Supplement this resource with material from your own community and state. If there are teachers, principals or school board members in your congregation, invite them to participate in the class. You may want to ask them or others in your community to talk with the class. Encourage participants to clip newspaper articles, tape TV stories, collect information by computer, and share what they have found with the group. Set the ground rules for discussion.
People often have strong views on educational choice.
Create an open and respectful environment so that passionate, fair and constructive dialogue can occur. Stress the importance of listening to different views and of making one's own remarks brief. Ensure that people who have studied the topic before and those who are doing so for the first time are welcome and encouraged to talk. Pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Recall your unity in the Christian faith.