ToucanTech's Community Comment series provides a view of how community management is evolving, from a range of experts around the world.

The past year

Do you have any examples of success stories or anecdotes about positive outcomes that have emerged from operating differently during the COVID era? 

Private schools in Texas have been a model of safety and ingenuity in reopening as soon as possible and returning to in-person synchronous learning.  Test scores from the 2020-2021 school year show the kind of academic growth that we have come to expect from private schools and parents and students were happy with their experiences last year..  

The here and now

What is the atmosphere like at the moment within the networks you work with - would you say there is a positive undercurrent and signs of optimism, or are people experiencing fatigue with the limitations that we are dealing with across the world? 

There is a lot of fatigue this year as students, parents, and community members are ready for everything to be exactly the same as it was in 2019. The good news is that it seems like we have almost reached that threshold, but holding on to safety protocols until we can finally release them is causing a lot of fatigue and emotion among administrators and teachers.  We have great hope that the release of the pediatric vaccine soon will help all schools get back to normal!

In the future

Whilst it’s tricky to predict, do you foresee any long-lasting outcomes for fundraising and community engagement operations or initiatives that your community would welcome?

I think that most private schools will adopt a hybrid model of fundraising and community engagement from now on.  While in-person community building is definitely preferred, other additions including online parent/teacher conferences have allowed both parents to attend these important meetings instead of having to contend with childcare issues and work schedules!

 Laura Colangelo is the Executive Director of Texas Private Schools Association. To find out more about their mission to inspire private schools, visit their website.

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