Neil Gupta, superintendent in Oakwood, Ohio, says district leaders should create spaces where the community can come together and provide valuable feedback for the school system.

Not only should community members be included, but engaging student groups to gather their perspectives is an important aspect of a comprehensive engagement strategy.

Gupta says the cornerstone of building relationships and creating a vision is to listen, listen and listen. He is also a proponent of delivering regular addresses on the “State of the District.”

Don't miss his points about level-setting with the stakeholders; every priority can’t make the to-do list or the focus will become scattered. This means leaders sometimes have to disappoint people, he says.

Gupta led a roundtable discussion Thursday afternoon in New Orleans titled “Launching a comprehensive community engagement plan.” There, he shared Oakwood City Schools' collaborative plan to “Embark on a New Journey Together.”

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