No.6 Learning from the image of "civic pride"

(Published in the September 15th issue of Inagi City's education magazine "Yell")

　Every day, I feel the warm support for our school and its children from the local community and citizens. Today, I would like to introduce two recent incidents that I have come across.
1 On July 16, 2024, the Board of Education held the "1st Training and Liaison Meeting for School Management Council Chairpersons in 2024," where chairpersons of each school's school management council (hereinafter referred to as the "Council") exchanged information about the management of their councils and opinions on the state of the councils. We will introduce the report from the chairperson of the council on the day, as well as some of the remarks made during the group discussion.
"At the council, we are thinking about how what the children are learning now can be put to good use in the future." "We are discussing club activities, work style reform, and school absenteeism." "We would like to increase opportunities to utilize the power of local people, such as English language learning." "I believe it is the council's role to connect the aspirations of the community and the school." "We have opened a LINE consultation desk for students and parents." "Inagi City is ready to accept new people. The council will play a role in welcoming a 'fresh wind'." "I would like to work closely with the principal to reform the school."
Each comment was based on the unique perspective of people who live in the local area and play an active role in society, and included energetic encouragement to utilize the council's power to firmly support the operation of the schools. In addition, we received multiple voices of deep support for the management policies of each school principal.
A "school management council" is established based on the "Law on the Organization and Management of Local Education Administration," and a school that has established a school management council is called a community school. It is a mechanism in which parents and local residents participate in school management with certain authority and responsibility. Its main role is to "approve the basic policy of school management," "express opinions regarding school management," and "express opinions regarding the appointment of teaching staff." Inagi City established "school management councils" in 18 municipal schools on April 1, 2022, and all schools became community schools. Regarding the committee members, the "Rules for the Establishment of School Management Councils in Inagi City Schools" stipulate that the Board of Education appoints 5 to 10 members from local residents, parents, community school collaboration activity promoters, principals, etc., based on the recommendation of the principal.
Thus, the "School Management Council" is an organization that discusses and deliberates on the educational activities and management of schools. Currently, the rate of council establishment in public schools nationwide is 52.3% (2023 data, announced by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology), but it is also said that "there are some school management councils that are just formalities without sufficient discussion" and "there are cases where the focus is on formal reports from the school" (Final Summary of the Review Committee on the Form of Community Schools, March 2022, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology), and the need for further quality improvement has been pointed out. In such a national situation, the school management council of our city is very active in its discussions, going beyond "approval of basic policies" and "opinions on school management" with the attitude of concretely solving issues related to school management. I felt deep respect and gratitude for the committee members' proactive discussions while communicating their respective "areas of expertise."
2 Since I became the Superintendent of Education, I have had the opportunity to attend various meetings in the city. In the midst of this, I have often heard the powerful message of Yoshihiko Narabe, Chairman of the Inagi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, to the people of the city's businesses, who said that in the difficult situation of the "COVID-19 disaster" and the "post-COVID-19" era, we should work to create new business opportunities while maintaining the "civic pride" of a vibrant Inagi City. In addition, at various meetings, I have learned a lot from listening to the thoughts and strategies of business managers in the city about their business development. Through these repeated encounters, I have come to feel that "I want to create an opportunity for the children of Inagi to learn about the 'entrepreneurial spirit' directly from people who are developing businesses in our city." So, at the end of last year, with the kind consideration of the Nara Division Chairman, we consulted on expanding the number of accepting businesses for the Inagi City Junior High School "Workplace Experience". Many Inagi City Chamber of Commerce and Industry members readily agreed to the plan for implementation in 2024, and we even received comments in advance such as "We're looking forward to the work experience. We've created a special workshop program." We are very grateful for your guidance, backed by your knowledge as an entrepreneur and manager, which will be a valuable learning experience for the children.
　
　What the school management council members and the workplace experience acceptance companies have in common is their passionate will to use their full strength to improve the school, the children, Inagi City, and society as a whole, based on the "perspective of living in the community and living in society." This is truly "civic pride," and seeing them up close makes me hopeful that the children of our city will be able to cultivate and hone their own "civic pride."
The examples introduced here are recent new collaborations, but education in our city has long been supported by the local community and parents. We feel that the accumulated support for schools and children from many people, such as those who provide guidance for experiential learning such as growing pears and grapes and farming rice, those who have already accepted students for work experience, the local education council, the PTA, and the school support concierge, is spreading to even more people and leading to new support.
Once again, we would like to express our gratitude for your support despite your busy schedules and other commitments. We will use your strength and efforts to foster creators of a sustainable society who have a spirit of "civic pride."　
　
　Makiko Sugimoto, Superintendent of Inagi City Board of Education