POLICY NUMBER:
700.05
ADOPTED:
10.4.2022
Board Policy
- The Board of Education values community engagement and customer service as key tenets of the District. The Board of Education strives to work together with students, parent/legal guardians, patrons, volunteers, recognized parent group (s), School Community Councils (SCC), and business and community partners of Canyons School District to maintain safe, supportive, and academically challenging school environments which strengthen neighborhoods and communities.
- In its public interactions with parents, taxpayers, stakeholders, city and government leaders, law enforcement, legislators, and constituents, the Board of Education values a community relations program to provide transparency, gather input, and build public trust through effective, targeted two-way communication, and through effective feedback loops.
- The Board of Education seeks to make a difference in the community through communication and public engagement objectives that include volunteer efforts, responsible SCC leadership, developing business relationships and communicating the Board of Education’s action.
- The Board of Education delegates to the Superintendent and District Administration to establish administrative regulations consist with this policy.
ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATION:
700.05-1
APPROVED:
10.4.2022
Community Relations Program - 700.05-1
- The Superintendent delegates responsibility for planning and directing a community relations program to the Department of External Relations, without relinquishing executive authority. The Department of External Relations:
- Has primary responsibility for planning and coordinating a community relations program that builds public trust through effective, targeted communications; community and government relations; parent engagement and business and non-profit partnerships for the benefit of the district.
- Makes effective use of available technical assistance from staff members , and assigns specific responsibility to specific persons.
- Encourages and expects the staff of each school to maintain exemplary community relations and exhibit professional customer service standards.
- Develops a comprehensive set of long-range and short-term objectives designed to assure an appropriate and effective community relations program for the District.
- To meet the intent of the Board, the community relations process shall consist of four equal concepts as follows:
- Analysis
- Analyze priority audiences to determine attitudes, understanding, and the degree of support generated by the school system.
- Planning
- Maintain an ongoing integrated communications plan to deal effectively with what is important to the school system and to maintain public trust.
- Communication and Relationship Building
- Implement effective two-way communication and cooperative relationships with key audiences.
- Evaluation
- Evaluate the effectiveness of the community relations program, making revisions and adaptations as circumstances dictate
- Analysis
ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATION:
700.05-2
APPROVED:
10.4.2022
Communication Objectives - 700.05-2
Following is a set of long-range communication objectives:
- Maintain an effective media relations program to respond to media inquiries, proactively promote awareness for school and department activities and provide ongoing media training for administrators.
- Maintain an internal communications program to communicate with employees and other internal groups.
- Maintain an external communications program that provides critical information to District parents, city and government leaders, legislators, law enforcement, District patrons, taxpayers and other key audiences.
- Implement digital (e.g., social media, podcasts, WebTV, etc). communication strategies and maintain a Web presence to support the internal and external communications programs (See, Policy-700.09-District and School Sponsored Websites).
- Provide support and training for District wide and school-specific customer service and public/community relations initiatives.
- Develop and support District coalition building activities with key communicators.
- Conduct research and evaluation, as necessary, to support and direct District communication efforts.
ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATION:
700.05-3
APPROVED:
10.4.2022
Public Engagement Objectives - 700.05-3
Following is a set of long-range public engagement objectives:
- Maintain a consistent community involvement program with city, county, state and business entities coordinated through the Public Engagement Coordinator.
- Assist and participate in the training of recognized parent groups in the district. Establish transparent two-way communications and provide supports that lead to parent group effectiveness.
- Assist Board of Education and Superintendent in holding key stakeholder meetings (e.g., truth-in-taxation hearings, townhalls, listening tours, surveys, etc.).
- Coordinate relationships with key elected officials to maintain communication and cooperative relationships.
- Provide guidance to businesses and non-profit organizations on engaging in proper ways with the District to support schools, students, and teachers. (Policy-700.09—Exhibit-1, Rules and Guidelines for Advertising).
- Coordinate volunteer efforts in Canyons to provide support for school and District programs while maintaining safety protocols.
Exhibits
None
References
None
Forms
None
Document History
Revised – 10.4.2022. Policy-700.05–Community Involvement in Education was retitled “Community Engagement.” The Board policy statement was updated to include the Board’s values of community engagement and customer service and to recognize efforts to work together with key stakeholders, including parents, volunteers, recognized parent group (s), School Community Councils (SCC), and business and community partners. The Policy update includes new language to codify Public Engagement Objectives to assist the Board with key stakeholder meetings, including but not limited to: truth-in-taxation hearings, townhalls, listening tours, and surveys. The Public Engagement Objectives include language for coordinating relationship with key elected officials and providing guidance to business and nonprofit organizations, as well as coordinating volunteer efforts. The Policy update also includes minor revisions to the Communication Objectives of the policy to outline maintenance of key communication programs to internal and external audiences such as employees, parents, city and government leaders, legislators, law enforcement, and taxpayers. Communication language was updated to recognize digital means of communication (e.g., social media, podcasts, WebTV, etc).
Adopted – 11.23.04.
This online presentation is an electronic representation of the Canyons School District’s currently adopted policy manual. It does not reflect updating activities in progress. The official, authoritative manual is available for inspection in the office of the Superintendent located at 9361 South 300 East Sandy, UT 84070.
