Communications Task Force
Port Angeles School District
Communications Task Force Working Report
January 2005
Messaging: What, to Whom, Why and How
BACKGROUND
In 2001, Superintendent Cohn invited a group of parents, teachers, staff, communications professionals and community members from across the Port Angeles School District to participate in a discussion of how their expertise might be applied to facilitation of communication throughout the district, ensuring that students, teachers, staff and community all are regularly and effectively included within the communication loop. A dozen or so individuals were invited to this initial meeting, and they indicated our current system of communication was not meeting the needs of the community in a consistent way. The participants indicated a willingness to begin a design for a more effective system.
In December 2001, the Communications Task Force prepared a report to the school district. At the core of this report, the task force identified four key messages to be incorporated as often as possible into district communications: (1) I like the way they conserve my tax dollars; (2) we are among the best by any standard; (3) all our kids are getting what they need to successfully get into the job, school or program they choose; and (4) they tell it like it is and I believe them. The task force also determined that the overriding message of the school district being an advocate for all students to achieve their highest potential should underpin all communications.
In the summer of 2004, members of the Communications Task Force were asked to meet again over the course of the next several months to assist with (1) the re-launching of the Visions newsletter; (2) re-assessment and review of the effectiveness of district communications in the context of the core messages identified in the original report; and (3) enhancing communication with parents, teachers, staff and community regarding the upcoming levy.
PURPOSE
The Communications Task Force was reconvened to review current messaging within the district and make recommendations about how the Port Angeles School District “story” can be more effectively presented.
PROCESS
What
An initial action of the task force was to review the validity of the core messages identified in its 2001 work. These included:
- We will watch your dollars like they are our own
- We will work to be competitive with the best on all levels of activity and by any standard
- None of our students are going to be left out
- Everyone in the District will be advocates of our students’ success
- Expect candidness from us
- We will give you reasons to trust us in all we do
- We are in this together
The task force strongly considered these core messages as being as valid today as in 2001. They are in plain English and represent enduring promises to the community. These are not messages to be periodically paraded or “run up a flag pole” as a levy approaches or an “emergency” arises but should be integrated into consistent and regular messaging to all stakeholders by all involved within the school district.
To Whom
The Task Force also re-identified key constituencies or stakeholder groups of the district and the kinds of messages we hoped they were receiving from the district. This was coupled with an informal survey by task force members of the community about how well the message was being received and whether it matched the hoped for message. The conclusion was that if a stakeholder was in the business community there was a generally favorable feeling about the district. There was a sense that the only groups consistently concerned about the direction of the district were those stakeholders directly affected by the closure of Monroe Elementary School.
A brief informal “audit” of all media and forms of communication suggested that the core messages could be more overtly presented. For instance the message “that you can expect candidness from us” or “we will watch your dollars like they are our own,” are implicit in Visions but not as clearly or as consistently as could be. A general sense also suggests that the district’s story would be more effectively made by “showing” than just simply “telling.” Facts and figures by themselves beg the question of “so what?” without including student and teacher challenges and successes as the context for statistics.
The range of stakeholders; e.g., the “business community,” “parents,” or “tax payers with no children in the district,” was also reviewed. A significant conclusion was that the single most important group not communicated with as effectively as might be was the “internal” group of teachers and staff.
In the words of an article entitled Selling the Brand Inside by Colin Mitchell, published in the Harvard Business Review, “… a truth of business (is) that if employees do not care about their company, they will in the end contribute to its demise. And it’s up to you to give them a reason to care.” This stakeholder group is the single most important to the District and the least strategically communicated with. (See attached article for reference).
TASK FORCE RECOMMENDATIONS
Why and How
Communication is vital to the learning organization and the learning community. No substitutes are allowed because there are no substitutes. Clarity of messaging and its consistent strategic delivery is all the more critical to success in these times of budget shortfalls. The task force offered to the board and to the district the following considerations:
- Make improved internal communication a priority (see attached article on Selling the Brand Inside)
- Keep and enhance Visions as the primary print communications vehicle. Make it visually easier to read (less words, bigger font, more graphics, photos)
- Enhance the website as a tool for community information, staff communication, and as a “public” face of the district for those considering the community as a place to live or the district as a place to teach
- Keep the core messages in front of all constituencies at all times. Hone to sharp simplicity. Don’t forget Advocacy/Achievement/Accountability.
- Put a “face” and a “story” into the communications strategy. Don’t rely on numbers to tell the story.
- Increase the role of Board members in the public eye as the “face” of the district to bolster a sense of accountability.
- Possibly create a plain English power point or low tech presentation that anyone in the District could give to any group
- Speak in plain English. Most folks don’t know a “cohort” from a … (fill in the blank)
- Consider an internal public relations/communications specialist to assist the district in overall messaging, strategic communications planning, and execution.
Respectfully submitted by
Don Corson, Communications Task Force Moderator