DISTRICT 123 COMMUNICATIONS PLAN Prepared by: Ben Grey Director of Technology and Communications Presented to the Board of Education December 13, 2010 1
PURPOSE D123 Communications Plan The purpose of this communications plan is to establish a proactive system of communications that reaches all District 123 stakeholders. The following plan establishes the requisite descriptions, guidelines, channels, goals, and strategies to accomplish this purpose through an integrated communications approach to achieve transparent communications that will lead to increased awareness, trust, and advocacy. INTRODUCTION Based on input from a variety of stakeholder groups and constituents, this Communications Plan establishes a comprehensive and integrated public relations and communications process designed to support an effective dialogue with all stakeholders in Oak Lawn-Hometown District 123. This document provides an outline for achieving specific communications goals within the district to achieve strategic communications and public relations outcomes. The Communications Plan presented here intends to: 1. Establish a communications program that directly helps the school district achieve its strategic goals. 2. Develop and foster strong relationships with those on whom the school district depends for ensuring student success, including diverse audiences. 3. Provide focus and direction for communication messages and methods to support the school district s mission. 4. Enable the school district to engage in a reciprocal relationship with internal and external stakeholders. 5. Create a communications system and protocol that builds trust with all stakeholders through transparent, consistent communications. INTEGRATED COMMUNICATIONS Integrated communications is an effort to coordinate and integrate all communications tools, avenues, functions, and sources of an institution in a seamless program that maximizes on the impact of communications and relations with all stakeholders. Integrated communications strategies provide focus, clarity, and continuity across all segments of an organization. This approach is critical as everything an organization does, and sometimes does not do, sends a message to stakeholders. The principles of this plan are founded on this communications approach. Integrated communications can increase brand identity and effectiveness by strengthening relationships with all stakeholders. In the case of an educational institution, this includes administration, board members, associations, staff, parents, students, public officials, news media, and community leaders. The goal of providing such strong relationships through integrated communications is to help support the establishment of the best educational environment possible for the students of District 123. Integrated communications provides a branding strategy that not only provides a consistent image for a school district, but it also reinforces and reflects on the core values, goals, and mission of the district. District 123 will utilize this approach to leverage all available organizational resources and broaden the scope of public relations, thereby allowing us to achieve strategic and communicative consistency. 2
PRIMARY AUDIENCES Oak Lawn-Hometown School District 123 s primary audiences are: 1. Internal Stakeholders: defined as staff and the associations that represent them, as well as administrators, members of the board of education, and PTA/PTO officers. 2. External Stakeholders: defined as students, parents, foundation members, alumni, community and business partners, residents without children in school and local law enforcement officials. 3. Influencers: defined as local municipal leaders and elected officials, business and community executives, news media, key communicators, the Real Estate community, and the Illinois Legislature. INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS The goal of this communications plan is to establish a systems of communications that will build trust with all stakeholder groups and continue moving each toward advocacy. A critical component to accomplishing this goal is to inform internal stakeholders of important policies, programs, general messages and activities in order to influence stakeholder advocacy. As internal stakeholders are moved to full awareness of such messaging and communications, they will then be equipped to promote the district message with consistency and accuracy when interacting with external stakeholders. School district employees should be knowledgeable in their understanding of the organizational direction so they can deliver messages and brand positions that are consistent with the strategic goals of the district. Internal stakeholders are the face and voice of the district, and as such, their interactions, demeanor, and professionalism express critical messages that influence what the public thinks about the organization. The Oak Lawn-Hometown District 123 Communications Plan is based on building a strong and effective system of internal and external communications. The district will continue to develop, foster and maintain an organizational culture where all personnel understand their critical role with communication to all audiences. Creating a sound and effective system of internal communications will build a foundation for establishing an equally sound and effective system of external communications. 3
To accomplish this goal, the district will administer communication vehicles to foster interaction internally and externally that include, but are not limited to: 1. enewsletters and SchoolMessenger messages that provide timely information to staff regarding news of importance and immediacy. 2. Establishing a school communication representative at each building who will work with the Director of Technology and Communications to solicit story ideas for district publications and media relations as well as feedback on public relations strategies. 3. Input sessions to collect new and revised information to update the school district website and other communication vehicles. 4. enewsletters and print publications which include information about the board of education decisions, school district policies, available educational resources, employee achievements, student achievements, employee benefits, and other organizational news. COMMUNICATIONS CHANNELS District and Building websites enewsletters District Superintendent Updates Board Updates District Updates Building Classroom Media outlets Social Media Facebook Twitter Print Publications Annual district newsletter Annual informational flyer/brochure COMMUNICATION GOALS 1. Develop a communication system that supports and meets the needs of all constituents, strengthens our relationships and builds trust with all stakeholders, and helps all groups better connect with our students, staff, and community. 2. Establish and maintain proactive media relations with news outlets. 3. Establish a clear brand identity for the school district and begin to build upon that image and reputation. 4. Create continuity among all public relations vehicles, including district website, electronic communications and print publications. 5. Reinforce the board of education s commitment to make communications a public priority for the school district. 4
IMPLEMENTATION PLAN Goal #1: Develop a communication system that supports and meets the needs of all constituents, strengthens our relationships and builds trust with all stakeholders, and helps all groups better connect with our students, staff, and community. 1. Meet with a variety of stakeholder groups to assess and evaluate current communications needs and priorities. 2. Determine communications channels to be used as part of the established communications system. 3. Create website redesign committee to redesign district and building websites. 4. Select new CMS company to create new websites. 5. Redesign and implement new district website. 6. Redesign and implement new building websites. 7. Establish web guidelines and requirements for district, school, and classroom web pages. 8. Establish social media presence for district and begin utilizing established tools to communicate district news. 9. Create enewsletter templates for 3 tiers of district enewsletters. 10. Establish recommended schedules for enewsletters. 11. Create enewsletter templates for each building. 12. Create communications framework explaining communications channels and use for each. 5
Goal #2: Establish and maintain proactive media relations with news outlets. 1. Continue to build relationships and manage appropriate liaison services between the district and local news media outlets. 2. Create media announcement template for use when informing media of upcoming district/building events. 3. Make monthly media briefings available to members of the local press to provide previews and explanations of upcoming or recent district events. 4. Establish a hierarchy of spokespersons who can respond on the district s behalf to developing situations, critical issues or general media inquiries. 5. Establish a centralized, consistent system of gathering and delivering story ideas to local reporters as opposed to a fragmented process of story ideas being disseminated by multiple sources and schools. 6. Develop and implement a basic system for tracking media coverage of the school district. Goal #3: Establish a clear brand identity for the school district and begin to build upon that image and reputation. 1. Develop and implement a new district logo. 2. Develop and implement a new district mission statement that will provide direction and clarity for the work and initiatives of the district. 3. Create new district letterhead, business cards, envelopes, and other identifying branding materials. 4. Establish standards-manual and style guide to ensure proper alignment and use of information and materials with new branding strategy for both written and graphic representations. 5. Work with schools to refine individual school logos. 6
Goal #4: Create continuity among all public relations vehicles, including district website, electronic communications and print publications. 1. Introduce new yearly, single-page district informational brochure to highlight the district s branding strategy to be mailed to all households within district attendance boundaries. 2. Evaluate usability and effectiveness of new district website, and make requisite changes to ensure site is effectively communicating to all stakeholders. 3. Develop strategies to increase subscriber base of district enewsletters. Goal #5: Reinforce the board of education s commitment to make communications a public priority for the school district. 1. Contribute to an organizational environment that supports the Board of Education in its responsibility to communicate school policies, decisions and programs to stakeholders and other audiences. BUDGET 2. Support the communications process for promoting board meeting dates and times, providing premeeting information for the news media and conveying outcomes of board meetings to constituents. 3. Implement vehicles to support appropriate and effective communication between the Board of Education, administration and stakeholders of the school district. This plan allocates projected costs among each of the five goals. In some cases, these costs are necessary because new systems of communications or major restructuring of present systems are scheduled to take place this school year. These expenses should be viewed in the context as part of a one-year plan and not specifically as an expected recurring expense. As the Communications Plan is implemented in the 2010-2011 school year and expected costs are actualized, the majority of budgeted spending needs will be fulfilled and will not be necessary in the following year s plan. 1. Develop a communication system that supports and meets the needs of all constituents, strengthens our relationships and builds trust with all stakeholders, and helps all groups better connect with our students, staff, and community. Cost: $5,000 2. Establish and maintain proactive media relations with news outlets. Cost: $500 3. Establish a clear brand identity for the school district and begin to build upon that image and reputation. Cost: $3,500 4. Create continuity among all public relations vehicles, including district website, electronic communications and print publications. Cost: $25,000 5. Reinforce the board of education s commitment to make communications a public priority for the school district. Cost: $4,000 7
Total Projected Budget: $38,000 D123 Communications Plan Conduct complete redesign and implementation of district and building webpages. New content management system implementation: $25,000 Design services and consultation for district site: $4,000 Design services and consultation for building sites: $4,000 Design, create, and implement three levels of enewsletters. Design services, consultation, and subscription service fees: $1,000 District logo redesign and branding strategy. Design and consultation services: $750 Rebranding style guides and material transition including business cards, letter head, envelopes, mailings, and other brand materials. Design, supplies and services. $1,000 Hardware, software, and equipment supplies for system implementation Equipment, software, hardware supplies $2,250 Total Itemized Costs $38,000 SUMMARY For the success of this plan to be realized, it must be supported and embraced by a broad contingency of stakeholders, including the board of education, administration, staff, parents, and community members. The transition to a centralized, integrated communications strategy will take time and patience on the part of all constituents as systems are designed, implemented and embraced. The key function of this plan is to continue building relationships with all stakeholders to build trust and move all stakeholder groups toward advocacy of the district s strategic goals. Improving the effectiveness and capacity for the district to communicate with all audiences will provide the opportunity to improve the district s image, culture, and quality of education for all students. 8