Transcript Choosing A Community Partner

Establishing and Sustaining
Community Partnerships
Faculty Fellows Program 2008
Brenda Marsteller Kowalewski
Community Involvement Center
Workshop Topics
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Finding community partners
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What’s important in a partner?
How do I find a partner?
Making first contact
Organizing a project: It takes two
Follow-up conversation
Building partnerships
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Faculty and community partnership
Student and community partnership
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Service-Learning Contract
Partnership agreements
Sustaining partnerships
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Partnership assessment
Pre-flection
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What are some of the key components
you are looking for in a community
partner?
What’s Important in a Community
Partner?
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Promotes learning
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Has needs that directly relate to your course
objectives and students can address.
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Willing collaborator & communicator.
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Able to mentor students.
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Provides safe learning environment.
What’s Important in a Community
Partner?
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Logistically works
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Open during hours that work with students’
schedules.
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Willing to work with students’ schedules.
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Location accessible to students.
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Can accommodate the number of students in
your course.
Finding Community Partners: How?
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Service-learning coordinator acts as matchmaker
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Data base of community organizations
 Service Opportunity Directory
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Prior knowledge and interest in the organization
 On site visit
 Community Partner Activities
 Partners in Service Learning Events
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Colleagues
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Students Proposals
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Miscellaneous Resources
 Phonebook
 Internet
S-L Coordinator as Matchmaker
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Pros
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Coordinator has knowledge of wide range of
organizations
Coordinator can “weed out” the least relevant options
Coordinator can facilitate first contact between faculty
and partner
Faculty have to identify the course objectives they hope
to address via service-learning.
If you are new to service-learning, this can be very
helpful.
Cons
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You are relying on a matchmaker who may not
completely understand your course objectives.
Data base Approach
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Pros
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Wide range of organizations at your finger tips.
You do the “weeding out” with your specific course
objectives in mind.
You make first contact with partners.
A seasoned practitioner might enjoy this level of control.
Cons
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Can be overwhelming, especially for a novice to servicelearning.
“Weeding out” process rests with you which can be time
consuming.
Faculty Interest Drives Partnership
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Pros
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Creating a partnership based on interest and passion.
May already have a rapport with staff at the
organization.
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Familiarity with needs and structure of organization.
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Cons
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Don’t need an introduction.
Established lines of communication.
Can focus on building a partnership rather than simply finding one.
Better sense of what your students’ experiences will be.
Better sense of how your course objectives will be met through
service-learning at this particular organization.
If involved with the organization in another capacity
prior to service-learning partnership, may need to renegotiate or re-define roles.
Students Choose
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Pros
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Students may be more likely to have a genuine interest in the
project if they self-select.
Students less resistant to service-learning because they can
find a service site that fits into their schedules.
Easier on the faculty member in terms of finding servicelearning placements.
Cons
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Run the risk of service sites that are not consistent with
teaching course objectives.
Faculty are not creating partnerships; they are creating
placements.
Faculty may have as many community partners as they have
students in their class.
Faculty members have a lot less control over quality of the
learning.
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Have to build in quality control mechanisms (e.g. site approval process).
Run the risk that the focus becomes more about service, less
about learning.
First Contact: The Initial Conversation
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If the partner is unfamiliar with the concept
provide a brief summation of service-learning.
What is it?
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Examples:
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A teaching style where students work in the community to
learn classroom concepts
Students gain insight into citizenship
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Highlight why you think your class and their
organization might be a great partnership.
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What needs do they have that might integrate
with the course’s objectives.
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Ask about their “to do” list.
Organizing a Project: It Takes Two
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Questions to Ask (Worksheet)
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Contact Information
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Preferred method of contact
Hours of project (time and amount)
Number of students needed
Mission Statement/Agency Objectives
Project information- details
Course objective relevance
Additional information not previously listed
Roles to Play: Co-teacher coordination
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Faculty member is the classroom teacher
Community Partner is the lab instructor
A Follow-up to the Conversation
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Send Course Materials
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Syllabus (at a minimum)
Consider other items that might help partners
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Faculty contact information
SL assignments
SL readings
Links to SL sites
Student Contact Information (voluntary)
Seek a second contact for clarification
Welcome materials from community partners
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Organizational Handouts
Announcement, flyers, etc. on project details
Building Partnerships
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Level the playing field
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Community partners tell us they are
intimidated by faculty status
Open lines of communication
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Provide partners with syllabus & assignments
Open dialogue about expectations
Partnership agreement or MOU
Building Partnerships
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Keep in Contact
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Follow up phone calls
“Check-In” emails throughout the semester
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Organize community partners’ emails in a group list
Invite partners to class activities
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Introduction of Projects
Reading Discussions
Guest Speakers
Oral Presentations
Building Partnerships
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Faculty make site visits
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To observe students in action
To serve along side of students
To hold a class or reflection session on site
Community Partner Orientation
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Community Partner Handbook
Institution Sponsored Activities
Building Partnerships:
Community Partner Handbook
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Introduction
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Expectations and responsibilities
Faculty hopes and objectives
Materials
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Syllabus
Assignments
Readings
Faculty Contact Information
Websites
Bibliography
Quick Pause to Reflect
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What methods for building community
partnerships seem to be most appropriate
for you at this point in the planning of
your service-learning course?
Student and Community Partner: A
Working Relationship with the Faculty
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Student and Partner Contact
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Encourage partners to provide an orientation meeting
for students
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When a problem arises, reassure students in
approaching partners for clarification or help.
Incorporate partner information as part of a refection
exercise.
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Request students go as a group the first time to meet a
partner and learn more about the project.
Suggest a tour, if applicable
Reminder: students are service-learning students, not
volunteers. They’ve come to learn from you.
Example: What have you learned about your
agency/organization thus far and its role in the
community?
Student Partner Contract (see handout)
Sustaining Partnerships:
Communication & Collaboration
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Get feedback from partners
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throughout the semester (on the partnership, student
performance, etc.)
At the end of each semester to assess what needs to
occur next time
Review the community partner contact and project
information form
Inquire about their current needs and objectives.
Provide recognition of their contribution to
teaching your students
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Certificate, letter, thank you note, etc.
Invite them to a campus sponsored recognition event
Sustaining Partnerships:
Communication & Collaboration
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Follow through on their requests for assistance
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Open Dialogue about needs
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Letters of support on grants
Helping them to identify staff members
Needs of the organization may change over time.
Your needs may change over time.
Dialogue to make sure both needs are still being met through
the partnership.
Consider a community partner evaluation form
Plan Ahead
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Discuss changes and continuances for the next term
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Review the community partner contact and project information
form
Inquire about their current needs and objectives.
CIC’s Assessment Instruments
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Student feedback
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Faculty Feedback
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http://icarus.cs.weber.edu/dha/CIC_ServerSid
e/volunteer/student_feedback.html
http://icarus.cs.weber.edu/dha/CIC_ServerSid
e/volunteer/faculty_feedback.html
Community Partner Feedback
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http://icarus.cs.weber.edu/dha/CIC_ServerSid
e/volunteer/partner_feedback.html
Reflection
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List three things you will do to either find,
build, or sustain a community partnership.
Conclusion
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A good relationship with a community partner begins with
open communication and continues to develop through the
same means.
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Course content, logistics of location and time, and
cooperation drive much of your efforts in finding the
appropriate community partner.
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There are a number of ways to find partners, all have
advantages and disadvantages.
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Employ the methods that produce partnerships that are best
suited to teaching your course objectives.
Partnerships, like any relationship, need to be nurtured.
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Much of this is accomplished through contact, communication
and collaboration.