NESSC School Redesign in Action

The creation of district strategic plans typically involves a handful of people in an office who first decide the priorities for the next three to five years, and then communicate this information to the community at large. Manchester Proud, however, is in the middle of flipping this model; we’re engaging with the Manchester community—to many people, the only “city” in New Hampshire—to find out their perspectives and experiences first. Then, we will build a strategic plan based on this information. What are we doing to engage the community—and why? What are we learning along the way? How have we adapted our work? What comes next? This session will highlight the power—and reality—of collective impact, as well as lessons learned even as we are currently in the process.

Participants will learn about collective impact and community engagement in an urban school district as well as community engagement methods that can impact district-level change, such as listening sessions, community surveys, neighborhood conversations, and town hall meetings.