Public Relations And Communications Strategy

Transcription

1 Public Relations And Communications Strategy Center School District 8701 Holmes Road Kansas City, Missouri Page 1

2 Table of Contents Executive Summary Community Relations and Education. 5 Media Relations. 6 Research and Development 7 Marketing and Information 8 Communications Training. 9 Page 2

3 Executive Summary Situation In late 2005, at the request of the Center School District, Ken DeSieghardt with DeSieghardt Communications began work on external focus groups to assess the perception of Center schools within the community. In March 2005, DeSieghardt Communications conducted the focus groups. With this, a new Public Relations Director was hired to help address the challenges of maintaining public confidence, communicating effectively with all segments of the community, and to increase awareness of the Center School District. Focus The will focus on issues-related initiatives. The strategy will build trust within the and create lines of communication throughout the. The strategy will internalize a consistent message focused on student achievement. Consistency builds culture. Customers Internal customers include students and staff. External customers include parents and community patrons. Budget Budget dollars will be allocated to achieve the desired results of building trust, confidence, and support for the Center School District. Page 3

4 Beliefs This document supports those beliefs in the Strategic Plan. The Public Relations Director also believes 1.) we have a responsibility to communicate effectively with internal and external customers; 2.) that focused, meaningful public engagement supports the s goals, and that effective communication: - is a two-way process with internal and external customers. - helps increase student achievement. - is the responsibility of every employee of the. Goals The Center School District Public Relations and Communications Plan aligns with the Strategic Plan to increase student achievement. Message From the combination of the external focus groups and internal focus groups, we ve identified five key messages that our internal and external stakeholders need to have reinforced. While these are all messages that will be communicated internally and externally, we still have to work on the challenges of maintaining public confidence, communicating effectively with all segments of the community, and increasing awareness of the Center School District. By reinforcing and continuously stressing the messages, we can begin to work on the challenges. These key messages will be worked into the following Center School District Public Relations and Communications Plan. They will be intertwined in several aspects of the school internally and externally. There are five key messages: - Quality staff and leadership - Successful graduates - Achieving students - Technology rich - Safe environment Q SATS. The messages are realities of the Center School District. These are messages we must communicate internally (although most staff recognize and agree with these messages, they need to be able to eloquently express and demonstrate how they are real) and externally (parents, businesses, community). From these key messages, the Center School District Public Relations and Communications Plan will evolve, always understanding that our students, staff, and parents, in what they do and say, are our first display of image. Page 4

5 Community Relations and Education Community Relations and Education produces increased knowledge and support for the Center School District. Increase parent understanding of the Increase staff understanding of the Increase student understanding of the Increase community businesses involvement with the Increase opportunities for two-way communication Host parent information nights at all schools Conduct staff forums to discuss initiatives and direction Conduct student forums to discuss schoolimage issues Introduce partnership luncheons with local businesses Actively sell Center School District at local businesses through sales presentations Conduct Superintendent Community Forums that are actively attended and promoted Publications Make it Your Center news Key communicator networks Student ambassador program to talk about our schools Page 5

6 Media Relations Media relations increases the public perception of the. Whether positive or negative, media stories communicate messages to the public. Our goal is to increase the number of positive stories in the media that showcase student achievement and communicate accurate information. Increase the number of positive stories in the media Establish and maintain working relationships with media professionals Make media professionals feel welcome and a part of our schools Effective advertising campaigns Press releases, briefings, photo opportunities, and weekly meetings Media roundtables in our schools to showcase and discuss school issues Fact sheets Letters to editor or guest editorials and opinion pieces Archive all media stories for future reference when needed Media invitations to school events Students and media roundtables for twoway communication Buy advertising spots with publications that support our goals and that are willing to work with us to get positive stories published Page 6

7 Research and Development Research and Development allows the to understand and gauge public knowledge and confidence in our efforts. It allows us to know how well we are doing. It also measures the effectiveness of our communications strategies. Expand collection of data Understand public perception Integrate message with public message Use data to refine or create school and initiatives Explore development opportunities to increase effectiveness and efficiency of the Poll the public (focus groups and surveys) Research and public opinion evaluation Key messages and scripts to coincide Employee training on messages Employee and student surveys that are meaningful and not simply venting sessions Internet research to gauge national education issues Institute a PR Advisory Committee to solicit and discuss school messages Institute measurable outcomes number of web site hits each month, number of new Center News subscribers, etc. Page 7

8 Marketing and Information Marketing and information creates awareness and pride in the Center School District. Marketing and information produces tangible and intangible feelings about a. It promotes the from our vantage point. We develop our message and materials to promote to our customers. Our marketing and information resources help shape understanding within the community. Increase distribution of school information Expand relationships with the community Increase awareness of the Shape new ideas and perceptions of the A new campaign integrating the five key messages Video production of an image campaign to showcase our New informational brochure Beginning of the year and mid-year staff energizers reinforcing our messages New web site integrating video streaming and the people in the video describing who Center is New images on web site Print campaign in schools and businesses Weekly e-newsletter Direct mailings to frequent voters about Center (newsletter or profiles) Advertisements directing customers to web site for accurate information Banners along Holmes directing customers to web site for accurate information Special events and recognition luncheons Displays and exhibits in community businesses Employee training about message Page 8

9 Communications Training Communications Training enables students and staff to understand their role as imagebuilders and ambassadors to the community. Students and staff exude image in everything they do. We need to focus on promoting one, consistent message that is accurate and informational. Student and staff involvement increases ownership in the and builds trust. It also fosters a positive environment for teaching and learning. Increase opportunities for students and staff to receive communications and message development training Increase number of students and staff who are trained in communications Provide opportunities for school board members to receive communications training Increase opportunities for students and staff to have input in decisions that affect them Improve staff morale and trust in the Increase student and staff awareness of their role in public perception PR sessions for students and staff Professional development break-out sessions on image building Effective communication sessions PR for principals things they can do to promote positive feelings Consistent school newsletter approaches Message presentations to students and staff Show examples of what good PR and bad PR can do to an organization Page 9