On October 21st, 2009, AAAS/DoSER sponsored a workshop with the Illions Association of School Boards (IASB) to present the SMarT training materials and Web site to state association school board trainers. 14 trainers from 10 states spent the day learning about the materials and brainstorming about how best to use them. Represented states were: Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Vermont and Virginia.
The reaction of the participants was very positive. Comments included “Fabulous learning experience. Well done! I will discuss this opportunity with my team soon.” and “It was a wonderful session. I plan to use the material with a group of 6 districts that are in a community engagement pilot together.”
We also solicited input from participants on how to improve the resources. It was noted that because school boards vary so widely, in some cases the materials would provide too much information and in others not enough. We discussed potential solutions such as supplementing the materials with information from the web site. Staff from IASB reported that although the materials did not always fit the needs of specific boards, in their experience board members still walked away with an increased sense of urgency about the issues.
Much discussion centered on the web site and participants agreed that providing examples of successful SMT programs was particularly valuable. Other suggestions included adding a forum where school board trainers could communicate about their experiences with the materials, and an “Ask Betsy” feature where board members could access information more directly. It was also recommended that the site include a general glossary of terms related to SMT education.
To encourage further use of the resources, we are offering grants of up to $1000 to help state associations present the materials. For more information please send a letter of inquiry to pwest @ aaas.org.