Engage School Districts

The purpose of this phase is to assess school readiness and ensure ownership and active participation among key school district stakeholders. 

About This Phase

A readiness assessment is critical to determining whether and how to move ahead with sex education implementation. Ensuring there is commitment from administrators – such as school principals, district superintendents, school board members – is essential to success. Without support from key administrators in the district, sex education efforts will be stalled or stopped altogether and teachers will not have the support they need for implementation.

Steps to Engage School Districts

Step Results
1

Assess School District Readiness and Capacity to Implement Sex Education

  • Completed assessment of sex education, including current practices, goals, and readiness to implement
  • Decision regarding school district readiness to make meaningful progress on sex education implementation
Details
2

Secure Commitment from Key School District Stakeholders

  • Established team comprised of people with policy and program decision-making authority engaged in reviewing and reflecting on the current status of sex education in the district and goals for moving forward
  • A documented action plan to improve sex education
  • A signed agreement is in place (e.g., Memorandum of Understanding or letter of engagement; this is only necessary if you’re working from outside an educational system)
Details

Sustainability

The long-term sustainability of gains made during this phase of the work is supported by:

  • Key administrators and teachers speaking publicly about their commitment to sex education and its value to students.
  • An interdisciplinary team supporting ongoing sex education implementation.
  • A document, such as an MOU, that articulates the school district sex education goals and path toward attaining and sustaining sex education.

Resources

Capacity Assessment and Planning Tool (CAPT)

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The Capacity Assessment and Planning Tool (CAPT) aids in determining how ready a school district is to engage in sex education efforts.  This can be adapted to respond to a specific state or regional context. 

Sample School District Stakeholder Message Development

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Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Power & Potential (GCAPP), a WISE lead partner, developed a simple tool to document the various needs of key constituency groups. This sample shows the different school district stakeholders they engaged and how they tailored their message to distinct stakeholder needs. GCAPP staff would reference this document before conversations with these key stakeholders to ensure they were connecting their efforts to each stakeholder’s needs during every interaction.

Memorandum of Understanding

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This memorandum of understanding template outlines potential roles and responsibilities of the partners involved in sex education implementation efforts. Not only does an MOU clarify expectations, but also helps to institutionalize efforts so that agreements can continue even if a key stakeholder changes positions.

Best Practices for Family Engagement

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Best Practices for Family Engagement provides tips on how to engage parents and guardians before, during and after sex education implementation.