Are some schools unsuccessful at connecting with constituents because they don't know what they need to do, or are they unsuccessful because they really don't want input from their public and community partners in the first place? In this article, the authors reflect on their collective 86 years of experience in public schools, each of them recalling a seminal moment when it became clear that the actions school leaders take may have profound and lasting effects on their constituents. They conclude that if school leaders are serious about connecting with their constituents, they must honestly evaluate every interaction to ask what messages they are delivering and reflect on how those messages might be received, and that they must always remember and remind others that the public schools are the public's schools.