Strongsville City Schools Proposal for Strategic Communications Planning and Consulting Overview Strongsville City Schools have faced several difficult challenges in the past few years but they have also made great progress moving the system forward. Communicating in a clear, effective manner about the district s plans, successes and challenges is critical to ensuring an informed public and in building confidence in the direction of the district. Several years ago, budget realities forced reductions in district communication efforts and that resulted in lack of consistent and clear messaging to district stakeholders. Rebuilding a comprehensive communications infrastructure that builds networking tools and shares information in a concise and effective manner is critical to proactively reaching the district s various constituencies. Among the several serious issues that Strongsville Schools have had to address in recent years have been a very public teachers strike, passage of a bond issue and resulting new buildings and changes in grade level configuration and enrollment, Every one of these issues evidences the critical importance of providing clear, comprehensive information for parents, staff and residents explaining the district s positions and plans. We suggest a phased approach to rebuilding comprehensive communications efforts: research; planning and execution. Strategic communications planning will lead to long-term awareness of and support for Strongsville Schools. This approach will allow the Melamed Communications team to ensure the strategy is achievable, realistic and thorough. Approach Phase One: Background Research [November December] In order to create a comprehensive communications strategy with a review of past communications effort- what has been done, what worked, what was not effective and where there have been gaps in messaging and delivery. It is important to send the right message, to instill trust and confidence in the districts decisions and its ability to be open, transparent and clear. To achieve this goal, we suggest the following tactics: Communications Audit We will audit past communications to analyze how the messages were developed, delivered and received by various constituencies. As part of this audit we will also review the website and any available analytics to identify traffic patterns. Online Surveys We will write, conduct and analyze surveys focused on three constituencies: parents; staff and residents. The parent and staff surveys will include greater emphasis on internal communications and gauge perceptions, concerns, positives and negatives about Strongsville Schools. The resident survey will gauge community perceptions about the schools, performance, positives and negatives.
All surveys will test what types of information the respondents would like to hear about Strongsville Schools, data that will form the base of the overall communications plan. Distribution and stakeholder buy-in is key to the success of an online survey and we will suggest third-party partners who will ensure dissemination of the survey link via all appropriate social media and online sources. This process will reinforce that Strongsville Schools want to engage the community and respond to its input. Data Review We will review existing contact lists and networks for information sharing. This review will provide the base for building capacity moving forward. Phase Two: Communications Plan Development [January] Capacity Building Every communications network can improve. In the time of social media and instant messaging, the network is that much more important. We will build on the district s existing mailing list, databases and networks by supplementing its third-party outreach with local businesses, non-profits, civic organizations, elected officials and educational organizations. We will help build a key communicator list of stakeholders to engage periodically throughout the school year. Key Communicators No school district can build community knowledge alone. It is imperative to build third-party ambassadors who understand and independently validate and share district messages in their own words and experiences. We will build a small team of non-school community key-communicators to deliver district messages and news throughout the community. Strategic Communications Plan With the foundation in place, we will create a strategic communications plan for 2015. The plan will include reinstitution of a quarterly newsletter, increasing the district Facebook presence, and building Superintendent communications and speaking engagements. We will also evaluate using tools like teletown halls as vehicles to communicate with both the school and broader community. Our plan will be inclusive and engage partners such as the City of Strongsville, the Library, civic organizations like the Chamber of Commerce and Rotary as well as local media outlets. Phase Three: [February, 2015 -] Content Development We will help create messaging that is clear, concise and thorough. Our research-based content will be adaptable to a wide variety of audiences and communications vehicles including presentations, talking points, fact-sheets, grant applications and other communication needs. We will look to develop stories that tell the Strongsville Schools story with personal success stories that are easy to relate to. Ongoing Communications Consulting With a plan, messaging and audiences in place, ongoing execution of the plan becomes a manageable task. Working with staff and the Superintendent and his designees, we will edit and provide suggested content for the planned communications vehicles.
Tracking Online Surveys We will track community perceptions by conducting online surveys at agreed-upon periodic intervals to gauge progress. We will write, conduct and analyze follow-up online surveys to track perceptions following the initial research. We will identify gaps and suggest plan modifications as necessary. Costs & Terms of Agreement We propose three phases of work: Phase One from November December 2014, Phase Two in January, 2015 and Phase Three beginning in February, 2015 and continuing until either party cancel with 30-day notice. Our fee for Phase One and Two is $7,000 per month and Phase Three is $5,500 per month. Terms of Agreement In addition to the above, please note that fees are payable on the first of each month. Third-party costs, if any, such as brochures, advertising, database creation or other expense is an additional cost payable by Strongsville Schools. When reasonable, Melamed Communications will seek Strongsville Schools pre-approval prior to incurring such costs. Reasonable, ordinary program related expenses (travel expenses, long distance, mileage, excessive cell phone usage, internet, copy services, etc.) are invoiced monthly. Agreement The parties have executed this agreement on the dates set forth below. The effective date is stated in the Term of Agreement section. Strongsville City Schools Melamed Communications, LLC Signature Signature Title Title Date Date Please fax and mail a completed signed copy of this agreement to: Melamed Communications, attention Alan Melamed, 3601 Green Road, Suite 220, Cleveland, Ohio 44122. Fax to 216.752.4900.
The Team ALAN MELAMED, President For the past fourteen years, Alan has grown Melamed Communications into one of Ohio s premier advocacy and political consulting firms. Melamed Communications is driven by its mission to provide innovative, all-out advocacy on behalf of issues, candidates, and organizations whose common objective is to build a better Ohio and a better country for today, tomorrow, and generations to come. Since it was founded in 1999, the firm has served a wide range of causes, candidates, governmental, political, and advocacy organizations. Among its efforts are campaigns promoting alternative energy, health and human services (including the past two Cuyahoga County Health & Human Service levies), LGBT rights, voting rights, legislative and congressional redistricting reform, livestock care, and economic development. Melamed Communications has also worked on a number of statewide and local candidate campaigns ranging from the Governor to mayors, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, county officeholders, and legislative candidates. Alan is a graduate of Case Western Reserve School of Law and The Ohio State University. He serves on the Executive Council of the Board of Governors of the American Jewish Committee and was recently elected to serve as the Chair of the Public Affairs Committee, which oversees all the organization's communications efforts domestically and internationally. Alan is also a member of the American Association of Political Consultants and a graduate of the Leadership Cleveland Class of 2003. GALEN SCHUERLEIN, Vice President Galen joined Melamed Communications in 2014 after a decade of providing strategic counsel to public and private clients throughout Ohio. Galen is experienced in advocacy, government relations, political campaigns, fundraising, and in providing ongoing strategic direction to help clients reach goals. Prior to joining Melamed Communications, Galen worked for Burges & Burges Strategists where she consulted on campaigns for community colleges, government reform, libraries, school operating and bond issues and candidate campaigns. She also provided ongoing strategic counsel on community outreach efforts, fundraising, communications planning and business development and retention. She has worked in all facets of campaigns including as campaign manager, field director, fundraiser and volunteer coordinator. Prior to moving to the private sector, Galen was an Executive Assistant to the Mayor of Cleveland focused on communications and labor relations. She was also Chief Counsel for the City of Cleveland where she was responsible for coordinating all Collective Bargaining, Labor and Employment, Real Estate Development and Public Records law sections. In early 2000s, Galen was a Cuyahoga County Prosecuting Attorney representing Children and Family Services and prosecuting Neglect, Abuse and Dependency complaints.
Galen graduated magna cum laude from Seattle University with a bachelor s degree in Political Science and earned her law degree from Case Western Reserve School of Law. Galen is a past board member of the Cleveland Landmarks Commission and was named a member of the Crain s 40 Under 40 Class of 2010. HELEN SHEEHAN, Vice President Helen leverages her ten plus years of experience in public relations and voter advocacy to execute successful solutions for a wide variety of Melamed Communications clients. In addition to her broad expertise, Helen specializes in management of public relations efforts, media logistics, and research. Her professional experience includes work for the The Energy Foundation, American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, School Employees Retirement System of Ohio, CommuniCare Health Services, Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, Cuyahoga County Treasurer Jim Rokakis and First Interstate Properties. She has also been Campaign Manager for the past two county-wide Health and Human Service levies. Helen is highly active in her community and serves on the boards of several not-for-profit organizations. Helen s down-to-earth no-nonsense professional approach has earned her the respect of high-profile elected officials and business leaders. She was recently recognized by the YWCA of Greater Cleveland as a Woman of Professional Excellence.