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School at the Centre of Community. Presentation Name. 11 th January 2010. Louise van Rhyn. Background & the story so far. ?. Dinokeng Scenarios – 3 possible futures for South Africa. Symphonia for South Africa. Symphonia: Creating opportunities for all the voices to be heard

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  1. School at the Centre of Community Presentation Name 11th January 2010 Symphonia presents to Company's Name Louise van Rhyn

  2. Background & the story so far ?

  3. Dinokeng Scenarios – 3 possible futures for South Africa

  4. Symphonia for South Africa • Symphonia:Creating opportunities for all the voices to be heard • Our purpose: To strengthen the fabric of South African Society • Our business: • Citizen engagement • Community Mobilisation

  5. A shared objective: Reduce systemic risk in SA Ignite Active Citizenship Strengthen the Fabric of SA Society Build Leadership Capacity “Walk Together” (Business, Government, NGOs) Education HIV/Aids Crime & Risk to Safety Breakdown of Community

  6. Mobilising Communities for Education “We will also continue to strengthen our focus on improving the functionality of our schools. We know that in terms of school performance, the role of principals is key. We will focus on training principals in order to strengthen their management skills and to ensure that they are fully supported in their role by the system as a whole. We are also planning to build the capacity of our School Governing Bodies who should play a significant role in guiding the school and ensuring the involvement of the parent community in their children's education. We will continue to mobilise our communities to involve themselves in the education of our children throughout the year” 7th January 2010 Angie Montshekga Minister of Basic Education “Education is a societal issue” (quoted by Minister Montshekga) “I call on parents and communities to truly place education at the forefront of our national agenda” 8th January 2010 President Jacob Zuma

  7. Education Indaba in Philippi (7 November 2009) • Metro South District, Circuit 5 • 180 people • 18 schools, 10 people from every school • Principal, 2 x teachers, 2 x parents, other member of staff (ie not teaching), • Current learner, Previous learner, other stakeholders • Key discoveries: • “We don’t talk with each other... We don’t know each other.... We don’t trust each other...” • Principal & Janitor realised that they have never had a conversation • Parents and Teachers have never had conversations other than where there were problems to deal with • Current learners being inspired by previous learners • “We have NGOs working with teachers, and others working with principals, and others working with parents, etc. What we need is someone who can bring us together so that we can talk together about what we are trying to do at our school” • Learnings & Initial thoughts on the way forward • We need to do these Indabas at each school (ie not at District or Circuit Level) • Invite all of the key stakeholders of that school (Teachers, Staff, WCED, SAPS, Social Services, NGOs, Local Businesses) • Friday afternoon & evening and Saturday (all day) • Strengthen the fabric of that community so that they are able to act from their connectedness • We need more facilitators who can facilitate these sessions (it is a life-changing experience for the facilitator)

  8. Safe Community of Opportunity model Reference: Barbara Holtmann, CSIR

  9. Creating an environment for better education outcomes • Opportunities for a Business, Government & Civil Society to “Walk Together” • to create an environment for better education outcomes • School at the Centre of Community (the topic of this proposal) • Principals to be supported to engage parents & other stakeholders • Communities to take ownership of their schools • Strengthen the capacity of School Leadership Teams • Practical and ‘on the job’ development of School Leadership Teams & Governing Bodies • Using a methodology similar to the Nine Conversations in Leadership Methodology • Business Leaders to be trained as School Leadership Development Facilitators • C. Organisational Development support to DoE officials • So that they are able to lead & support a sustainable effort in their districts, circuits & schools • D. Teacher Development • To address the very high levels of teacher disengagement in our schools

  10. A. School at the Centre of Community - 1 • Background / underpinning thoughts • Move from Consumers to Citizens • Consumer: Arrive to get (expectations, blame, focus on “Rights”) • Citizen: Arrive to create / own (Responsibilities) • We need the community to have a sense of ownership for what is happening in our schools • We have to take responsibility for raising our children (can’t abdicate responsibility) • The Education Department can not raise our children • It takes a Village (adults in Community) to raise a child • Every successful school is surrounded by a group of Active Citizens who have a strong sense of ownership for what is happening at the school • It is the responsibility of the principal to engage their communities (but they also have a host of other responsibilities) • Principals are not adequately supported for their task • If we had a similar situation in business, we would have supported the business leader with a coach or change consultant • Every school is different – there is no “one size fits all” solution

  11. A. School at the Centre of Community - 2 • Proposal • To partner principals from underperforming schools with experienced business leaders • The responsibility of the “Partner” is to help the principal to ‘ignite communal possibility’ • ‘Communal Possibility’: that which becomes • possible when a group of committed people get • connected around an issue that they care about • Get the community engaged in a conversation about • the challenges and the work that needs doing • The partner to the principal is called a “Partner for Possibility (PfP) • Volunteers (from business / NGO / Faith-based communities / retired executives or principals) • Their commitment is to spend at least 8 days (60 hours) a year with the school / principal (helping the principal to ‘ignite communal possibility’) • The assumption is that learning will be 2-way (the PfP and principal will learn from each other) • All PfPs will be a member of a Community of Practice where they will share their learnings with other PfPs as well as other people who are committed to support the Education Sector (Education Dept, Bridge team, etc) • All PfPs will be trained in the community building methodology (2 day session with Peter Block) and will be supported through the Community of Practice activities “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has” Margaret Mead

  12. A. School at the Centre of Community - 3 • Benefits • Principal • Feeling supported with someone to talk to who are committed, have the capacity to listen and be engaged and who care enough to invest his/her time and skills • Not feeling so lonely and overwhelmed by the size of the task (share the load with the community and the PfP) • Work with and learn from an experienced business leader how to engage stakeholders / build community (practical ‘on the job’ leadership development & capacity building) • More able to facilitate delivery of the Education Outcomes that are so critical for our country • Partner for Possibility • An opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to the key burning issues in our country • The Best possible Leadership Development opportunity (we envisage the PfP programme to become the Leadership Development programme of choice for large corporates) • [Refer “Teach for America”] • The organisation sponsoring the PfP • A meaningful Corporate Responsibility programme where employees can use their skills, develop new skills and contribute to sustainable change in the Education Sector whilst at the same time strengthening the fabric of South African society • The Community • The possibility of a safer environment, community, prosperity, better education outcomes, etc

  13. A. School at the Centre of Community - 4 • High Level Plan • 2010 (Proof of concept) • 10-15 schools in Cape Town (cross section of under-performing schools) • Partner with selected districts and NGOs who are already active in the Western Cape • Kick-off on 1st February • PfPs and Principals to attend Community Building sessions in March • March & October community building sessions to be used to recruit potential PfPs for 2011 (and beyond) • Stakeholder engagement & fundraising for expansion • 2011 (Wide coverage in the Western Cape and do pilots in other provinces) • Aim to have at least 200 PfPs in the Western Cape • Pilots in other provinces (e.g. Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape, etc) • Stakeholder engagement, recruitment of PfPs • 2012 (Country-wide process) • Aim to have at least 1,000 PfPs around the country

  14. A. School at the Centre of Community - 5 2010 plan Kick-off & launch activities 1st February: Kick-off event Early October: Community Building Events (with Peter Block) 2nd – 9th March: Community Building Events (with Peter Block) For each of the schools (proposed plan – this will be adapted for every school) Principal & PfP to meet at the Community Building Event in Cape Town (8 & 9 March) Principal & PfP to plan the Community event for their school 1.5 day community building event at each school (all stakeholders) Regular meetings with principal and other stakeholders Community event to review progress and agree on way forward Community of Practice activities Programme Management, Stakeholder engagement & Recruitment

  15. A. School at the Centre of Community - 6 “Education is a central, critical determinant of the economic and social success of any country. It is probably the most effective means to eradicate poverty. It is the means to future success for the individual. It is the most important element in our efforts to tackle unemployment and build an economy that meets the needs of our people. That is why we have made education the apex priority of the ANC and its government” President Jacob Zuma 8th January 2010 School at the Centre of Community

  16. A. School at the Centre of Community - 7 Ignite Active Citizenship Strengthen the Fabric of SA Society Build Leadership Capacity “Walk Together” (Business, Government, NGOs) School at the Centre of Community

  17. Stakeholder engagement (so far)

  18. A. School at the Centre of Community - 8 • Next Steps • Recruit Principals who want to be part of the Pilot programme • Recruit Partners for Possibility (PfPs) who want to be part of the Pilot programme • Get funding for the programme • Arrange kick-off event on 1st February 2010 • Arrange Peter Block Community Building workshops (first 2 weeks of March 2010) • Continue with stakeholder engagement activities • For more information, please contact: • Louise van Rhyn • louise@symphonia.net • 082 – 449 1414 • www.symphonia.net “We dare not fail our children. For if we fail them, we fail the nation” Jacob Zuma, 8th January 2010

  19. Addendum – Examples of Active Citizenship in schools

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