My interest in development and international affairs took me to Ghana and India in 2013-14 searching for lessons in how to successfully bring about change in the developing world. In the spring of 2015, however, my studies brought me to my hometown in Grinnell, Iowa, where my local community and alma mater were struggling to build bridges between the College and public school system. As a member of a task force charged with developing a plan for ongoing partnership between the College and public school system, I took away important lessons about how to facilitate effective decision-making and representation in local communities.

In November 2014, an administrator of my college suggested that he and a group of concerned parents were looking into the possibility of bringing a private school to our small town of approximately 10,000 residents. Citing their frustration with the local school district, incompetence of teachers, and failed communication that led their kids to sometimes fall through the cracks, the administrators and parents declared that they had had enough. It was time to give families more choices about the schools their children attend.

Of course, the “choice” these parents were talking about is really a question of privilege. The Grinnell public school system serves an increasingly poor student body, with 37.9% of students eligible for free or reduced cost meals in 2013-14 at the public middle school, a proxy indicator for poverty. Many parents in the Grinnell area struggle to make ends meet, sometimes working multiple jobs or sacrificing time with their families to secure their household’s income. The private school model recommended by the concerned parents would cost $29,850 a year, with a maximum financial aid package of 75% of tuition, leaving an unpaid balance of $7,462 per student. For almost 40% of families in Grinnell, and certainly many more, the “choice” of a private education was out of reach, with the full cost of tuition equaling or exceeding their annual income.

Perhaps most unsettling in the debate about a private school was the indifference of the concerned parents and administrator to the impact of declining enrollment on public school funding. The state of Iowa provided $6,446 per pupil in 2015-16 and small school districts such as Grinnell are heavily reliant on this funding for their programs. The proposed private school would enroll approximately 40 students, likely leading to a reduction in enrollment by 40 students and a loss of $257,840 in per pupil funding. Furthermore, withdrawing 40 of the most affluent students and their families, whose parents are among the most involved in the public school system, would lead to a loss of parent voices whose advocacy is critical for providing constructive criticism and meaningful change within the public school system.

While the private school discussion eventually faded due to major backlash from Grinnell community members, Grinnell College established a Task Force to catalog pre-existing relationships between the College and Public School and develop solutions for increased collaboration between the two entities. The Task Force was comprised of approximately 20 members appointed by the Grinnell College President, among them teachers from each of the local public schools, the superintendent of the Grinnell public school system, retired public school teachers, parents, professors, Grinnell Chamber members, and Grinnell College students (of which I was one). A Task Force leader was hired to lead the group, collect information, and guide the Task Force’s efforts towards creating a series of recommendations to strengthen relationships between the College and School System.

Though I recognize the good intentions of the College in creating a Task Force, the proceedings of the Task Force itself left much to be desired. Serving on the Task Force taught me these important lessons about development that certainly extend beyond the county lines of my local Iowan community:

Do not mistake events for being isolated when their impact leads to significant change for the community.

The concerns of parents advocating for a private school option were valid. Bullying, ineffective instruction, and poor communication require attention and resources to be corrected. However, the pursuit of a private school option was often discussed as being an isolated event rather than the beginning of a chain of events with serious implications for students and families remaining in the public school system.

Pay attention to the power dynamics at play when selecting a group of stakeholders to represent the views of the local community.

This problem set the groundwork for future challenges for the Task Force: All committee members were nominated by the College. From the very beginning, the dynamic of the group and the power to represent the interests of diverse parties was hand-picked by only one of the stakeholders.

Involve local community members and diverse stakeholders in decision-making processes as much as possible. Yes, this takes time. And yes, it is worth it.

Despite the relevance of our Task Force’s discussions to the broader community, there was distinct resistance to sharing the minutes of our meetings or opening up our discussions for community input. The Task Force’s leadership declined to involve the broader community, arguing that the inclusion of too many voices would be “chaotic,” “ineffective,” and may require more time than the Task Force was able to give. There was also concern that parents, students, and teachers would not show up to the meetings if given the opportunity. These concerns seemed irrelevant to me. It was our responsibility as voices for the broader community to provide open forums to discuss community issues, whether or not those forums were used as much as we hoped.

Be transparent about conversations had, resources shared, and decisions reached.

In the event that an open forum is not possible, it is important to at least make sure that what is said behind closed doors is later made accessible to interested parties. Beyond the critical questions being raised by members of the committee in regards to the public education system, the task force spent several sessions cataloguing pre-existing programs that facilitate partnership between the College and local community. Rather than converting this catalogue into a resource to be used by community members, it was kept as a private document by the leadership of the task force. Furthermore, the final output of the task force’s discussions– a white paper advising the College on how to facilitate a successful partnership between the school entities– was not shared widely with the local community.

Recognize that in small communities, one person is likely to wear many hats and represent multiple stakeholder interests.

For many of the Task Force committee members, the expectation that they would express the viewpoint the College had appointed them to represent was frustrating. For designated “professor” committee members who also had children in the public school, their roles as parents certainly colored their contributions to the committee. Likewise, “Grinnell College student” committee members who had previously been Grinnell College public school students or who had siblings in the school were also similarly torn between views.