Communications Plan for

Transcription

1 Burnt Hills Ballston Lake Central Schools Ensuring opportunities for learning, personal growth & social responsibility s Plan for Prepared by Christy Multer, s Specialist October for the Board of Education 1 To successfully communicate with BH BL voters regarding the critical infrastructure needs in district schools that the December 9 th Renovations Referendum will address. 2 By August 2010, to establish the criteria for guiding instructional delivery as part of a year strategic framework 3 By October 2010, to identify a cost effective resolution to the district s administrative and storage space needs currently housed at the Hostetter Building.

2 s Plan for the School Year The communications specialist reports to the superintendent of schools, Jim Schultz. She works in cooperation with district administrators, staff and Board of Education members to support district and Board goals, and to focus on public relations priorities set forth by the superintendent. She is responsible to complete both ongoing tasks that are required each year and specific priorities for a given year. and plans may also need to be modified during the year as forces internal and external to the school district change. Priorities for Build public awareness and support for the December 9 th Renovations Referendum. 2. Build public awareness and support for the district s budget. 3. Act as a strategic advisor as crisis and credibility issues arise in the district this year with specific attention to communication issues related to the H1N1 pandemic. 4. Improve the quantity and quality of web based communications across the district to ensure that bhbl.org becomes the number one information source for parents and community members about the district. 5. Work with business office staff to replace existing mailing procedures with better methods of ensuring our publications actually reach all district households as desired. 6. Assist the District Strategic Framework Committee in their outreach efforts to complete the Board of Education s goal #2. 7. Assist the superintendent as directed with progress toward the Board of Education s goal #3 regarding the Hostetter Building. 8. Identify methods to streamline the annual process of updating and/or reprinting our many forms, handbooks, folders, report cards, etc., which currently take the communication specialist away from more important tasks. Other ongoing or annual responsibilities 1. Coordinate and implement media relations for the district, including preparing press releases, responding to media requests for information, pitching story ideas to reporters and serving as needed as district spokesperson 2. Provide the superintendent and other administrators with advice and support on issues related to proactive communication strategies. 3. Website maintenance: including update/create district level pages, serve as primary web planner and trainer for other staff, handle Feedback form inquires, handle alumni queries, administer the district School News Notifier system, create online surveys, and work with BOCES webmaster to resolve any technical issues. Page 2

3 4. Write and create major district level publications from start to finish including the district calendar, Bulletin newsletter, and budget newsletter. 5. Write memos, letters, presentations and other items as requested for the superintendent of schools. 6. Attend Board of Education meetings, provide staff support to Board of Education members and promote two way communications between the Board and its various publics. 7. Handle professional printing of many district and school publications, including redesigning or updating documents, soliciting printing bids, preparing purchase orders, and working with printing company representatives. 8. Design new or update existing documents as needed for administrators (examples: forms, folders, stationery, business cards, elementary school handbooks, absentee ballot, voting machine strips). 9. Communicate frequently with communication specialists in other districts on the BOCES team to share materials, tips, strategies, lessons learned, etc. 10. Answer phone calls from residents, potential residents, and realtors with requests for all types of information about the district. 11. Check that the district follows state budget communication rules and required parental notification rules. 12. Maintain a clipping file of articles appearing in local newspapers about the school district. Plans for achieving Priorities in Priority 1 Build public awareness & support for the December 9 Renovation Referendum To communicate accurate information about the referendum, continue the community s previous high level of support for BH BL referenda, & earn the voters approval on December 9, For various reasons the district was unable to use its usual sure fire grass roots method of building and publicizing this referendum in its early stages. Though the proposals are needed and cost effective, time is now short, and communicating them to the community will be a challenge. Work with administrators, Board members, & staff to use many strategies to get the word out about the need for and advantages of the 3 referendum proposals. Create detailed communications plan just for this vote to involve & inform board members and administrators. Page 3

4 Use the website, newsletters, PTA newsletters, SNN, , etc. to provide and update information as it becomes available. Make extra efforts to ensure staff are informed about this topic. They are a key information source for many residents. Talk to administrators about the importance of word of mouth campaigns & give them the bullet points they need to do this. Work with reporters to present information accurately. Execute extra publicity and get out the vote efforts in December. The December 9 vote will be the best indicator of success. Use the exit poll to identify and collect data on key issues. Priority 2 Build public awareness & support for the district s budget To communicate accurate information about the budget, continue the community s generally high level of support for the district, & earn the voters approval on May 18, The economy is not rebounding as quickly as everyone had hoped. Last year s meltdown caused radical changes in state funding, and state issues are predicted to be even worse this year. We need to keep our eyes and ears open and be even more proactive than usual. Work with the administration, Board members, & BOCES team members to remain informed about budget information and plan proactive strategies as this year s challenges arise. In December, work with the Board & administrators to identify budget factors, context, and deadlines. Then create & publicize the annual Budget Development & s Plan. Use the website, newsletters, PTA newsletters, SNN, , etc. to provide and update information as it becomes available. Make extra efforts to ensure the staff are informed about this topic. They are a key information source for many residents. Work with reporters to present budget information accurately. Update and execute the extra publicity/get out the vote effort in April and May. The May 18 vote will be the best indicator of our success here. Use the exit poll to identify and collect data on key issues. Page 4

5 Priority 3 Act as a strategic advisor as crisis and credibility issues arise in the district this year with specific attention to communication issues related to the H1N1 pandemic. To communicate accurate information about the district s actions or role in various crises as they arise. To minimize any damage caused by bad news or events that are beyond the district s control. This year to focus particularly on communications related to the H1N1 pandemic. School administrators are expected to do far more than just educate children these days. Consistent, proactive communications about the flu can: reduce panic and rumors, reduce transmission of the flu, and remind everyone what the schools role is and isn t in this type of health situation. Work particularly with BH BL administrators and nurses to keep one another informed and plan proactive strategies as the flu situation unfolds. Before September: work with the superintendent, nurses, and health authorities to get up to speed on flu issues and projections. Use the website in particular to post updated information frequently as it becomes available/needed throughout the year. Handle media requests for information on this topic centrally. This could otherwise become a significant burden to the nurses, who need to be free to focus on nursing. Work to keep staff as up to date and calm about this issue as possible. Assist with communication needs related to vaccination clinics in the schools. Collect anecdotal data, comments from parents etc., and lessons learned. Priority 4 Page 5 Improve the quantity and quality of web based communications across the district to ensure that bhbl.org becomes the number one information source for parents and community members about the district. To build a district website that not only showcases the work and accomplishments of students and staff, but also meets the communication needs of residents, staff and students. To create a website that people want to visit again and again because it is always has new, interesting, useful and reliable information. Though bhbl.org has over 1,100 visitors a day, on average, it has significant gaps in coverage, and many areas are not being updated. An inadequate amount of manpower is being devoted to maintaining and developing it. Work with BH BL administrators and the staff development coordinator to

6 identify and resolve factors that are currently hindering website work. Do we have adequate, trained staff, hardware and software to accomplish what is necessary? If not, how can this be resolved? Promote the new School News Notifier alerts as a way to draw more traffic to the site and to get the principals interested in sharing news electronically. Train & support SNN authors in each school. Encourage more teachers to create and use teacher pages. Be sure all teacher pages are linked to the site. Create new or revamp existing sections on the website for: news archives, renovations referendum and budget development. Identify and train more staff who can take responsibility for updating specific parts of the site. Become familiar with Expression Web software. Is this something that could help or hinder the site improvement process? Examine website usage data. Priority 5 Work with business office staff to replace existing mailing procedures with better methods of ensuring our publications actually reach all district households as desired. Changes in business office staff mean the long standing district census method of tracking the addresses of all households is no longer being maintained. The goal is to switch to using a mailing house, not have to print all address labels in house, save money on postage, and actually reach more district households. This is a wholly new concept and process for BH BL. We need to learn how it works, who does what, and how to talk to the mailing house and post offices in a language they understand. Work with business office staff to understand what is involved Use the August calendar/adult ed/swim brochure mailing as a test of the mailing house procedure. Work with post offices and mailing house to improve each subsequent mailing. How many carrier routes can be simplified to the preprinted postal customer method? How much does this save? Examine costs and households reached before and after the switch. Page 6

7 Priority 6 Assist the District Strategic Framework Committee in their outreach efforts to complete the Board of Education s goal #2. To help the assistant superintendent and the District Strategic Framework Committee collect and use input from all stakeholder groups about what the district should do to best prepare students to be successful in the 21 st century. An online survey through the district s SurveyMonkey account will meet the committee s needs. Work with Dr. Evans to write the survey. Committee members are responsible for encouraging input from specific stakeholder groups. Create a SurveyMonkey survey that meets committee needs. Promote the survey on the district website. Print and share survey data with the committee when the survey is complete. Collect feedback from the committee on the success of this tool. Priority 7 Assist the superintendent as directed with progress toward the Board of Education s goal #3 regarding the Hostetter Building. To help the Board of Education move forward with their long term goal of finding a new home for the district offices. After extensive discussion, in October school board members decided NOT to seek the voters approval of building a new high school classroom wing in the December 2009 referendum. This wing had been intended to create space to move the district offices out of the Hostetter Building and into the high school. With that option off the table for now, the problem of where to put the district offices remains, and board members have committed themselves to finally find a resolution for this. Work with superintendent to communicate and assist with the board s process and rationale once they decide upon it. Few details are known at this time. Once we are past the Dec renovations referendum, it will be important to start reminding the community about the history and issues with the Hostetter Building to lay a groundwork for public acceptance of whatever decision the Board comes to. Page 7

8 Priority 8 Identify methods to streamline the annual process of updating and/or reprinting our many forms, handbooks, folders, report cards, etc., which currently take the communication specialist away from more important tasks. To use staff members time in the most effective & efficient ways. The district has many documents that are complex enough to require a page layout program rather than just a word processing program. Most of these documents have become the communication specialist s responsibility by default, since few other staff are comfortable with InDesign software or with working with a professional printer. These projects can be held up for weeks when the communication specialist is working on priority tasks for the superintendent or Board. Work with BH BL administrators and the staff development coordinator to identify which publications or parts of publications require the communication specialist s skills and which can be updated and printed by other clerical staff. Is more training or different software the best solution? Is the BOCES Print Brokering Service the best solution for some printing jobs? Identify the publications in question, where they come from and how frequently they need updating/printing. Identify and test using other staff or other means to get this work accomplished. Prepare a report at the end of the year. Appendix I am attaching a one page appendix on What is Public Relations? and Building Informed Consent. There is nothing new here, but I find it very helpful to re read this every so often as a reminder of what my job is really about. There are many reasons to take the time to be strategic and communicate WELL. In fact, in the end, good communications usually save us time, build our credibility, and earn us more satisfied stakeholders. Christy Multer October 2009 Page 8

9 What is Public Relations? Public relations is a planned and systematic two-way communications process to encourage people s involvement and earn their understanding and support of a cause or organization. PR includes: Thinking strategically about communications. Being aware of and controlling both the intended and unintended messages coming from your organization to the world. Building good relationships with your important audiences. Building people s feelings of trust, satisfaction, loyalty, love, dedication, pride, motivation and connection to the organization. Increasing the organization s credibility through careful attention to communications. Reducing conflict and friction by anticipating and avoiding issues that might otherwise develop, especially communication and credibility issues. (Much of the value of PR can lie in what it prevents, what it keeps from happening.) Limiting the damage caused by bad news and by events beyond the organization s control. Listening, listening, listening! Working to understand what matters to your audience(s) and how to speak in words they will understand so that you can present a case they will relate to. Sometimes getting people to consent to something they are initially opposed to (for example, accepting a change that will cost them money or cause them inconvenience or loss). This is called building informed consent. Public relations involves a wide range of communication skills to convey facts, ideas, concepts, values and emotions using a wide range of vehicles. It can potentially involve graphic design, page layout, printing, editing, journalism, photography, video, web site maintenance, public speaking, media relations, research and analysis but always involves writing and people skills. Building Informed Consent "The Bleiker Life Preserver" is essentially a four-step framework for communicating a controversial message under fire. It is a powerful and extremely effective way to frame a message and win informed consent from the public. Smart leaders think about it whenever they have to write or speak about a controversial project, policy or decision. 1. There is a SERIOUS PROBLEM, or an important opportunity... one that just has to be addressed. 2. You are the right entity to address it. In fact, it would be IRRESPONSIBLE for you, with the MISSION that you have, not to address it. 3. The approach you are taking is REASONABLE, SENSIBLE and RESPONSIBLE. 4. You are LISTENING and you do care about the costs, the negative effects, the HARDSHIPS that your actions will cause people. Page 9