Note that the plan works best with professionals leading you through it, but there are things everyone can do to make small changes now with big results down the line.

This will be a two-way conversation. You can ask me questions as we go along… You can make comments. You can give us all the benefit of your own experience and wisdom. Hopefully, we will grow together. The goal is to determine the best way to help our communities to help our schools to help our kids.

And that’s what this blog is about.