A team of consultants has been hired by the school board to address the issue that the school district is having difficulty with school-community communications. The following is an evaluation of the schoolÆs recommendations with a description, an assessment, and alternative recommendations.
The schoolÆs recommendation is based on the principles presented by Strickland and Chan (2001). Strickland and Chan stated that communication is an important tool and school leaders are reported to spend up to 80% of their time communicating with others. Therefore barriers that impede this communication must be overcome. Communication must encourage listening, welcome comments, and respect feedback. Strickland and Chan reported that when adequate communication is lacking, those involved feel as if they are not a part of the situation and they build up misunderstandings, and feelings of hostility, frustration, and defensiveness. This results in complaints that may tend to be further ignored. Alternatively, the school leader must handle complaints as soon as possible to avoid further breakdowns in communication.
In this case example, as is noted by Strickland and Chan, since many times the school leader has not been available to handle community complaints, a Complaint Form will be used to help resolve current issues. This form will document the problems in detail and provide a record of the complaints as well as the actions that are taken to resolve the issues. These forms will be communicated electronically when preferred. It is believed that in this way the school leader will become involved with the community-communications, presenting as being appreciative of others, respectful of others, and connecting with others. The leader will also be viewed as being understanding and trustworthy.
Optimal leadership communication relies on credibility, ability to connect with others, and ability to express appreciation. It is ...