11. Initiating a Conversation With a School District: Who to Contact and How | R
11. Initiating a Conversation With a School District: Who to Contact and How | Readings
Julee P. Farley
This section addresses how to reach out to a school district and includes sample email templates for making a first contact in a school district.
Learning Objectives
Learners should be able to:
- Explore potential contacts.
- Demonstrate making an informed, initial contact with a school district.
Assignment
The authors suggest that you start a conversation with the school district, district curriculum coordinator, or a pre-designated contact rather than a particular teacher. The school district can point you to a school and contacts that would be the best fit for their needs—rather than starting at the school or teacher level.
Bring what you learned in your information gathering stage, and build on that:
- You might have learned almost nothing from your web search regarding the school district, and there might not have been previous collaborations between your institution and the school district.
- Or, you might have learned a great deal about the school district from your web search and conversations with colleagues about past partnerships.
When approaching a school district, aim to:
- Affirm that they are most familiar with their needs. Do not assume that you are an expert in the school district or school. They are most familiar with their needs.
Requesting a Meeting (Sample Email)
Dear <<NAME>>,
My name is <<YOUR NAME>>, and I am <<YOUR ROLE and AFFILIATION>>. I am reaching out to start a conversation about how I can begin to engage with and support your <<SCHOOL, DISTRICT>>. I would like to <<BRIEFLY DESCRIBE YOUR PROJECT. MENTION IF YOU ARE PLANNING TO SUBMIT A GRANT PROPOSAL, WANT TO DO IN-PERSON OUTREACH etc.>>, and I believe we could potentially collaborate on this project. I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have, and I hope that we can meet to discuss potential opportunities to collaborate. If you would like to meet to discuss this further, please let me know your availability.
Thank you for your time and interest.
Best,
<<YOUR NAME AND CONTACT INFO HERE>>
EXAMPLE:
Dear Dr. Administrator of Science Curriculum,
My name is Dr. Green, and I am an assistant professor in Geoscience at Virginia Tech. I am reaching out to start a conversation about how I can begin to engage with and support the Montgomery County School District. I would like to submit a grant proposal to the National Science Foundation (NSF) on June 28 (6 weeks from now); as part of this grant proposal, I would like to provide students with opportunities to learn about local geology, and I believe we could potentially collaborate on this project. I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have, and I hope that we can meet to discuss potential opportunities to collaborate. If you would like to meet to discuss this further, please let me know your availability.
Thank you for your time and interest.
Best,
Dr. G. Green
Assistant Professor
Virginia Tech
Phone
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