SW Common Council

Communications Committee Meeting

4/8/13

In Attendance:  Mary Adams (RCSD School Board), John Boutet (SWCC Communications Co-Chair), Eleanor Coleman (ProsperProchester, Inc.), Glenn Gardner (CHNA, Community Leadership Development), LaShay Harris (19th WCA), John Lightfoot (COTSNA, County Legislator 25th), Jon Schull (RIT), Ralph Spezio (Retired Principal)

Community Wi-Fi

Currently working on community Wi-Fi.  John disseminated an update from Frontier indicating costs.  Goal is to provide Internet connection in lower-income neighborhoods to increase ability to network and communicate (school, resources, jobs, etc.).

Recurring fee needs to be addressed; can probably find funds for capital expenditure but need to have recurring costs in place.  SW school issues have limited Committee's ability to focus on securing grantors for Wi-Fi initiative.

John Lightfoot noted that the County has free Wi-Fi in designated areas (SE, East Ave, downtown, Pittsford, etc.); not in areas where people need free Wi-Fi.  I-Park will enable people to use Wi-Fi in parks.  Tried to convince County to start a pilot program to study feasibility and impact.  Cost - $8,000 for 3 or 4 nodes (estimate); SBA Park, SBA Museum, Anthony Square.  All could hold about 10 users at one time; 20 users at Anthony Square.  Negotiations currently stalled.  Also trying to engage RCSD to promote Parent Connect.  Does not appear that there are ongoing recurring costs (Frontier uses County poles and County gets hot spots).

Center City is funded; stops at Nick Tahoe's. 

It was recommended to John L. that this project should be in the County's Capital Improvement Project.

Digital Ripple - Jon Schull

Started with RIT students having a passion about doing something cool and useful - training for High School or Jr. High students.  Building educational capacity; trade school.  Summer Parks Program funded 3 students to work with 25 youth in NW.  Full 6 wk curriculum to assemble wireless access points, put them in mechanical enclosures, paint the enclosures, and, in alliance with the City, access points went up throughout the City.  Wireless, open, public networks in neighborhoods in Edgerton area and SBA area.  Challenge:  No sustainability plan (ongoing maintenance).

Make this part of the infrastructure of a 21st Century school.  Setting up an access point is simple and not costly ($40/mth).

Community Accredited Schools Model - Ralph Spezio, Glenn Gardner

Key is ownership.  Parents, teachers and residents need to feel ownership.  Brings about personal investment.  Put the framework on the table and bring everyone to the table to fill in the pieces - all with a child's face on the project.

Connecting neighbors fights isolation; also impacted drug trafficking.

Surveying parents is crucial:  Always asked, "Do you feel comfortable in your child's school?"  Making the site a safe and attractive place (clear glass, bullet-proof lights, etc.). 

New principalship does not ensure that the model will continue.  Need to have a blueprint for operating a community school.  How can a neighborhood have more control over the school; if your children live in the neighborhood and your children attend that school, that is YOUR school; however, RCSD culture does not report to the community.  Community should accredit the school. 

1. Community should have a vision (e.g., CHNA  - school should be the center of an Urban Village);
2. Community should develop expectations (which lead to behavioral and performance outcomes); community should be part of selecting the principal;
3. Shared Governance - School-based Planning Teams are not functioning in the way they were designed.  Principal is co-chair with a community member who is representing the community as a co-chair.

You should not know where the school ends and the community begins.  Culture needs to be connected to the community.

This formalized vehicle should be able to sustain the community/school climate and structure regardless of changes in principals.

Concept is universal; can be easy for other schools and communities to embrace.

Urban Village concept identified many years ago through past Mayors.  School #17 makes a good model because it includes a school health center, dental center and primarily neighborhood students; leadership succession planning is the sustainability piece.  Principal's job description is based on the expectations of the community.  School #17 will be a Transformation Model (principal and 50% of staff must go).

In reaction to Glenn indicating that RCSD leadership is strongly supportive of  community input regarding schools, Eleanor spoke to the struggle she has had with RCSD supporting the Freedom School at School #29 despite having community input going back to June of 2012, African-American trained Freedom School leadership at the forefront of establishing a SouthWest Freedom School, parent involvement, a principal with a long history of community engagement asking for a Freedom School, and the UR as a formal partner to do evaluation that includes the community and parents as respondents.

Eleanor suggested that, perhaps, mobilizing to address the school/community issue (supporting each other in our efforts to make a change at School #17 and School #16) may be a way to address many of the issues that relate (Internet connectivity, parent input, community input, health issues, education opportunities, etc.).

RTA has proposed teacher-led schools.  Does not mean there won't be a principal; teacher's will be part of the hiring of the principal. 

Some feedback on the Transformation Model is that it rewards failure and destabilizes funding (funding won't be maintained).

Jon S. noted that emerging technologies are unlikely to succeed unless they are given a specific purpose; no better purpose than helping a school and community increase their communication.  Needs to be part of a techno-social system.  Easier to do on a small pilot level that can then be replicated.

ProsperRochester, Inc.

Eleanor explained the beginnings of ProsperRochester, Inc., a group currently becoming incorporated and working on non-profit status.  The corporation will:

1. focus on urban agriculture projects for youth and families,
2. oversee The Seedfolk Store at 540 W. Main St (a youth entrepreneurial training site, a place to purchase fresh produce at 540 W. Main St., and a meeting spot for building community relationships),
3. promote cultural, community-based education, and
4. identify ways to promote family prosperity and sustainability.