Communications Audit
Thompson School District
December 17, 2007
Thompson School District
800 South Taft Avenue
Loveland, Colorado 80537
www.thompson.k12.co.us
(970) 613-5000
Conducted by
Colorado Association of School Boards
Schoolhouse Communications
INTRODUCTION
Introduction
In August 2007, the Thompson School District retained the Colorado Association of School Boards and Schoolhouse Communications to conduct a
communications audit to determine the district’s communications strengths and weaknesses and to provide recommendations for improvement.
The findings in this report also identify what targeted audiences know about the district’s goals, how the district is perceived both by its employees and the
broader community, and how these key audiences want to be informed about the district’s work. These findings give more focus and impact to strategic
communications across the district and help ensure tight resources are used wisely.
The following research methods were used to inform the findings and recommendations in this report:
• Twelve 90-minute focus groups1 with representative staff, parent and
community groups to assess the effectiveness of the district’s
communications efforts and to determine priorities for improvement
• Eighteen individual interviews with school board members, the
superintendent, selected central office administrators and the president of the teachers association
• A review of selected school district publications and television
programming (CASB and Schoolhouse did not review the district’s Web site, as it was being reviewed in a separate process.)
• An assessment of the communications strengths and weaknesses of a
school board meeting
• A review of district communications policies
The communications audit process is designed to pinpoint problems in order to find solutions. Focus group participants and interview subjects are encouraged to vocalize their concerns. As a result, this report may appear “negative” to readers. The intent, however, is to reveal to the school district the perceptions of stakeholder groups and to recommend improvements to the district’s
1 Focus groups are not intended to provide statistically valid, quantitative data and therefore, hard data cannot be projected to the community as a whole. Focus groups are, however, a widely accepted form of market research to provide qualitative information—a barometer of public opinion. Focus groups are an excellent way to probe people’s perceptions of an organization. The information obtained by this process can enable the district board and staff to more realistically evaluate the attitudes among the staff and community and provides a basis for future planning.
INTRODUCTION
communications efforts based on outside expert opinion and best practices in communications.
Climate for communications
In order for a school district’s communications efforts to be successful, school leaders must be aware of the environment in which they are communicating. The following observations are based on findings from the focus groups and
interviews and must be considered as the district refines its communications strategies:
The district has a history of site-based management.
The district’s history of site-based management as well as the size of the school district has affected leadership’s ability to create a districtwide team and to effectively communicate from school to school.
Multiple school and districtwide improvement initiatives have been put in place in a relatively short amount of time.
The result: Employees say they are too overwhelmed by the changes to communicate district information about those changes to other employees or parents. Employees, who are considered by the public as highly credible spokespeople for the school district, often said that they are too overloaded to pay much attention to or communicate district information.
A new superintendent is on the horizon.
As the communications audit focus groups and interviews were being
conducted, the district was also beginning its search for a new superintendent. New leadership in the district’s top position will likely result in a change in district culture, at least internally. Employees, who feel they have experienced too much change, are in a “wait-and-see” mode.
Most residents have no connection to the school district.
In most communities across the United States, about 75 percent of residents do not have children in school. Due to the branding of Loveland and the
surrounding area as an ideal retirement community, the number of older individuals without children in school is higher than in many other
communities. In addition, these seniors often come to the community from other states and have no historical connection to the Thompson School District.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Executive summary
The following is a summary of findings from a communications audit conducted by the Colorado Association of School Boards and Schoolhouse Communications for the Thompson School District.
Perception of the district largely positive
When asked to describe the school district, most focus group/interview participants described it in positive terms. Individuals pointed to the district’s success passing a bond, and later, a mill levy, as an indicator of overall
community support. They said the district has a history of above-average student achievement. The teaching staff was touted across the board as one of the best – dedicated, caring and willing to meet students’ individual needs.
Parents and staff alike value the district’s small and neighborhood-based schools, and at the same time are proud that the district offers multiple academic
programs to meet students’ needs. Choice was expressed as a strong point of the school district.
The district deserves praise for its efforts to spread the word in the community about its work. The district publishes a quarterly community newsletter;
produces district television programming; holds monthly community luncheons with key stakeholders; has district representatives on local community groups (Rotary, United Way, Chamber of Commerce); attends community fairs to
market the district; and has community-based groups in place to review facilities and growth issues.
Communications challenges
Despite the district’s overall success and the strengths of its communications program, the communications audit identified four key communications challenges.
1. There is a strong need for district leaders and school board members to communicate
the district’s vision and educational priorities with one voice.
Effective communications with the community requires a planned and strategic program of communications. It depends on all players—from
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
• There appears to be little clarity among the staff and community about
the district’s vision, mission, goals or major initiatives, and little to no awareness of any clear or focused messages. The only initiatives recalled with any consistency were the district’s recent bond and mill levy elections.
• Staff is eager to know the district’s goals and key initiatives, and how
they relate to the staff’s work. The rapid pace of change in the district only underscores the need for timely, accurate and consistent
communications to employees.
• Rapid change, mixed messages, lack of information and the perception
that staff opinions are not welcomed contribute to low employee morale. It is hard to know how deep the morale issue runs without further research, but the topic came up in almost all employee focus groups. Morale is important to the district’s communications efforts because what goes on internally gets mirrored externally.
2. Internal communication must be improved.
Effective communications with the community is only possible when there is effective communications with staff. Taxpayers generally rely on people they know for information about schools, and the people they know are most often teachers and classified staff. In addition, teachers continue to emerge in
national research as the most credible source of information about schools.
• Most focus group participants cited “word of mouth” as a primary
source of information about the school district. Unfortunately, employees often said that they feel uninformed about district issues due to faulty communications systems.
• Staff focus group participants described the flow of communications
from leadership to employees as “haphazard and unorganized.” Employees said they often get conflicting messages from
administrators. Staff at all levels acknowledged that central office employees are simply too overwhelmed to communicate well.
• Like most other districts, the Thompson School District relies on
principals to convey important information to school staff. However, focus group participants noted that not all principals and supervisors are skilled at communicating well, leaving some employees without a reliable information source. Principals said conflicting information from central office administrators makes clear communication to school staff difficult.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
• E-mail and the district’s intranet system are other key sources of
information for staff. Unfortunately, neither of these tools seems to be working well. All staff groups took issue with the high volume of e-mails they receive and conflicting information in e-e-mails sent from various departments. Information on the staff intranet was described as “poorly organized and hard to find.”
• Many employees cited examples indicating that the district may want
to revisit its crisis communications procedures and communicate them more proactively to the staff and parents.
• There was a strong desire among the classified and teaching staff to
have more opportunities to communicate with work-alike groups across the district.
• Time and time again in focus groups, employees talked about the
administration building being a communications barrier. They said it was hard to navigate, impersonal and unwelcoming.
3. Community supportive of, but detached from, school district.
Based on focus groups, it appears that while the community is largely supportive of the school district, it is supportive at an arm’s length. Most seemed to know very little about the school district except what they could remember reading about in the newspaper.
• Senior citizen and empty nester focus group participants seemed
particularly disconnected from the school district. Several seniors expressed a desire to be more involved with the schools through volunteer programs or in other ways, but most did not know how to access the district’s volunteer program.
• Younger focus group participants without children in school said they
also feel disconnected. Those who live in the southern Fort Collins area (on the line between Poudre and Thompson) reported receiving a lot of information from the Poudre School District, but none from
Thompson.
4. The district needs to more aggressively promote its strengths and unique programs.
Across the board, focus group and interview participants described a community that is proud of its schools, but they noted that the district competes with the Poudre School District in terms of image, recognition and
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
student enrollment. Most focus group participants felt that Poudre offers no better academics than Thompson, just better marketing.
• The principals’ focus group spent considerable time discussing
marketing, noting its importance and its difficulty. District staff and school board members also encouraged the district to more proactively promote its academic programs. Parents said they want to learn more not only about what options are available, but what’s working and why.
• Focus group participants touted the positive working relationship the
district has with the Loveland Reporter-Herald as well as two other community newspapers. Concerns, however, were raised about the
Reporter-Herald’s “RH Line,” which, they said, promotes
unsubstantiated information. Since the newspaper was so often cited as a primary source of information about the school district, it would compel the district to develop a media plan that promotes its vision and direction as well as key initiatives and academic programs.
• The district Web site holds huge untapped potential to both market
and communicate about the district and its schools. Unfortunately, the Web site received low marks across the board. Almost all focus groups except senior citizens said they would like to rely on the district’s Web site as an information source, but cannot do so because it is outdated, lacking information and hard to navigate. The good news is that the district is currently redesigning and updating the site.
For a more complete analysis of what is working well in terms of district
communications, areas that need to be improved and recommendations, please see the comprehensive communications audit report.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommendations
These recommendations, which stem from the communications audit findings, provide the district with a blueprint of possible next steps. They are designed to help the district be more strategic and purposeful in its communications to both internal and external audiences – from employees to community members. We also encourage the district to share the findings of this report with staff and the community. An executive summary of this report should be shared with focus group and interview participants with a link to the full report on the district’s Web site so they better understand how their input was factored into this work. Also, it will be critical for the district to communicate widely about next steps.
1. The superintendent, school board members and top administrators must communicate
the district’s vision and priorities to staff and the public with a unified voice.
A lack of understanding of the district’s vision and priorities was the concern most often expressed in focus groups and interviews. Without this clear direction, it is difficult to communicate clearly, and it is difficult for employees to see how their work relates to the bigger picture. As a first step in improving communications, CASB/Schoolhouse
recommends that the board, superintendent, communications director and top administrators come to consensus on what and how to communicate about the district’s vision and establish a limited number of major priorities for a specified period of time. Ensure that central office administrators are clear on the vision and focus areas as well as their roles in communicating them.
From this work, the communications team can develop key messages and talking points that will be used to communicate both internally and externally. Additional recommendations include:
• Conducting communications training for key communicators in the
district who will promote messages and talking points
• Providing support materials such as a communications tool kit that
includes message cards, talking points, feedback forms and other tools to support efforts to get the word out
• Touching base with key communicators on a regularly scheduled basis
to see how messages are being received and to identify additional strategies as needed
RECOMMENDATIONS
2. Enable the Communication and Community Resources Department to function
strategically.
The communications team provides the backbone of the school district’s overall communications efforts. When communications is viewed as a strategic function and the communications team functions accordingly, the district has the potential to communicate at an optimal level.
For the Thompson Communication and Community Resources Department to function most effectively, CASB/Schoolhouse recommends the following:
• Make the director a member of the superintendent’s executive team
and a key part of the district’s decision-making team.
• Assign the director full-time to the Communication and Community
Resources Department without additional responsibility to the district Foundation.
• Assign a full-time Webmaster to the Communication and Community
Resources Department with no outside duties.
• Fully staff Thompson Schools Television so the director does not have
to fill in.
• Establish clear lines of authority and responsibility for both internal
and external communications that include the communications team.
• Move all department Web sites and major communications vehicles
(such as brochures and fliers) under the authority of the
Communication and Community Resources Department so the district speaks with a unified voice, and information is conveyed accurately and consistently.
3. Develop a strategic internal and external communications plan that includes
community engagement.
A strategic communications plan provides the “road map” for
communications activities, assuring that they meet the district’s goals and objectives and contribute to the environment for student achievement. A well-planned communications program ensures that the district is using its communications resources wisely.
CASB/Schoolhouse recommends that the district’s Communication and Community Resources Department lead the effort to build a strategic communications plan that:
• Communicates key messages to and builds relationships with district
RECOMMENDATIONS
• Targets communications to specific external audiences and better
promotes the school district’s strengths
• Creates dialogue between the school district and the community
through community engagement
Internal communications
Internal communications appears to be the most pressing communications challenge for the Thompson School District at this time. In various ways, employees said they are having trouble identifying the priorities of district leaders and are struggling to cope with increased demands and change. CASB/Schoolhouse recommends the Thompson School District make internal communications a priority with immediate attention to an
internal communications component to the overall communications plan. The district should:
o Establish clear authority for internal communications to include the
Communication and Community Resources Department. Determine who regularly communicates what to whom.
o Articulate a system of two-way communications among
superintendent, top administrators and principals. This system would include time for central administration and principals to discuss, reflect and process information together.
o Repeat the district’s key messages through various means. o Include updated, efficient tools and guidelines for intranet and
e-mail use.
o Provide tools such as talking points and timelines that principals
can use to communicate to staff.
o Allow for more face time between the board and top administrators
and employees. Explore opportunities to talk monthly with small groups of teachers and classified staff about the issues they are confronting, questions, etc.
o Communicate to staff proactively so that they may understand the
context and rationale for decisions made by top administrators and the board.
o Explore video as a tool for all-staff communications.
o Develop opportunities for staff to gather and communicate with
each other such as work-alike groups or articulation area meetings.
o Consider reinstituting beginning-of-year meeting or function for all
employees that reinforces key messages and helps to build a greater sense of community.
o Make the central office a more friendly, open and easier-to-navigate
RECOMMENDATIONS
better signage, and welcoming employees beyond the front lobby. Investigate the possibility of unlocking internal doors.
o Follow up with employees when their opinions are sought or they
participate in decision-making.
o Put together an employee group to make recommendations on
employee morale issues.
External communications
One of the communications weaknesses for most school districts is that the same messages and communications tools are used for all audiences. Another is that communications methods are primarily one-way: getting information out. Thompson is no different.
Two things somewhat unique to the Thompson district are the high number of seniors in the community and the untapped potential of the district’s Web site as a communications tool for parents, in particular. CASB/Schoolhouse recommends that the district place particular emphasis on targeted communications, building relationships with seniors and revamping the district Web site in the external
communications component of its communications plan. The district should:
o More aggressively communicate and engage seniors in the
community with a goal of building relationships between the senior population and the school district.
! Develop a seniors advisory committee to the district.
! Develop printed information about how they can volunteer in schools and distribute this information through senior organizations and senior living facilities.
! Provide opportunities for seniors to be a part of the schools through invitations to school arts and sporting events, lunch and tours of schools, sharing their expertise with students, etc.
! Offer “senior seminars” on education topics of interest to them.
o Significantly improve the district’s Web site so that it may be used
as a major communications tool.
! Follow the recommendations of the district’s Web site review to make the Web site more dynamic and user-friendly.
! Add video capabilities to the Web to improve access to the district television programs.
RECOMMENDATIONS
! Once the Web site has been redesigned, market its
availability to staff, parents and key communicators in the district.
o Develop publications and Web pages that promote the district’s
menu of academic programs and choice options. Target this information to parents, but circulate it widely.
o Provide targeted communications about the district and schools to
parents of preschoolers. Invite them to visit schools.
o Provide parents with information about what kids are learning at
what grade level, how they can help their kids be successful and what they can expect as students transition to the next grade.
o Establish a key communicators network that facilitates two-way
communications between the district and community opinion leaders.
o Target Realtors with information about the Thompson district and
individual schools.
o Provide training for principals about school marketing, and assist
principals with developing school marketing plans.
o Develop an annual media plan designed to promote the district’s
vision, goals and key initiatives.
Community engagement
A key finding in the communications audit was that the community, although supportive of the district, appears quite disengaged. This is not an ideal situation because community support can fade quickly when there is a crisis or unpleasant situation in the school district. Engaging the community builds relationships and a reservoir of trust between the district and its community. In addition, it helps the board represent the values of the community who elected them.
CASB/Schoolhouse recommends that the board and administration
develop a community engagement component of its communications plan that includes:
o A key and active role for the school board in partnership with
district administrators
o Community engagement training for the board and top
administration
o A calendar of engagement events
o Specific invitations to participants representing a cross section of
the district staff, students and community
o A method for capturing and cataloging conversations at
engagement events
RECOMMENDATIONS
4. Update the district’s crisis plan to include clear guidelines and authority for crisis
communications.
Confusion and frustration about how the district communicates during emergency situations surfaced in many staff focus groups as well as the parent group. An interview with the director of Communication and Community Resources confirmed that the district’s crisis plan does not include a role for the department, primarily because the plan was created before there was a department.
Emergencies and crisis situations in school districts are inevitable. It is essential that communications to students, parents, employees, school neighbors and the community at large during these situations be handled as smoothly and efficiently as possible.
CASB/Schoolhouse recommends that the plan include a detailed internal and external communications structure clearly outlining specific duties as well as identifying media spokesperson(s).
Once the communications component is added to the crisis plan, the district should outline major components of the crisis communications system to employees and parents, and practice crisis communications with key players. An excellent resource is the National Education Association Health
Information Network’s online crisis guide at www.neahin.org. It offers a wealth of communications and media advice, tips and resources for preparing for, responding to and recovering from a crisis.
5. Use audit findings to inform superintendent search process.
The timing of the communications audit provides an opportunity for the board to use its results to inform its superintendent search process. Participants in the interviews and focus groups identified a number of communications and staff morale challenges that will face the new
superintendent. The audit also creates an expectation that these challenges will be addressed and that new communications strategies will be
implemented.
To address the recommendations contained in this report, it is critical that the district’s next superintendent have superior communications skills and a strong understanding of the importance of a strategic communications program. We encourage the board to consider these audit findings as it identifies qualified candidates for the district’s top position.
CONCLUSION
Conclusion
The Thompson School District is to be commended for taking a hard look at improving its communications strategies and structure. The recommendations contained in this report should provide a healthy start for improved
communications in the district. CASB and Schoolhouse Communications stand ready to further assist the district in these efforts.
