152 PREPARATION OF SCHOOL LEADERS
planning meetings need to address a range of family needs, including families' preferences for
meeting times, child care, and transportation issues. It may be comfortable and productive to
go to families' homes to conduct meetings pertaining to their children. No matter where held,
meetings need to be conducted in a manner that demonstrates cultural sensitivity and
promotes trust, open communication, and respect (Harry, 1992; Rao, 2000; Salembier &
Furney, 1997). School leaders need to model collaborative and inclusive approaches to
facilitating meetings and ensure that teachers have the skills and knowledge they need to
engage in collaborative teaming processes and family-centered practices.
CONNECTING WITH FAMILY MEMBERS AND COMMUNITY LEADERS TO
CULTIVATE THEIR ENGAGEMENT
Principals play a vital role in ensuring that schools demonstrate a commitment to bringing
families into the community and the community into the schools (Capper, 1996; Dryfoos &
Maguire, 2002; Furman, 2002; Kirst, McLaughlin, Massell, 1990; Scheurich, 1998).
Principals need to take the lead on connecting families of children from diverse backgrounds
to appropriate supports and activities within the school, as well as to supports and services
available in the community. Leaders can promote school and community collaboration by
stressing the need for integrated school and community services, collaborative partnerships
that place parents at the center of planning efforts, and seamless connections between the
school and community (Hasazi, Furney, & DeStefano, 1999; Kochlar-Bryant, 2008; Smrekar
& Mawhiney, 1999). School leaders can further the goal of community engagement various
ways, including creating positions for school counselors or social workers whose specific role
it is to establish and maintain connections with families. School mentoring programs that are
coordinated by paid school staff can help connect community members with students through
after school homework clubs, sports activities, drama clubs, service activities and other
activities occurring in the school or community. A comprehensive model of community
engagement may be found in the idea of a full-service community school (Dryfoos &
McGuire, 2002), in which a range of medical and dental health, mental health, employment
and adult education services are provided within the school's walls. A feature of the full-
service community model is that services are available beyond school hours to all community
members, including those who do not have children in the school and /or to people who did
not complete school (Smrekar & Mawhiney, 1999). We do know that public schools are
serving more diverse student populations now than ever before and require more inclusive
schools and re-defined partnerships and relationships between schools, families and
communities. The work of school leaders must embrace and accomplish these goals if we are
to be successful in changing our schools to better meet the needs of diverse students and their
families better (Riehl, 2000).
PREPARING SCHOOL LEADERS: EXAMPLES OF EFFECTIVE APPROACHES
The challenge of preparing school leaders who understand, value, and engage with
families and communities has become part of the ongoing debate on how to improve
preparation programs (Lyman & Vallani, 2002; Pounder et al., 2002). As we consider
changes to our preparation programs we need to move beyond the application of knowledge
and skills as a science of administration that has informed school preparation curricula for so
long and has defined administrator work accordingly (Murphy & Louis, 1999). It is time to