Toolkit for Transparent and Community-Centered Decision Making in NEISD

Toolkit for Transparent and Community-Centered Decision Making in NEISD

NEISD Community Advocates is a grassroots collective dedicated to strengthening connections between public schools and the community. We work to make possible a more supportive, inclusive, and enriching public school experience for students, staff, and caregivers.

NEISD Community Advocates

This toolkit was created by NEISD Community Advocates in the wake of the 2025 school closures to help district leadership enact a more transparent and community-centered process for making major decisions. The information in this toolkit is the aggregation of personal experiences from students, parents, and district staff.

Our hope is that the first-hand experiences of those who experienced the loss of their community schools can lead to more compassionate and open processes as the district works through challenges in the future. It is written in the spirit of solidarity, collaboration, and educational justice.

1. Avoiding Negative Student Impacts

Impacts on students can have long-term implications. Every effort should be made to avoid major changes that can negatively impact children.

Before exploring options that could negatively impact students, consider where else cost savings can be found:

    • Reevaluate vendor contracts to eliminate waste and redundancy, and search for more affordable options.
      • Ex. Facilities consultants like Gordion, insurance carrier
    • Audit other major budgets for potential cost savings
      • Ex. police/NEISD security spending

2. Authentic Community Engagement

Replace top-down information sharing with real community dialogue. Consider families the experts on their own lives and local schools.

  • Allow live Q&A and open dialogue at meetings
  • Avoid impersonal feedback methods (ex. QR code surveys as the only method of offering feedback)
  • Make community and board meetings accessible to all (ex. those who need translation/interpretation, cannot attend in person, don’t have internet access, etc.)
  • Ensure board member presence at community meetings
  • Make community feedback available to all on the NEISD website
    • Ex. Add feedback to the NEISD website page on school closures and update regularly
  • Build trust through clear and honest language
    • Ex. Say “school closures” instead of vague alternatives
  • Require each board member to:
    • Host at least one in-person community session
    • Attend at least one impacted school meeting

3. Timing & Process Planning

Ensure decisions are made when communities can meaningfully participate. The best ideas arise from bringing the expertise of the entire community to the conversation. 

  • Avoid key decisions:
    • Right before/during major breaks (ex. winter break)
    • Late-night communications (ex. 10 pm emails about potential school closures)
    • Summer months when engagement drops
  • Implementing major changes should be the least disruptive possible to our students, families, and school workers by maintaining normal school routines and environment
    • (Ex. Do not pack up/move school supplies before the school year is over)

What it looks like:

  • Publish a decision timeline at least 6 months in advance
  • Require multiple engagement windows (weekday + weekend options) for community feedback
  • Run the timeline through the balanced district scorecard to ensure all parties’ needs are being considered fairly.

4. Equity & Impact Analysis

Center the most vulnerable communities in decision-making.

Required Considerations

Disproportionate impact on:

  • Low-income families
  • Title I schools
  • Communities with limited school choice access
  • Special Education (SPED) needs
  • Transportation access & barriers
  • Academic and emotional impact on all students, families, and staff impacted by the changes

What it looks like:

    • Conduct a formal Equity Audit
    • If similar changes have been made in the past, provide an Impact Report of those changes in advance for a more informed vote
    • Publish an Impact Report 1 year after major changes and share lessons learned publicly

5. Continued Community Involvement After a Major Decision

The need for community engagement does not end with a board vote. As transitions unfold after a board decision, continue to engage and listen to those most impacted by the decisions being made by district leadership. 

  • Be transparent about what life will look like post-transition
    • Ex. Don’t hold a vote to close schools without transparency about the potential future use of buildings
  • Invite community input on what the future will look like from those most impacted
    • Ex. A forum for neighborhood residents to share opinions and concerns on the future use of shuttered school buildings.

What it looks like:

  •  Create a community advisory committee comprised of those who are most impacted by decisions, rather than people who are hand-picked by district leadership and aren’t impacted by the issue at hand
  • Share options publicly before decisions are made
  • Require board vote on decisions that are made on the back end of a major change
    • Ex. Use of shuttered school buildings

"If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together." 

- East African Proverb

6. Staff & Family Transition Support

Provide strong family and staff support through transitions and beyond. Don’t make students, staff, and families pay the cost of transitions. 

Staff Support:

  • Continue stipends and other benefits that staff are relying on after a transition
  • Impacted staff have first pick of where they will go/what they will do next if they are displaced by a decision
  • Ex. Movers and moving supplies to help teachers who must relocate from one building to another

Student and Family Support:

  • District leadership actively seeks and listens to input on student and family needs from affected families
  • Involve Family Support Specialists and School Counselors in transition support
    • Ex. Transition liaison services, attending community feedback meetings, etc.
  • Transitional support provided for incoming students who are not already at the school
    • Ex. Transition ARDs for 5th grade students who are moving up to a different middle school than expected due to the closure of Driscoll
  • Events to help students and families through transitions are designed to give them a realistic look at the future with access to resources
    • Ex. School tours are offered at times when families can access classrooms and meet teachers
  • Be aware of scheduling conflicts for impacted students and strive to eliminate those conflicts.
    • Ex. Elective fairs held at times that don't conflict with community meetings about major changes.
  • Anticipate impacts to students and staff outside of the immediate circle of impact, make a plan to address them, and be responsive to feedback as issues arise.
    • Ex. Conduct capacity and resource assessments to support existing students’ success at receiving schools after the transition
    • Maintain feeder patterns (elementary → middle → high school) and ensure strong communication from receiving schools for rising students
  • Bring mindfulness to creating an inclusive environment for students transitioning to new schools
    • Ex. Proactively give incoming 5th graders the opportunity to participate in morning and afternoon patrols
    • Avoid language like “I’ve been watching these kids grow since kindergarten,” which may cause transitioning students to feel excluded.

Last updated: June 9, 2026