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Illinois School Board Journal
November/December 2005

Study Circles
Talking about what counts
by Linda Dawson

Linda Dawson is IASB director of editorial services and Journal editor.

Consider the kitchen table. An icon of family unity, the kitchen table serves as a place for more than just meals. Often, the kitchen table is the place where families congregate and guests gravitate to share ideas and swap stories — discussing the past as well as planning the future.

The kitchen table in some homes also transforms regularly into "homework central" as children learn by doing assignments as well as asking questions of parents who listen and care about their future.

This same idea of listening with a focus on the future is at the core of a movement known as "study circles," a process for community engagement that is rooted in dialogue.

School boards often struggle with the process of community engagement, according to Sally Campbell, senior program director with the Study Circles Research Center (SCRC). "Often there is a disconnect between what board members say — that they can't get people to come to meetings — and actually getting them to involve the community," she said.

But with consumer-driven parents who want to be involved in the educational process and the need for community support of education funding initiatives, it becomes apparent that boards need to find a way to engage stakeholders in a dialogue that can lead to an understanding of needs on all sides.

Engaging the community is the way school board members ascertain whether they are truly attuned to the aspirations a community has for its young people. Community engagement is also the way to garner support for district projects, funding initiatives and policy changes.

Learning what the community wants and knowing what it will support necessitates that the board listen carefully, not just to those who are the most vocal, but to the many diverse voices and opinions that are a part of every community. Study circles, Campbell says, provide a framework to do just that.

While the term actually appeared in the late 1800s as an adult education movement in New York also known as the "Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle," the study circles framework resurfaced in 1989 with the creation of the SCRC by the Topsfield Foundation.

According to SCRC materials, the foundation — now known as the Paul J. Aicher Foundation, after its founder — is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization "dedicated to advancing deliberative democracy and improving the quality of public life in the United States."

Aicher, who spent his business career in the metallurgical industry, was active in his community and recognized the value in small group discussions as a way for community members to feel ownership and better understand local issues. The foundation's efforts are based on the conviction that a healthy democratic society requires a continued search for ways to build community — processes that should be widely participatory.

The participatory aspect of building community is at the heart of the study circles process, and the basic premise is simple: Bring people together who represent as many divergent viewpoints in the community as possible. Divide them into small groups, educate them about the process they will use and then allow them time to brainstorm over questions that need to be discussed. Once ideas have been generated, the groups collectively prioritize those ideas into workable action steps that lead to change.

Behind this is the underlying premise that one of us is not as smart as all of us, Campbell said, and that "the more people involved in productive conversation, the better ideas and results you will achieve."

Study circles, on the surface, sound like any number of other community engagement processes — focus groups, community meetings — that have been used by school districts over the years to get input. The difference would seem to lie in the amount of preparation that goes into the planning phase, the use of SCRS-prepared materials and the follow-through that comes after all the information is gathered.

Study circles can be used to talk about a single, identified issue, but they also can be used to identify the issues that are most important to a community. Either way, study circles are really looking at three types of change, according to Campbell: personal, collective and policy. "If people have a good experience in the dialogue, then they usually come away at least with a personal change. Beyond that is collective change, which might lead to formation of a new task force or more involvement. And beyond that is a change in policy."

"If change is achieved at all three levels, that's how you move things forward," she added.

Whether for single-issue focus or issue identification, the most time-consuming part of the process is in the organizational phase. That's where a core group representing all the district's constituencies sets goals for the study circles, frames the discussion, recruits facilitators and identifies all the people who need to be present at the discussion table. This can take three months or more, Campbell said, although the process can be expedited if necessary.

Two facilitators are needed for each study circle: one to serve as leader and the other to serve as back-up and recorder. "They don't need to be experts on the subject matter," Campbell said, "but they need to be able to remain neutral during the discussion."

If the true study circles model is followed, then dates are selected for four sessions, usually spread over the course of four weeks.

Work at the four sessions is divided as follows:

• Acquainting participants with the process that will be used and allowing them to get to know each
  other.
• Presenting a range of views on the issue or issues identified.
• Looking at theoretical approaches.
• Focusing on outcomes by answering the questions "What could we do?" and "What do we really care about?"

When working with the SCRC, their staff will write the discussion materials based on various viewpoints that people in the community might have about the issue. These viewpoints are designed to get people thinking and talking, not to influence their stance on a particular issue.

In working with model materials on student achievement, the viewpoints presented might include:

1. Graduates must have basic skills in reading, writing and math.

2. Graduates must have job skills.

3. Graduates must be responsible people.

4. Graduates must have skills for everyday life.

5. Graduates must be ready to learn for a lifetime.

6. Graduates must have the skills to be good citizens.

7. Graduates must have a well-rounded education.

Each of the seven views would have supporting statements with which participants might either agree or disagree. By discussing their differences, participants should be able to envision some action steps that could be taken in a district.

Campbell says the four-week approach allows participants time between meetings to reflect on what they've heard and think about suggestions for change. However, she has seen groups compress the meetings into two sessions, whether a week apart or over two days, or even a day-long retreat in order to expedite the process.

While the study circle concept is adaptable to differing school and district needs, and has shown excellent results in a number of settings, the process is not achieved without caution areas and sticking points.

"The challenging part about organizing study circles," Campbell said, "is that, while it doesn't take a lot of money, comparatively speaking, it does take time, which is often scarce as schools are under so much pressure."

That time commitment comes at the beginning of the process as participant groups are identified and invited, issues are identified and possibly refined, materials are prepared and facilitators are trained. This means more organizing and planning than what normally goes into many public engagement strategies, Campbell said.

"But," she added, "if schools really want to have meaningful partnerships with the public, they need to commit the time and staffing to make it an on-going part of how the school does its business."

SCRC's director of communications, Amy Malik, also sees the potential for a problem at the end of the process if follow-through is lacking.

"The principal, superintendent, school board or all three, depending on the reach of the study circles and where authority lies for carrying out action ideas, need to communicate to participants ahead of time the nature of their commitment to carrying out ideas that come from the circles," Malik said. "For example, if a school board is involved, it needs to spell out just what it can do, or what it cannot do, particularly legally — like delegating personnel and budget decisions to citizens.

"If decision makers commit in good faith to considering and working on solid ideas, then that's probably adequate."

Unfortunately, Malik said, they have seen officials go through the study circles process, giving the appearance of involving the public, when actually they had no intention of following up on the ideas. Luckily, she added, that doesn't happen often.

"The better organizers can adhere to study circles core principles (see page below), the better the outcomes," Malik said. "If the circles have people from the same background and don't represent the diversity of the school and the public, they're less likely to generate ideas everyone can support."

SCRC staff has worked with school board associations in Arkansas and Georgia, school boards in Kansas City, Kansas, Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Winston-Salem, North Carolina, as well as the superintendents' association in Maryland and a host of municipal projects, with much success:

• Since 1998, Arkansas School Boards Association has used study circles to engage the entire state in conversations to address a number
  of different problems, including student achievement, high school reform and tax reform. Discussions have led to "Speak Up Arkansas! on Education," which saw more than 6,000 people in 91 locations giving their thoughts on education reform; establishment of small learning communities in three urban high schools; and formation of "Project PRIDE" (Parent Responsibility Impacts Desired Education), which helps a school district work with neighborhood residents to improve student achievement.
• Just this year, a study circle in Tulsa, Oklahoma, "Tulsa Talks: A Community Dialogue for Public Education," has resulted in more collaboration between two school that have had a long-standing history of competition; formation of Spanish-speaking and bilingual study circles to draw in those community members; and additional support for facilitator training to help them deal with difficult situations.
• Study circles in Maryland, initiated by the superintendents' association there, have identified ways to close the achievement gap, including openly addressing issues of race and culture, giving students a voice in their education and monitoring progress toward study circle recommendations.

And while the process is just getting started in Georgia, results have already been positive for at least one small school district.

The Georgia School Boards Association has been working with the Study Circles Resource Center to introduce the concept with its member districts, according to Laura Reilly, GSBA director of communications.

"The beauty of the model is that it can be modified to fit the issue of the school district," Reilly explained.

Last year, GSBA assisted a rural school district having great difficulty with decorum displayed at their high school graduation ceremony. Students, parents and others were shouting, stomping and throwing objects, while others were straining to hear the names of their loved ones being called up on stage. The raucous behavior was getting to the point that the local media were having a field day with the school district every year around graduation time, and parents and students were complaining in droves.

At GSBA's annual communications workshop, the board chairman heard about study circles and thought it might be the answer to address their problem, Reilly said, because it would bring all stakeholders to the table.

"GSBA and SCRC worked with a team consisting of the superintendent, the board chair and representatives from the following groups: parents, minority community members, business, students, teachers and senior citizens," she said. "The school board chose an outside consultant to organize the effort, and the local news media was informed immediately as to the work of the team."

Because the time frame was short and the team wanted to get to workable solutions for graduation that school year, the "traditional" study circles model was modified to a one-day event instead of multiple meetings over several weeks. The team recruited a diverse section of the community and created a discussion guide for facilitators. Then facilitators were recruited and trained, and students were also trained as assistant facilitators.

"The day of the ‘Big Event' saw 70 community members arrive at the high school — a good showing for such a small community," Reilly said. "By the end of the day, when the groups came together to report their findings, the issues ran deeper than simply the decorum of the ceremony.

"Participants raised concerns about testing and graduation policies, school safety, community apathy towards teens, apathy towards education in the community as a whole and some racial issues," she said. "This opened ground for further discussion for the community and the school district on a host of issues. It also gave all participants deeper understanding about other views."

For example, Reilly said, adults did not realize that the students felt so unsafe at school or that they longed for a community center where they could go and see their friends in a safe, wholesome environment.

"The point of study circles is not to come to consensus, but to find common ground," she said. "The group was able to agree on what it could present to the school board at its next meeting to address the graduation ceremony issue, as well as other issues that might affect the way graduates are treated and the way they view graduation themselves.

"In the end, the board accepted numerous changes brought by the study circles participants," Reilly said. "A few of the suggestions related to policies on graduation requirements were not changed for this year. However, with all of the changes made, the ceremony had a much higher level of decorum."

The school system reported that the students, staff, parents and news media seemed very positive about the ceremony. Reilly said the board chair reports that the board and superintendent plan to use the study circles model for the district's strategic planning process sometime during the next school year.

Working through the superintendents' association in Maryland, study circles gained such popularity in one county that the school district hired a Resource Center employee and created its own program.

John Landesman, who had been an SCRC community assistance director like Sally Campbell, was hired by the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) to advance a study circles program that began as one of Maryland's pilots three years ago. The district, just northwest of Washington, D.C., has more than 140,000 students in 200 schools that run the gamut from urban to suburban to rural in composition.

Although the district began with SCRC materials, using the "Helping Every Student Succeed" guide for closing the achievement gap, Landesman said they have since narrowed their focus and written their own materials to concentrate on how race and ethnicity affect student achievement. (See "Study circles address race, ethnicity" on page 22.)

"It has been really positive," Landesman said of the overall reaction to the study circles process. "At first we were knocking on doors, begging people to be involved," he said. "Last year, our numbers were up. This year we have 22 different study circle groups as people hear good things about what we're doing."

What have been some of their successes? One school had no parent-teacher organization, Landesman said, just a PTA president who met with the principal in a school with an 85 percent immigrant population. After a study circle process that focused on parent leadership, the school scheduled a parent meeting and 65 people showed up. "A full PTA is now working on specific actions that fit their school," he added, including a room parent program that focuses on communication, not just class parties.

Another study circle group resulted in formation of a Vietnamese parent outreach program that includes a phone tree and a ride tree. Another resulted in creating a parent resource room and an improved school newsletter.

While the process remains similar, the mechanics often differ. Many of the study circle groups in the MCPS district are school-based, Landesman said, but the process has been used to address issues in school clusters. Clusters in the district represent the high school and all of its various feeder middle and elementary schools. And while some study circles have been very issue-oriented, others have focused more on relationship-building.

"Some schools are too busy to get 10 circles going at once on an issue," he said, "so they may begin with one so the process doesn't seem so overwhelming."

In each case, however, the district program likes to start off with an orientation session that includes dinner and a chance to see what the process looks like before any commitment is made.

Those who chose to participate, however, have very good things to say. A section on the SCRS Web site (www.studycircles.org) allows participants to tell their own stories. One current contribution came from a mother with four children in Montgomery County schools, who went from being intimidated by "big words" and not knowing anything about the process to becoming an active participant in all of her children's schools and even helping organize a Spanish-language study circle that focused on parent leadership.

Rosa Sanchez's testimony on the Web site says study circles taught her that "it's worth it to stick it out" and "not to be intimidated by people who seem important to me, like teachers, or people who use big words because they went to college."

"I learned that my opinion was just as important as theirs," she wrote, "and they wanted to listen to it."

Questions on study circles

What are study circles?

Study circles help communities engage all kinds of people in dialogue and problem solving on critical public issues. In a study circle, eight to 12 people from different backgrounds and viewpoints meet several times to talk about an issue. The process welcomes many points of view; is guided by an impartial facilitator who does not add his/her opinion to the discussion; examines an important issue; and is a catalyst for change. In a large-scale study circle program, people all over a neighborhood, city, county or school district meet in study circles over the same period of time to work on the same issue and seek solutions for the whole community.

What are the core principles of study circles?

1. Involve everyone. Demonstrate that the whole community is welcome and needed.

2. Embrace diversity. Reach out to all kinds of people.

3. Share knowledge, resources, power and decision making.

4. Combine dialogue and deliberation. Create public talk that builds understanding and explores a range of solutions.

5. Connect deliberative dialogue to social, political and policy change.

Are study circles right for your issue?

While there are many important issues and causes, not all of them lend themselves to large-scale community-wide dialogue and problem solving. Issues that work best for a community-wide study circle program...

• Relate to the concerns and daily lives of many different types of people in the community — that is, they are genuinely public issues.
• Capture widespread public attention because they are timely.
• Are best addressed by many people through multiple forms of social, political and policy change, including:

  Changes in individual behavior and attitudes

  New relationships and networks

  Institutional changes

  Changes in public policy

From the Study Circles Resource Center Web site, www.studycircles.org.

Study Circles learning opportunity

For board members interested in what the study circles process might have to offer their school district, the Study Circles Resource Center will present a pre-conference workshop on Friday, November 18, at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel before this year's Joint Annual Conference.

Presenters Amy Malik, SCRC director of communication, and SCRC senior associates William T. Lewis and Jon Abercrombie will lead a participatory session as an introduction to the study circles process. The workshop is designed to:

• Demonstrate how study circles work;
• Help participants understand how the process builds new relationships and leads to workable solutions;
• Show how to identify all sectors of the community and get them to the table;
• And give examples of successful study circle outcomes in other communities.

Cost of the full-day workshop is $190, and includes continental breakfast, lunch, breaks and workshop materials. For more information, contact Judy Williams at 217/528-9688, extension 1103.