Participants:

Neal Grandgenett, Sandy Meyer, Guna Magnuson, Barb Dinslage, Marla Fries, Carl Clark, Donalyn Heise

Background

At the request of the Community Discovered project director, the evaluation team facilitated two 3 hour focus group meetings on the topic of engaging or re-engaging experienced participants in the coming year. This "Blue Ribbon Panel" was composed of participants who had previously made suggestions on the topic or who now agreed to commit a few hours to further thinking on the topic. The main purpose of this panel was to provide general recommendations to the project staff, who would then determine if individual recommendations were feasible for project implementation.

Question for Panel Discussion

How can the Community Discovered Project best engage or re-engage experienced early participants to better draw upon their expertise in the project?

Discussion Process

In order to facilitate participation in the general brainstorming process, the panel discussion was held at two separate meetings, one in Omaha and one in Grand Island. At both meetings the discussions consisted of three phases. Phase 1 involved the identification of "challenges" which are facing the project in the area of new participant activities. Phase 2 involved the identification of "solutions," which in essence were good ideas that the project might build upon in the engagement of experienced participants. Finally, Phase 3 involved the formulation of individual ìrecommendationsî for project staff consideration.

Challenges (Phase 1)

In brainstorming the challenges which are related to engaging or re-engaging experienced early participants, the following were identified:

1. The time commitments of participants are substantial, both in the Community Discovered Project and teaching in general.

2. Many early participants may have forgotten just how worthwhile their initial projects were when beginning the project.

3. A wide range of simultaneous district expectations in other areas can make many participants feel overwhelmed (curriculum adoptions, outcomes, etc.).

4. Some participants may feel isolated when they are the only project participant within a building

5. The regular staff (non-participants) often donít fully understand the overall mission and purpose of the Community Discovered project.

6. It may be difficult to find out what earlier participants have done recently.

7. Considering that the project is composed of good teachers who are typically very busy, finding a functional meeting time for participants may be difficult.

8. Early participants may need to be compensated for additional professional services, particularly if they are already busy with other projects.

9. The project may have difficulty finding a compensation process that is workable and appropriate for the time, effort, and expertise of earlier participants.

10. The general lack of time for taking on new commitments may be especially problematic for the more experienced and active teacher.

11. All districts are experiencing a general lack of available substitutes.

12. The support of the administration, particularly principals, is not always apparent.

13. Early participants may need additional release time to help plan workshops or new initiatives.

14. The discontinuing of the second week of Prairie Visions may reduce the available experiences for non-artists and earlier participants that need help in this area.

15. Many participants fail to realize that the project, and their early work within it, is really an ongoing ìwork in progress.î

16. For particular areas of interest and expertise (such as mathematics), there may not be enough activities of direct interest to earlier, more experienced participants.

Solutions (Phase 2)

In brainstorming good ideas that the project might draw upon, thefollowing ideas were shared among the group:

1. The project might consider more inspirational sharing times for earlier participants.

2. It is important to note that teachers can become involved in a wide variety of ways, not just in workshop training and the summer projects.

3. Earlier participants could share what they are still doing from their units that have become a part of ìwho they areî as teachers from the Community Discovered project.

4. Participants always appreciate it when there are rewards for jobs well done, such as with certificates, money, or other forms of recognition.

5. It might be nice to have an annual Community Discovered retreat to bring everyone together.

6. Develop a manual of resources ñ perhaps a 3 ring binder for easy upgrade into indexed areas.

7. A survey (via mail) of earlier participants concerning what they are now doing and ascertaining their interests in additional collaborations with the project would be useful.

8. Provide a workshop or information session for administrators.

9. Invite early participants to conduct local ìshort shotsî in some of the staff meetings.

10. It would be helpful to work out some sort of small technology budget for earlier participants, perhaps each year, to be spent on hardware and software. For example, they could purchase calendars, art prints, posters, idea books, etc., which would help keep them motivated and engaged.

11. An annual Community Discovered retreat might also be offered within some sort of virtual environment.

12. It might be helpful to tap some of the earlier teachers for specific tasks and pay them as consultants.

13. It would be nice to take earlier participants (or at least a few of them) back to D.C. to help plan for the coming year and to help acknowledge their ongoing collaboration with the project.

14. Consider a district-wide or project-wide collaborative activity which focuses on one theme. Experienced teachers could then serve as leaders in this activity.

15. It would be useful to organize activities for the summer, specifically for oldies to again get involved in new techniques and ides.

16. Encourage the districts to try and give previous participants newer computers and other technologies, helping them to continue assisting others by having access to newer machines. Often the more experienced participants may now have the older machines.

17. An informal, and periodic Community Discovered flyer of upcoming events to all teachers and administrators within the project districts (not just participants), would be a useful communication tool.

18. It might be useful to host specific problem solving sessions within sites for more difficult problems, from both a technical and curricular nature. Perhaps earlier participants could then help brainstorm and provide solutions at such sessions.

Recommendations (Phase 3)

After an open dialogue facilitated by Phases 1 and 2, the group sought to provide specific recommendations to the project staff which might engage or re-engage experienced early participants in the Community Discovered project. The specific recommendations were combined into the following ten suggestions:

1. The project might consider a variety of recognition activities (such as a dinner, notes in the newsletter, etc.) to help engage or re-engage experienced early participants. By officially recognizing and praising their continued efforts with the project goals, early participants might also be used to help showcase the long term efforts of Community Discovered participants.

2. The project could host a reunion day or weekend for all current and past Community Discovered folks to help re-engage and connect with earlier participants. This activity might best be conducted in a relaxed, natural setting and include a wide mix of people from both the past and present participant groups, as well as administrators. The activity might also be combined with other areas of interest, such as wellness activities or inspirational speakers.

3. When possible, allow for selected early participants to periodically travel to some of the museums, such as the NMAA and Wildlife Museums, with some or all of their expenses paid. They could then do additional planning or work for the project, or substitute for staff members with conflicts for particular meetings.

4. The project might consider conducting a mini-grant process, awarding innovative ideas or projects that would be of benefit to furthering the goals of the project. These mini-grant proposals could be examined by earlier experienced Community Discovered members.

5. Develop a flexible resource manual in the form of a 3 ring notebook to hold handouts and additional information from the web as well, to help earlier participants keep their contacts and information related to the project both organized and up to date.

6. Consider using early participants in the role of providing small guest appearances, presentations, or as ìshort shotsî at staff meetings, building meetings, or other project events. This would both help engage such participants, as well as ìspice upî the events by including a brief discussion of the experienced participantís ongoing enthusiasm and experiences.

7. The project might consider having one or more courses, perhaps with graduate credit options, that would be taught by experienced Community Discovered participants and delivered to other interested Community Discovered participants or teachers.

8. The experienced early participants might also be offered involvement in a ìleadership corpsî that could provide consulting, presentations, or other services, with a structured fee process, to other schools or locations in the state.

9. When possible, the project might also provide periodic training activities that are targeted specifically for experienced participants. Perhaps, some activities could be in the area of grant or proposal writing teams that would help develop proposals and concepts papers related to furthering the goals and resources in the project.

10. Experienced participants might become involved in the development of local ìthematic trunksî or ìthematic packetsî similar to the museum trunks, but on a smaller scale and more focused on providing someone else with all the information and resources necessary to conduct their particular unit.