Public Engagement Workgroup

20-minute Overview Presentation

To request a speaker to give a 20-minute overview of the structured conversation process to your school site council or other school or community gathering, contact:

List of conversation participants

If you want to talk to people who have participated in a community conversation in Kansas or who have hosted such an event in Kansas, go to the Hear From Participants page of this website.  That will take you to a listing of 22 people from across the state who are willing to visit with you about the conversation process and what it might take to host such an event. 

Contacts from sites which have hosted a conversation in Kansas

If you want to talk to people who have hosted a community conversation, go to the Hear From Participants page of this website.  Among the names listed are 7 people in boldface print who are willing to visit with you about the conversation process and what it might take to host such an event. 

Community Conversation Topics

If you want to see some of the community conversation topics designed by Public Agenda, go to the Public Agenda website at www.publicagenda.org.  On the “Public Engagement Programs” page of this website, they have information about the structured conversation process, the topics available for use, and other materials and resources for use in organizing a local community conversation.  Many of the materials are available in both English and Spanish versions. 

Currently Public Agenda has the following topics available for use:

•             The Purposes of Public Education

•             School Funding

•             Academic Expectations and Standards

•             Teaching Methods

•             Parental Involvement

•             School Safety

•             School Choice

•             Helping All Students Succeed In a Diverse Society

•             No Child Left Behind

•             Neighborhood Schools and Student Diversity

•             Child Care

•             Creating a Formula for Success in Low-Performing Schools

For more information about the program, contact Tom Krebs at the Kansas Association of School Boards or Blake West at Kansas National Education Association.