Navigating the shift in school communications

It’s an ever-changing landscape for school communications, so we’ve outlined some of the top-of-mind issues school leaders are facing, then assembled a checklist of the key communications channels and some guidelines to help you navigate without trepidation.

Let’s first take a look at some of the key issues weighing heavy on school leaders. Then we’ll touch on communications strategies that can play a key role in managing these challenges.

Key issues for superintendents:

1. Budget constraints – how to balance and manage those limited resources 
2. Equity – ensuring fairness and access to resources regardless of cultural background or socioeconomic status and eliminating those barriers
3. Staff shortages – recruiting and retaining quality educators 
4. Parent engagement – encouraging parental involvement at every turn 
   
   

Top issues for communications and PR staff:

1. Crisis communications – always a top priority (which reached a boiling point during the pandemic) and school safety remains at the heart of every district’s mission
2. Community engagement – more stakeholders being involved in district decision-making
3. Training – as more new communication professionals are entering the field (a recent NSPRA survey shows that 10 percent of the school communicators have one year or less of experience in the field)
4. Communications infrastructure – having the tools and methods to master the multiple channels (websites, notifications, emails, mobile apps, social media) to engage stakeholders effectively

School IT directors’ concerns:

1. System integration – making certain that various communication applications and systems work together with SIS
2. Mobile apps – must work in concert with the school website and require minimal or no support
3. Blended learning – planning for that next wave of remote and hybrid learning 
4. AI and project-based learning – how schools are going to be introducing and using Artificial intelligence in various aspects of school operations

How well your district adapts to these issues and changes in communication habits will have a dramatic impact on your level of engagement. Factor this information into your school communications planning, for technology is changing fast, and families are adopting new ways to communicate. It's important that school districts adapt.

The key school communications channels

Let's take a look at the digital channels that are in the school communicator’s arsenal. Channels that every school communicator must not only know how to use, but when to use them.

Email

Email is the granddaddy of digital school communication. Still very effective and still very much the go-to for many schools and school districts, email provides an instant connection opportunity because just about every parent and everyone has an email address. It’s a direct, personal way to communicate with traditionally high open rates and officially documents a lot of school communications.

Some of the drawbacks are that content is not optimized (see below) it’s often overused, can get caught in spam filters, and some email systems have a lack of integration with SIS. 

A few email tips:

• Optimal times to send are midweek days )Tues., Wed., Thurs.) 10 a.m to 3 P.M 
• Optimize content using images
• No lengthy emails (most are) 
• Embed links to newsletters, web pages, social posts
• Concise, sharp subject line

Text/voice notifications

Text and voice notification systems are effective for delivering large volumes of time-sensitive messages through SMS. Many parents prefer notifications these days, but some still (or are limited to) voice messages, so you want to give your parents choices on how they receive these messages.

Text and voice notifications also can be for more than just emergencies. They are helpful for improving engagement and ultimately achievement. Notifications enable schools to target and tailor communications, especially when parents can set user preferences to get exactly the kinds of information they want and how they want it. Some platforms enable you to set up auto-notifications to alert parents about transportation, assignments, attendance, and lunch account balances. 

Mobile app

Another key school communication channel is the mobile app. Depending on the mobile app provider, you can create a custom experience for your parents, putting all your digital communication and access to resources right in their hands. A good mobile app that integrates with your website and other communication channels not only provides quick access to frequently accessed info such as forms, menus, and calendars but can be a big ally in your district branding too, helping project a consistent and strong image. Learn more about putting in place a mobile app in your district by viewing the School Mobile App Planning Guide.

Video

Video is a separate channel but it is a little different because it is a power tactic for communication that can be used across many channels. And because people are predisposed to viewing videos, they are suited for telling your school stories. Great for campaigns and delivering messages, videos do not have to be ‘professional’ quality. It is all about the content, so authenticity and relatability are key to connecting with your audiences.

Facebook Live feeds and a school YouTube channel are also excellent ways to extend your reach. They both are convenient ways to record, catalog, and archive school events and stories happening in your schools.

Social media

More schools are embracing social media, thanks to advocates like Andrea Gribble, founder of SocialSchool4edu. The big channels, of course, are Facebook/Instagram, X formerly Twitter. Instagram is built right in to Facebook, so be sure you take advantage of that convenience. (Facebook’s Messenger, which is built right into FB is a hybrid social media and text channel that has high adoption rates because it’s automatically set up.)

Social media is perfect for supplementing your communications, and a great way to highlight messages from your staff, put a spotlight on great achievements, and generally present the stories that define your school brand.

With social media, it’s all about engagement, so you want to do all you can to promote engagement. Every channel has built-in ways to measure engagement, so monitor and manage those shares, likes, and comments, and coss-promote other school content (email, website, mobile app) through your social media. Utilize polls and surveys to get the dialogue going. For more on social media, check out the Guide to School Social Media. 

Websites

Your district and school websites serve as your communications hub, a reliable resource, and home to all your official content from events calendars to school board minutes. Your school’s “digital front door” should integrate nicely with all your other channels and present a professional image that reflects your brand. That’s why school website design is such an important facet of your communications mix. 

School communication channels: right place, right time

With all the channels available to engage your school community, you need to make sure you cover all your bases when planning and delivering your school messages and stories. Use this communications matrix as your playbook and checklist to make sure you’re using the right channels at the right time. For a deeper dive into navigating the shift in school communications, view this recent webinar presented by the SchoolNow Academy.

You can use a communications channel chart like the above to ensure you’re optimizing your message delivery. Depending on the content and time sensitivity, you want to select the right channels at the right time

There's a tremendous amount of scrutiny and transparency these days when it comes to school communications. The public is demanding that schools be more sophisticated as priorities shift and new ones arise. School leaders who ‘touch’ school communications – PR/engagement/communication directors, IT managers, and superintendents – need to be diligent in examining and using communication technologies and practices to smoothly navigate the ever-changing shifts in school communications.