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Deputy Mayor for Educations Quality Schools Community Engagement Initiative

What is the Deputy Mayor for Educations Community Engagement Initiative?This initiative will provide a thoughtful community input process to help provide information that willinform the improvement and legitimacy of new measures to ensure that all DC Public School and DCpublic charter school students have access to quality education opportunities. The initiative will include

community-wide conversations, Community Conversations, in five different wards of DC that will bringtogether a diverse representation of parents, teachers, school administrators, community residents,elected and appointed officials, and various organizations. The purpose of these communityconversations is to identify, discuss and move to action strategies that will improve access and qualityof education for DC students. To carry out this initiative, the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education ispartnering with Public Agenda, a national non-profit, non-partisan research and public engagementorganization.

Conversations will be held in Wards 1, 4, 5, 7, and 8 throughout the months of July and August. TheseWards are home to the ten neighborhood clusters identified as having a high need for additional qualityseats in grades K-12. Community-based organizations in each Ward have agreed to organize and hosteach individual Conversation. These lead organizations are recruiting a diverse set of stakeholders to

assist in planning and facilitating the engagement events which will each include between 80-100participants.

Current dates for Community Conversations are as follows:

Cluster 2/Ward 1 -- Lead Organization: CentroNiaCommunity Conversation Thursday, July 26 @ 5:30-9PM, CentroNia

Cluster 18/Ward 4 - Collaborating Organizations: AJE, S.H.A.P.P.E, GAC & OSSECommunity Conversation Saturday, August 18 @ 10 am 2pm, Emery Recreation Center

Clusters 22 & 23/Ward 5 -- Lead Organization: Ward 5 Council on Education

Community Conversation Tuesday, July 31 @ 6:30PM, Providence Hospital

Clusters 31, 33, & 34/Ward 7 - Lead Organization: Advisory Neighborhood Commission 7ACommunity Conversation Saturday, August 11 @ 10 am 2pm, Kelly Miller MS

Clusters 36, 38 & 39/Ward 8 - Lead Organization: Ward 8 Education CouncilCommunity Conversation TBD, early August

What are Community Conversations?Community Conversations are carefully constructed problem-solving dialogues that bring diversestakeholders and community members together to discuss an important public issue. Suchconversations are frequently a first step in a larger process of community engagement, collaboration

and action and have been put to good use in hundreds of communities nationwide.

The Community Conversations in the District will focus on how parents, schools, communities and thecity can work together to ensure access to high-quality education opportunities for all children inWashington DC.

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What are the Results of Community Conversations?For Washington DC, a Community Conversation can have a range of concrete impacts, including:

identifying the top community priorities for programs that support quality education options

building community awareness of and support for new or existing programs

informing current or newly developed district and government policies and practices strengthening or building community relationships and partnerships

Following the Community Conversations, the Deputy Mayor for Education will release a brief report thatincludes summary notes from each Conversation. The Deputy Mayor will use these communitysuggestions to inform a list of recommendations to DCPS, the Public Charter School Board, and charterLEAs as to how they can increase the number of quality seats in high-need neighborhood clusters. Thisreport will be released in Fall of 2012.