Dialogue and Public Engagement

The ICCCR built on its interest in fostering social change through research and practice in the areas of dialogue and public engagement.

Campaign for Fiscal Equity (CFE) - We worked with the CFE and Public Agenda in helping facilitate the dialogue and public engagement aspect of their efforts. The CFE, a coalition of parent groups, community school boards and education advocacy organizations, launched a constitutional challenge to New York State’s education finance system in 1993 on behalf of school children from New York City and around the state. The CFE won their case in 2005 when New York City schools were awarded an additional $5.6 billion for operating expenses to be paid out over four years and $9.2 billion for facilities. The public engagement aspect of this effort was to create community-level dialogue to inform and stimulate public education reform. The complexity of the educational system and prevalence of seemingly intractable conflicts among the various stakeholder groups pose challenges to social change in areas that are in alignment with the educational, scholarly, and practical foci of the ICCCR.

NYC School Districts - We worked with parents and administrators in two school districts of the New York City Department of Education. We helped plan and facilitate Study Circles Programs on the theme of “Helping Every Student Succeed.” The underlying concern of the Parent Association presidents was the uneven distribution of resources within the school districts. The different stakeholder groups within the communities concerned were given the opportunity to convene together and be heard.

Parent Association – Scholar Interface . We had the opportunity to facilitate discussions and workshops with Parent Association groups on how parents can build effective parent teams and therefore partner more effectively and constructively with schools.