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Great Schools grant helps DDEA promote district
The Delavan-Darien Education Association has gone Hollywood. Drawing on some key financial support from the National Education Associa-tion, the DDEA and school district are putting together a 12-minute video that highlights the district’s quality programs and raises the local Great Schools efforts to another level.
  A video promoting the Delavan-Darien School District will reflect themes presented in this brochure recently published by the district. |
Following the standard Great Schools script, the association has conducted member interviews, surveyed members, and is planning a School-Commun-ity Visions meeting in September. But not content to leave it at that, the association applied for and won a special NEA grant to help fund a video promoting the quality of education in the school district. The grant finances half the cost of the $4,929 project, with the district funding the other half.
Titled “A Proud Past, A Promising Future,” the video reflects themes contained in a recently published school district brochure: meeting student needs, a dedicated staff, and a beautiful community.
It will be shown to anyone who wants to see it, including Realtors, service clubs and church groups, said DDEA President Doreen Grams.
The overarching message, she said, is, “We have quality staff and a majority of our facilities are well- kept. The goal is that people will want their kids to attend school in this district.”
The joint project builds upon a positive relationship that the association has developed with the district over the past several years.
It goes back to the district’s involvement in the Village Partnership program, which led to creation of school building Site Councils in which parents and citizens work with teachers, administrators and support staff in making key educational decisions.
“We were probably ahead of other districts starting out (with Great Schools) as well as reaching out to the community,” Grams said. “We already had contacts with the business community.”
The local association’s good relationship with the administration and board also helped facilitate a settled teachers contract for 1999-2001.
Doreen Grams |
“We don’t always agree, but we’re not adversarial to each other,” Grams said.
The association has developed a Solutions Team in which three association representatives and three administrators discuss issues and possible solutions prior to negotiations, a process that has helped reduce conflict.
With that relationship as a foundation, the district and union have found a variety of ways to work together to promote quality education. The joint effort in producing this video is just the latest example.
With the district thinking about the possibility of going to referendum in the near future, the video – being produced by Videogenics of Janesville – may help generate increased support for education, a parallel goal of the Great Schools project.
“Any positive PR we can get out there is good,” Grams said.
The NEA grant came from a special program set up by the NEA at the request of WEAC. The grant program provides funds to assist local affiliates and UniServs with their Great Schools efforts. The deadline for applying for the grants was June 1.
Posted May 31, 2000