The Lay of the Land
Problem or Observation
You need to know who the players are and what the structure is. Our knowledge about people is usually pretty limited. While most of us realize there is a school board, there is a city council and there is a mayor, etc., we probably don't know their names, let alone their points of view or concerns or political affiliations.
State laws and related information are usually published on Web Sites and typically enshrined in some sort of official document or place. You can often read or download these documents.
The School Board meets regularly and should publish the minutes of things discussed, actions taken and future plans.
Academic goals and objectives are usually indicated by books, curricula and materials suppliers.
People's comments, opinions and viewpoints might be published in newspapers or the internet.
Objective
List all people in all of the organizations related to the project and log what you know about them.
Basics
Who Are The Players
Local or state government or school personnel, state, local or regional teachers, parents, students, this group.
Worthwhile Purpose
Know who and something about who you are trying to persuade or present to.
Being familiar with who's who will help plan how to target other projects.
Uncover other issues.
Who Is In Charge?
Is this an individual or group activity, Who's in charge? Bill (a fictitious person – write real name here).
How Is This Organized?
Decide on in-person or virtual meetings. Schedule regular meetings or schedule a meeting when needed.
A list should be kept in a database, spreadsheet, text file, card file, folders.
The activity could be divided up and assigned to various individuals
Decide on Verbal Discussions, Online Events, Regular Meetings, Written Reports, Telephone Meetings
How Is This Project Put “Back On The Rails” If It Falters In A ny Way?
If something goes off track or circumstances change, notify Bill and an emergency meeting can be called to fix what's wrong or reorganize it. Be sure that all members of your group know that such a policy exists and that they can use it. Make sure they speak up.
Target Date
90 Days
Must Do – Absolutely Vital
Have a place for the list to reside.
Find out who all the players are.
Conditional Actions or Projects
Publish reports depending on what is found.
Execute petitions if needed to find out information or get something done.
As things progress, decide how to use the list.
Actions
List all the people on the school board.
List any relevant people in school administration.
List any relevant staff.
Decide how to keep and maintain the data. A database or list might have the following fields:
Name
Title
Gender
Age
Marital Status
Educational Degree
Job History
Year Elected
Political Affiliation
Supported By
Philosophy
Issues
Identify sources of information.
Start investigating and exploring.
Add to the list as data is gathered.
Verify data.
Statistics and Measurement (productivity)
Number of people and items investigated
Notes:
Click below for a PDF copy of this project.
