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Last year, a friend who worked in crisis communications retired after 22 years in the business. One of her parting gifts was a small fire extinguisher that her colleagues had signed.

“It was a perfect way to describe my job,” she said. “I rarely had time to think.”

Educators, especially those in school communications, can relate. Always under a microscope, the pandemic only intensified the attention on how school districts communicate internally and externally. And yet, a number of school leaders still don’t understand the value of strategic communications in achieving their goals.

“In some school districts, communications is a largely misunderstood hodgepodge of tasks and tactics,” says Barbara Hunter, executive director of the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA). “A flier on this. A survey on that. A webpage for alumni. A press release. Badge pictures of new employees. The list goes on and on.”

Hunter acknowledges those tasks and tactics are necessary, but successful communications programs are ones that “have the big picture in mind.” Developing a strategic communications plan — one that aligns with your district’s "Big Picture" Focus — takes time and effort. It can be an onerous task when you have to carry the proverbial fire extinguisher with you every day.

“A real strategic communications plan can be daunting to put together because it takes a lot of time to develop and there’s a certain methodology — research, plan, implement, and evaluate — to it,” she says. “At the same time, it can become your best friend, because it gives you an opportunity to use your precious resources wisely instead of becoming stressed, tired, and burned out from trying to please everyone.”

Where should you start? Consider a communications audit.

Fresh set of eyes

According to Hunter, these audits typically occur when a leadership change takes place at either the superintendent or communications director level. Communications audits also can prove helpful when a program has been in place for several years and needs a fresh set of eyes.

“An audit is a really good opportunity to look at what is working well and what areas could stand some improvement,” she says. “And if a district is really committed to developing a comprehensive communications plan, this is the research component.”

Communication audits generally take four to six months to complete, depending on the size and scope. First, a comprehensive districtwide survey is sent to parents and families, employees, and community members to assess the effectiveness of your communications efforts. The survey also provides a snapshot of current perceptions about your schools, district, and leadership.

Once the survey is complete, a team of one to four professionals visits the district for two to three days to review materials that focus on the “flow” of your communications — how information reaches internal and external audiences and how those audiences reach back out to you. They also conduct multiple focus groups with parents, business leaders, principals, teachers, support staff, and others.

“At these focus groups, we really dig into the survey results,” Hunter says. “This is when we hear a lot of themes that shape the recommendations that are contained in the final audit report.”

A common complaint the audit teams hear from parents is that they “are overwhelmed trying to keep up” because they are bombarded with information from a variety of different technology platforms. “They really want to support their kids’ education, but they need information that is digestible, clean, and consistent,” Hunter says, noting that schools often allow teachers to pick which tools they use to send communications to parents. “We need to make their job of staying up to date with what is happening easier.”

Another common issue: Poor internal communications. As Hunter notes, administrative assistants and secretaries are the “nexus of communication in the schools and in the central office because they speak to so many people on the same day,” and they “can make or break your district or its reputation.”

“Your internal audience is your biggest cheerleader or your biggest naysayer, and it’s really surprising how many times we forget to share news or something that has happened with our internal audiences before we send it to parents and the media,” Hunter says. “Teachers and school-based staff need that information before others get it, because they can make or break your district and its reputation.”

Things that are good

Even though an audit is used to look at things that can be improved, Hunter says every effort is made to showcase “the things that are good.”

“These audits can be affirming for districts because they also point out what is working well and can be built upon,” she says. “It becomes a roadmap because we organize the recommendations in terms of priorities. You don’t have do them all at once, but here’s a way to get started. Perhaps you work on internal communications in the first year and then spend the second year working on a comprehensive communications plan. This is designed to be a building block for the future.”

Hunter says the demand for audits has been “skyrocketing” since the pandemic because COVID spotlighted the value and importance of a strong communications program. Now, with schools and communities settling back into a revised sense of normal, it’s a good time to move away from the fire extinguisher mode.

“We don’t give ourselves the luxury of time and space to think, and this type of work does take time and focus,” she says. “But it’s a very valuable expense of time and resources.”

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Glenn Cook (glenncook117@gmail.com), a contributing editor to American School Board Journal, is a freelance writer and photographer in Northern Virginia. He also spent five years as a communications director for a North Carolina school district.