Building Bridges with School Improvement

Submitted by Julia VanMeter
Media Specialist
Gibbon Public School

With the transition from NCA CASI to AdvancED accreditation process for schools, the educational process within school districts focuses on a set of seven standards. One of these standards, Stakeholder Communications and Relationships, is to build community involvement within schools. AdvancED, as well as NCA CASI, has continual evaluation of programs and procedures within a district and a focus on continued improvement at the heart of this process.

As Gibbon Public Schools participated in the continuous evaluation process of our various school improvement goals, it became apparent that more patrons of our district needed to be informed of the many activities and projects taking place within our district. To address this outreach, Gibbon Public Schools created bookmarks and banners touting our Mission Statement. The Mission Statement is evident on the school’s web page, newsletter, and other communications sent from the district.

There has also been an outreach at Gibbon Public Schools to get additional community involvement in our Professional Learning Communities. However, to encourage community involvement with the school academically, the “Building Bridges” project was conceived. The project design was to bridge the gap between students and the community and to make intergenerational connections.

Because we live in a mobile society, many adolescents do not live close to their grandparents or other relatives. Often a sense of family, community, and local history is lost because of geographical distances between generations. The intergenerational closeness that many of us experienced growing up, such as hearing family stories, is frequently lost in our fast-paced world. To bring this sense of family, community and local history to the students of Gibbon Public Schools, the “Building Bridges” project was enacted.

To learn more about the “Building Bridges” project, click here:

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