Finishing strong

The school nurse has been summoned, due to an outbreak of “senioritis.” You’ve giving a passing thought to installing blackout blinds or some other device to keep students’ minds from wandering these last few weeks, days and even hours. You may have even noticed some larger smiles on the faces of your fellow staff members, as the end of the school year fast approaches.

If you haven’t already done so, now is the time to load up on the “thanks for a great year” messages in all your various venues to all your key stakeholders. Whether it was the best year ever, fairly average, or perhaps even difficult at times (aren’t they always, at least at times?), you don’t want to let these moments slip by without multiple mentions of appreciation.

Why? To continue to build your district’s brand, as one that recognizes that it can’t succeed without the help of those key audiences. Even if you can’t put your finger on some specific example of “help” you’ve received from a target group, thank them anyway.

At some point in the future, you’ll need them in your corner (a ballot issue, a tough decision you have to make, etc.). Don’t miss this chance to keep them pointed in that direction, before you’ve lost their attention for the summer.

Joplin says “yes”

There are certain words or phrases that need no explanation. Mention them, and an image immediately springs to mind. Katrina. 9/11. Tsunami. And, now, Joplin.

Those around the world who would find it difficult to locate Missouri on a map – much less Joplin – became transfixed with the pictures of the devastation that community suffered. The image of the high school – where someone had painted letters to form the words “Hope High School” in the remnants of a sign that once read “Joplin High School” – was just one of many snapshots that defined the community’s situation.

But, those images are slowly being replaced by pictures of a community in recovery. And, thankfully, the school district will soon be part of that image of recovery.

Earlier this month, voters in the Joplin School District said, “yes” to a bond issue that would provide a modest financial supplement to the insurance funds that would cover the basic replacement of the lost schools. With that “yes,” the school district will be able to have the facilities it actually needed before the tornado struck, and will be set for years to come.

It was not the easiest message to deliver. Some in the community, understandably, suggested that the school district make due with the insurance funds. The vote was very close, but it was “yes.”

And, now those who have come to know Joplin at its worst moment, will one day soon see ribbon cuttings.

Getting PAC’d

Our great client, Platte County R-3 School District, in the northern part of the Kansas City, Missouri, metropolitan area saw the ugly effects of outside influences and money on its bond issue election last week.

The district – which has been growing in student count by leaps and bounds, with no end in sight – had a proposal that would solve the problem, with some new construction and expansion, and would take advantage of the lowest borrowing and construction costs anyone has seen in years. The price tag was reasonable, but not pocket change. However, the general mood among the campaign committee was cautiously optimistic.

That all changed with the arrival of a last-minute, well-funded attack campaign from well-known out-of-towners who call themselves “Freedom PAC.” Their goal was to scare, and they knew just how to do it – by carpet bombing the community with simple, frightening messages that bred mistrust and took the community’s eyes off who would actually benefit from passage of the proposal.

While local people were clearly operatives, make no mistake: This was not a grassroots, well-intentioned effort to offer another point of view. This was an effort that was well-funded by out-of-town interests who saw Platte County’s proposal as one more domino.

Now that they have succeeded, they’re moving on, leaving the school district to pick up the pieces and try to figure out just how it’s going to accommodate the needs of all those students.

Effective communication in an improving economy

School districts have spent years down in the valley where budgets get smaller, decisions get tougher, and plans get put on hold. Communication during these years has most likely focused on the steps that have been taken to make do, and limit the damage to students, families and staff.

So, what to do now as the economy shows signs of recovery – even if school districts won’t be benefiting from that recovery for the foreseeable future? Keep your foot on the gas.

In other words, as other industries begin to hire, borrow money, and see brighter days ahead, it’s appropriate for school districts to continue reminding patrons of your present and anticipated future economic situation.

Call it a defensive measure: You don’t want patrons assuming that the rising tide has lifted the school district’s boat just yet, particularly if your state government is proudly touting how it is increasing spending on K-12. Mostly likely, that increase doesn’t begin to repair the damage done over the last several years.

So, communicate the context of any increase, and keep your patrons well informed about the tough decisions you continue to have to make.

A winning use of online research

The advent of desktop publishing software back in the 1980s brought about the promise that “you, too, can design your own ads, fliers and brochures.” Those who bought into that promise discovered that it wasn’t the technology that was standing in the way of their DIY design dreams; it was the skills that graphic designers have that the rest of us don’t.

Online research made a similar splash, with the promise of inexpensive (and, in some cases, even free), easy-to-use tools that would allow you to quiz your patrons as much as you’d like. But, those who tried to use online tools to gauge general patron opinion discovered rather quickly that non-parent patrons stayed away in droves. There simply was no reason for them to take the time, go to the district’s website, find the survey and complete it.

But, the tool remains a viable option for what we call “captive audiences,” such as staff, parents and students. Case in point: The four-day school week research project Patron Insight just completed for the Douglas County, Nevada School District.

Online surveys were created for parents, staff members and students, with many questions being shared (with modest changes of wording) among the three surveys. Parents went to the website – with some encouragement from the district – staff members received an e-mail link, and students completed the survey in the computer lab during school hours.

The response rates were more than acceptable, and the district has the information it needs to make decisions from the only people whose opinions on the subject matter.

Always Be Telling

Every sales training manual preaches a simply mantra – “ABC” – which stands for “Always Be Closing.” It’s a reminder to those in the profession that you never know when a prospect is ready to buy, so you should give him or her ample opportunity to say yes, by seeking to close the sale at various points in the conversation.

For school communications professionals, the mantra would be ABT – or “Always Be Telling.” In other words, those in the field know that you can’t miss an opportunity to build your school district’s brand.

I recently attended a Board of Education meeting where I saw what, for me, was a first under the banner of ABT.

As those attending the meeting were gathering (and there were a lot of students and staff members getting awards and recognitions that evening, so the room was pretty full), a PowerPoint presentation was showing on a screen at the front of the room, detailing accomplishments for the district, its students and its staff members for the month.

It was only about 10 slides – all with the heading “Did you know?” – and it was timed so that the whole program took about two minutes, and then repeated. None of the slides had exhaustive details about anything; just highlights.

What a great way to remind people about how great their school district is. (Kudos to the Blue Valley USD 229 team!)

Keep the budget story on a low flame

Cooks who work with natural gas understand the concept of keeping something on a “low flame.” It’s the basic concept of keeping your kitchen creation just warm enough to be interesting, but not so hot that you risk ruining what you’ve worked on with so much care and attention.

With school now underway for many districts – with the rest to follow between now and the day after Labor Day – the temptation might be to say “Can’t we take a break from talking about the budget for a few months? Our patrons must be sick of hearing about our troubles.”

Yes and no.

Yes, you would wear out your patrons – and ruin their goodwill toward the district – if you kept the same breakneck pace you probably followed as you were making the hard decisions this spring. But, no, you shouldn’t stop talking about budget completely.

Keeping budget information on the aforementioned low flame will help your patrons internalize the fact that your financial health and well-being is an ongoing challenge. Keeping this message strategically out in the public eye will provide your patrons with the grounding they need for the next budget cycle discussions.

So, look for those opportunities to insert into your communications the differences in programs, processes, and procedures that were a result of the budget cuts. Do so without blame or whining; just make it a matter-of-fact statement on those issues where it has relevance.

A good example? Highlighting your sports teams’ schedules, and noting familiar games that won’t be able to be played this year, in an effort to keep travel costs down. Position it as one disappointment in the midst of excitement for the season to come. Patrons will get the message, and you’ll keep the budget story on a low flame throughout the school year.

Does your Mission Statement mean anything, well, meaningful?

Having the pleasure of working with so many great school districts, we get the chance to see our fair share of Mission Statements. Some are excellent, most are just OK, and more than a handful are a great example of the old “a camel is a horse made by a committee” situation.

Oh, there’s a lot of lofty language that pieces together various component parts as a way of demonstrating that the district has thought of everything. But, when you put them together, it reads like a lot of navel gazing that took place after the author(s) went to a conference and sat in on a breakout session on “Writing Mission Statements.”

If you want your Mission Statement to be a checklist, have at it. But, it won’t stimulate your staff, nor will it inspire confidence within your patron community.

If, however, you want your Mission Statement to actually get people interested and, potentially, excited, stick to the overall purpose of education. Something along the lines of “Getting students ready to be a success” or “Preparing our students to take on the world” leaves out the “how” (that’s your job) and focuses on the “what.”

Compare those examples to what you have today, and then ask yourself which one is a more meaningful, approachable description of the reason your school district exists.

Here we go again

Under the category of “if I say it often enough, people might start believing it – no matter how preposterous it is,” the so-called Kansas Policy Institute recently released another missive that claims that schools are sitting on mountains of money while claiming poverty. This group’s agenda is transparent (even if its funders remain a mystery) and they aren’t even shy about the misinformation they are spreading.

The challenge for school districts is to return fire – only if asked – with a simple explanation of the facts, not a detailed lecture on how school finances work. Going into exhaustive detail about how the various accounts are set up will only give KPI ammunition to suggest that you are hiding something.

Just explain how fund balances are like a bank account that helps to cover costs while you wait for the state to pay what you are owed. Without that account, staff members and day-to-day bills might not get paid if the state is slow with its payments – which it has a history of being. Any money remaining from one fiscal year to another is already committed, not sitting in a safe somewhere.

Above all, make it simple and clear. The facts are on your side. Put them to use.

Don’t take the summer off (completely)

Isn’t it nice?

The e-mail is not as active. The phone is not ringing all that often. And, you don’t have many – if any – fires that need to be put out.

Summer is a time to reflect, recharge and re-evaluate what went right and what could have gone better in 2010-2011.

As you do so, it’s easy to put patron communications on the back burner (except for updates to parents about key dates on the back-to-school calendar), because it’s hard to imagine your community paying much attention to what the school district has to say during the summer, right?

Mostly. But, just as schools are constantly telling their students to read and do other educational things during the summer to keep their minds active between trips to the swimming pool, school districts should strategically stay in contact with patrons.

For example, you might talk about facility changes that are happening over the summer. Deferred maintenance that can only occur when students are not in the building. Coursework being taken by teachers to enhance their skills or to achieve an advanced degree. Unique summer school programming and how many students are involved.

In other words, let patrons know that while the district might “downshift” during the summer, there’s still much activity underway.

End-of-school year communications: An opportunity

Just as we always tell students to do something scholarly (reading, research on a fun topic, etc.) during the summer to keep their minds relatively sharp leading into next school year, patrons also need to have something to keep school at least on the radar screen during the warm weather.

In other words, rather than just let out a collective sigh of relief that you have reached the end of another school year, and simply wishing patrons and students a “great summer,” take advantage of their attention one more time. How?

Talk about the future, by letting them know what to expect when their children return to school next year (as positively as you can, if the budget cuts have been dramatic). Tell them what steps your school district is taking over the summer to get ready for the students’ return. Remind them of important dates. Suggest that they get their sports physicals scheduled (even if you already have done it). Tell them what the BOE is working on right now – besides budget cuts.

In other words, let them know that you’ll be thinking of them and their students during the summer, and eagerly awaiting their return in the fall. They can let out a “whew,” if they wish, but you shouldn’t (at least, not in public!)

Board Election countdown creates new challenges

With Board of Education elections coming up next month, the final days of the campaign can be a perplexing time for school districts. The scenarios are almost endless, particularly if a majority of the seats are up for grabs.

For many districts, it’s an issue of the known – whether that’s good or bad – versus the unknown.

Campaign literature and public statements may give a hint as to what a challenger may have on his or her agenda, if elected, but those are just campaign promises at this point. Once the newcomer is seated, who knows what he or she will do? Add in a contentious ballot issue (bond issue, operating tax levy increase, etc.) to Election Day, and the rhetoric can get ramped up pretty quickly.

Certainly, school districts have an idea of what their ideal Board would look like, post-election. But, it’s dangerous ground to even provide a hint of who you are rooting for. If your candidates win, you risk someone suggesting the district helped in the campaign. If they lose, you can only guess how difficult things could get.

The best approach is to handle it much like the athlete who is asked who they would prefer to play in the next round of a tournament. While they probably have a preference, the standard answer is always non-committal.

So, think in terms of “We look forward to working with the Board that is elected by the voters, and focusing our collective energies on the needs of the students and families in this school district.”