Effective communication is essential for leaders to achieve short- and long-term organizational goals. A strong communication plan that is tightly aligned with your strategic plan is the reference point to assess progress and exploit new opportunities within the context of your available resources. But developing a communication plan can feel overwhelming and time-consuming. The truth is that communication plans do not need to be large or complex. In fact, in organizations without a dedicated public relations professional, a simple, flexible plan is more likely to actually be followed. 

This course is designed for leaders in public and nonprofit organizations who want to enhance their communication abilities and lead with greater impact, as well as for anyone assigned the role of communications.

Are your communications strategies effective? Knowing the basics of professional practice that’s proven successful. Communication programs and practices can and should have meaningful measures of success to build on progress.

Overcome media nerves with knowing the Tips, Tricks and Traps of the media from an Emmy winning journalist.

Your students, families, staff, and community are rapidly changing. With new constituencies come new challenges. How do you reach the full breadth of your community when your usual old communication tools may not work well with newcomers? Building relationships is the answer, and we’ll walk through a number of ideas to help you do just that, from deepening your listening activities and finding allies to help open doors to partnering with faith and business communities.

We’ll explore creative strategies to help you extend a warm, sincere welcome to emerging / growing segments of your community, discuss ways to broaden your engagement with constituents who are expanding the cultural diversity in your community, as well as answer practical questions related to interpretation and translation.

Sharing the good word about your district’s schools is everyone’s job, not just those with PR or Communications in their job title. The average number of a staff person’s interactions with the community can average 7-10 each week. Multiply those interactions times the number of staff and it can translate into hundreds or even thousands of opportunities each week to carry your district’s message.

Join a veteran school communications expert to discuss staff members’ potential as ambassadors and explore practical ways - formal and informal - to empower staff to lean into that role.

Community trust depends on clear, compelling fiscal communications that are simple and relatable, but how do you do that when the information is so complex? School finances can be an intimidating topic to cover. The many different funding streams, legal obligations, liabilities, and board directives make finance one of the least understood areas of education. 

We will explore effective ways to talk about the business of running a school district, from budget reductions to tax collections to allocations and spending. We’ll discuss the importance of communicating about finances all year long, not just when your district has a funding measure on the ballot. You’ll come away with practical ways to relate school finances to families’ home finances, ideas for visuals that help simplify complexity, and more!

Declining enrollment, lower funding, and higher wages can lead toward an uncomfortable fiscal reality – closing a school. It is perhaps the most painful and emotional step to take and generates the most passionate opposition. Even if support is elusive, there are ways to engage your community to generate understanding of the realities and pressures guiding the decision.

We will discuss how to navigate the typically turbulent waters of school closure while maintaining trust with your larger community. We’ll also explore how to use timelines and history recaps to honor the legacy and history of a school and its people, and how to help staff, students, and families navigate the dynamics of change.