2003 NS School Collaboration Study a memorandum of understanding

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DRAFT • Collaboration offers opportunities to share services that may be too expensive to replicate, while also helping officials and citizens understand why it may be important to replicate some services. • This effort should result in real partnerships that benefit all students and jurisdictions in terms of efficient use of resources and cost effectiveness, equitable educational opportunities, and a sense of "being in this together." Next Steps (March -August 2003) 1. Identify Participants and Schedule Initial Working Session • Participants must include board chairs and executives. Key folks will need to commit to participate. It's important that they be a part of conversations and discussions about values, beliefs, and goals. • We may want to consider including a second board member (e.g., vice chairs, past chairs, or an interested member) and some assistant or associate managers and superintendents. In addition to building a greater sense of shared purpose, the working group will benefit from having additional perspectives. • Timing is a factor. Board chairs and executives need to be in place. 2. Identify Interests, Barriers, Values, and Goals • Given the issues and interests identified above, the working group's first set of tasks should be to discuss their individual interests, define criteria for what successful collaboration looks like, describe what has worked well or not so well in previous collaborative efforts, and identify barriers to successful collaboration. • The working group can then identify the .key values that reflect their interests in public education, and create shared goals for this initiative. 3. Develop Recommendations and Evaluation Criteria • Once this has been accomplished, the working group can use its goals and values to identify the outcomes they agree to work together to achieve. These will most likely be broad value-based goals. • The next steps involve identifying, or engaging additional staff in identifying, a set of specific recommendations that satisfy the values and goals agreed to by the working group. • The working group will also develop criteria or measures for evaluating the success or outcomes of these recommendations. 4. Engage Governing Boards and Administrative Officials • The respective governing bodies should be kept informed about the efforts and progress of the working group. • The working group should also coordinate with school administrators who are proceeding with the charge from their boards to move forward on collaboration. • Using its goals, values, and criteria for successful collaboration as a guide, the working group should jointly select specific recommendations and present these recommendations at a joint meeting of the respective boards.