Put together a team to address the community engagement in your district. This team should be assembled from all the key stakeholders to ensure you're receiving input from all interested parties.

However, this means that before you can begin putting your team together you first need to learn more about your stakeholders. This initial stakeholder analysis is critical— it will form the foundation for future team efforts and it’s essential that you give it the attention it deserves.

Once you understand the stakeholders, you should identify which of them will become part of your team. You may also choose to have different subgroups, for example a working group and an advisory group. Many projects may benefit from having students involved.

Members of your team should understand as much as they can before (and during) planning. To be effective they should:

a) Understand the existing relationship between the school district and the broader community. What is going well and what isn't? It may be helpful to divide the community into key groups and evaluate the current effectiveness of engagement with each group.

b) Understand what research says regarding the community engagement (e.g., school-family partnerships, student exposure to authentic work environments, etc.)

c) Understand what other schools and districts to gain inspiration about what is possible.

Dedicate time to this phase so your plans can be made realistic for your specific situation, and effective due to the tested nature of the actions you take.

You should now have a good understanding of where you are, and where you want to be. In order to move between the two you need to do something— make decisions, take actions, and start new programs.

These actions may be obvious, in which case you should spend a short period of time brainstorming to make sure you do indeed have the most effective solutions.

Alternatively the required actions may be unclear. In this case, a more structured process — for example design thinking — can harness the creative energy of your entire team to identify the best solutions.

Now that you have measureable goals and have identified actions to meet those goals, organize this information into a project plan to keep everyone on track. A project plan can help you visualize the entire process from beginning to end, work more effectively, and avoid unnecessary obstacles.

You can put together a project plan in six steps.

1. Write a project charter

2. Identify your project requirements

3. Break your project into key milestones

4. Brainstorm all tasks and assign deadlines

5. Assign a team member to each task

6. Assess your risks

Equipped with a solid project plan, your team is ready to accomplish your goals and bring your vision to life! Encourage each team member to frequently reference the project plan and to keep it up to date as they accomplish tasks or run into obstacles. Monitor your progress using the project plan and through effective meetings. Don't forget to stay in touch with your stakeholders and keep them happy along the way!

After your project is complete, reflect on next steps and lessons learned. Celebrate your success!