Love Our Schools Day Toolkit
Use these simple steps to host Love Our Schools Day!
Love Our Schools Day helps schools build partnerships with their community and discover assets and resources for their children, families, and teachers.
We know that schools are the hub of the community, and that when stakeholders from the community target their support through the local school – everyone benefits. Children and families find support, school metrics improve, the neighborhood improves and the local organizations grow. Love Our Schools Day serves as a connection point for partnerships to form, people to work together, and progress to begin. It all starts with these 5 simple steps for Love Our Schools Day!
1. Plan Ahead
2. Build A Leadership Team
3. Identify Projects
4. Find Partners & Volunteers
5. Host & Celebrate
Plan Ahead
- Schedule a Date on the school calendar and take the availability of key partners into consideration as you plan
- Reach out to community partners to get the date on their calendars and enlist help
- File necessary paperwork with the district so that everything is approved in time
Build Your Team
An effective leadership team is core to the success of Love Our Schools Day! This team helps keep the planning for Love Our Schools Day moving forward and works to keep the needs of the school at the front of the conversation.
Here are a few people you might want to include on your leadership team!
School Point Person
Who naturally rallies the troops and always seems to get stuff done? Is there one person who stands out, or a team of 2 or 3 who work well together?
Community Hero
Is there a key community partner from a local business, church, or club, with whom the school has a great relationship and works to support where needed?
Facilities Manager
The FM is critical to the success of Love Our Schools Day since these projects can support their workload and campus needs. Allow them to flex their time so that they can be present on the school project day!
Project Leader
This may be the School Point Person, Community Hero, Parent Organization Member, or anyone who the group chooses. They are responsible for a specific project, manage the supplies and details, and lead a team on the school project day!
PRO TIP
Clear communication and clear roles help every person on the team to bring their best skills and resources while no one person carries too much responsibility.
3. Identify Projects
- To determine which projects to target, start with 3 things:
- School Goals
- Community Resources
- Timeline
- Take your goals, resources, and time frame into consideration for each of the 5 Target Areas
- Strategize which projects will help you make the most progress toward your goals
Download the Project Toolkit!
Project Ideas
Download a List of Project Ideas for YOUR school!
Project Goals Worksheet
Download this worksheet to identify your projects based on your school goals, community resources, and timeline for each of the 5 Target Areas!
Project Tips
Download this list of Project Tips to find practical application tips for Love Our Schools Day!
PRO TIP
If Teacher Retention is one of your top goals, choose Love Our Schools Day Projects that will support teachers, sending a clear message that they are valued, and motivate them to continue teaching at the school.
4. Find Partners & Volunteers
- Your school may already have partnerships with various businesses, non-profits, or churches – great! Make sure to contact these groups and invite them to work with you on Love Our Schools Day.
- This is also a great time to assess the community around the school and identify some groups that you wish to work with. Try for a diverse group where the whole community is represented!
How to Find Partners Toolkit!
Who is at the Table?
Download this worksheet to see if you have everyone in YOUR community represented on your team!
Community Partner Sample Letter
Download this PDF for a template to help you reach out to potential Community Partners and Volunteers!
More Steps to Find Partners
Download this detailed list for more ways to find partners for YOUR school!
PRO TIP
Keep the process super simple and accessible for partners and volunteers to participate. Tell them how much you value their support and what it means to the children you serve!
5. Host & Celebrate
- Promote early and often to galvanize the most volunteers possible. Remember that businesses, churches, foundations, cities etc. need early planning to successfully harness their networks.
- Share the impact. Explain why the project matters to the students, teachers, and the school. Tell volunteers why their participation is important.
- Interact with all volunteers and make sure they have everything they need for the projects and know where they can find additional supplies.
Celebrate the work being done and all the volunteers continuously!
The Host’s Toolkit!
Promotional Tips
Download a list of tips to promote your Love Our Schools Day and get the word out to volunteers!
Preparation Checklist
Download this Checklist to prepare everything for the big day!
Celebration & Appreciation
Learn ways to celebrate your volunteers and build on the momentum to form community partners for your school!
PRO TIP
To continue building relationships with your community partners, the next step is to host a CAFE (Community and Family Engagement) event. For more information and resources on hosting a CAFE, check out schoolconnectaz.org/café.
Join Our Village
Doing this alone is impossible; it takes all of us working together to make a difference.
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