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Just as a corporation has investors, so too does the Franklin City Public Schools (FCPS) Division. 

An FCPS news release noted that the stakeholders who have a strong involvement in local education deserve to know how money received from federal or state sources could be used in educating students. 

FCPS Federal Programs Coordinator Catina Alston co-organized a meeting for 30-plus such investors on Nov. 5, and it was held in the Franklin High School Library. She was aided by Kim Billups, FCPS grants specialist. 

Alston said, “The overall purpose of the stakeholder meeting is to inform our stakeholders of the division’s priorities and the action steps, but to also receive input from them on the plan. We want to know what they think is a good action and what changes they would make in the form of removing steps, adding steps or modifying existing steps. Their recommendations will be used to improve upon the plan by incorporating some of the feedback provided.” 

Billups added, “Grants are written to provide specifics on funding for salaries, programs to support learning, instructional support, materials and supplies to provide support, parents and engagement, just to name a few.” 

Such gatherings are annual events. FCPS had one in 2022 for the next school year, and the one that took place recently is for the 2024-25 school year. 

Alston said, “The goal is to host two stakeholder meetings per school year in fall and spring to  contribute to our continuous improvement. The meaningful engagement of stakeholders is  required under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), reauthorized in 2016 as  the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).”

Referencing §2102(b)(3) of the ESSA, she continued, “Meaningful stakeholder engagement requires structures and processes that ensure the ongoing collaboration and input of a variety of stakeholders who represent the demographics of districts, schools and programs. Stakeholders include families, students, educators and community members. This document is designed to help districts and schools meet federal stakeholder engagement requirements, using evidence-based principles of strong family, school and community partnerships.” 

What helps determine who can be a stakeholder is found in §2102(b)(3)(a) of the aforementioned ESSA. Alston quoted that an education agency should “meaningfully consult with teachers, principals, other school leaders, paraprofessionals (including organizations representing such individuals), specialized instructional support personnel, charter school leaders (in a local educational agency that has charter schools), parents, community partners, and other organizations or partners with relevant and demonstrated expertise in programs and activities.”  

Following any necessary explanations about their purpose, the participants worked in groups and reviewed the division’s plans to address the five priorities identified in the needs assessment, which were as follows: Academic achievement; recruitment and retention; culture and climate; chronic absenteeism; and stakeholder engagement. 

The federal programs coordinator added that after reviewing the plans, the group discussed and recorded the good aspects of the plan and the aspects that needed to be removed, adjusted or things that needed to be added. 

“This is the feedback the division will use to revise the plan by incorporating portions of the stakeholder feedback for continuous improvement,” Alston said. 

The event organizers were quite pleased with the session. 

“Yes, it was a positive stakeholder meeting,” Billups said. “The room was filled with talk, ideas and understanding of grant details.” 

Alston said, “I feel the event was successful first because the stakeholders present represented the diversity of individuals recommended in the ESSA legislation. The thoughtfulness and intentionality of the feedback we received from the stakeholders was phenomenal. Finally, the participants completed an evaluation of the plan at the end of the session, and the data from that evaluation showed that we are progressing overall, but need to monitor the implementation of action steps to determine effectiveness.” 

WHAT’S NEXT?

Alston said FCPS will “use the information in our data monitoring session with the division’s instructional leadership team to revise the plan based on the data and incorporate portions of the stakeholder feedback to improve the action steps for optimal student performance.”