Interim K-12 Communications Support: Necessary or Not?

It’s a situation that is considered low-risk on an administrator’s radar. The school communications officer is unavailable due to a planned absence.

They may need to attend a conference out of town, have a planned vacation or have requested medical leave for a few weeks at a time. Ideally, your communications officer would have a robust staff trained to handle low-profile situations in their absence. But, not every school is fortunate enough to have the resources to employ such a highly-trained staff. 

So, as a school administrator, how can you guarantee that your district is equipped to handle any crisis or emergency if your communications officer is unavailable? 

I want to show you how on-call, interim crisis communications support can give you peace of mind, help you maintain positive community relations and ensure that you’re prepared to respond to heavy, active crisis scenarios and less urgent crises in the best way possible, even if the media comes calling. 

Why is community trust so important?

As educators and professionals in the K-12 space, we have a duty to provide safe places for student learning and social development. But we can only accomplish so much if the community has negative or neutral feelings toward the district, its staff and its policies. Parents who feel disconnected from their students’ district or underappreciated by staff are at risk of changing districts, considering alternative schooling or voting against a campaign in the next bond election. Low enrollment can result in less funding. And less funding results in fewer resources to support your students. Considering the alternative, we must do everything we can to maintain positive relationships so that our students have the best chance of reaching their full potential. 

Do I need interim crisis communications support?

The cultivation of positive community relations in any district is the result of a group effort by your teachers, administrative staff and support staff. But, it’s important to remember that community relations are contingent upon a handful of factors—some outside your control. For example, if the stakeholders and parents in your community feel that your district is too lenient toward staff members for malpractice or misconduct, you could lose their trust. If they feel that your district is anything less than transparent when it comes to informing parents and the community about an incident that has occurred on school property, you could lose trust. And if the media catches wind of controversy or a scandal you haven’t handled through the proper channels in a timely manner, you could lose trust. Without expert communications support, loss of trust can happen overnight. 

Unfortunately, a crisis can happen at any time, including the small window of time that your communications officer is unavailable. And if you don’t have someone you can trust for guidance, strategy, touchpoints or media response, your district will be even more vulnerable to a loss of trust scenario. 

The question is, who do you have on speed dial when your communications officer is unreachable?

Ideally, the person you want to have on standby is a professional school communicator who can help in an emergency with media responses, strategy, and guidance. This person should be someone trained to handle heavy crisis situations like an active shooter scenario and lighter emergencies like a wild animal in the school, a small fire or another unforeseen circumstance that poses a low threat to students. Every incident must be addressed properly so that parents remain involved and informed at all times. 

Recently, I had the opportunity to provide emergency support to the superintendent of a small district as a crisis was unfolding. I reached out to her for a quick check-in, unaware that a scandal was unfolding in her district. She had vital decisions to make about what, when, and how to communicate with parents, how to discipline the staff member involved and when to bring in law enforcement. Because she called me in on a consult, I was able to help her make quick decisions, send out timely communications, and contact law enforcement after business hours. The next morning when the media came calling, she was ready. And, most importantly, all the students and staff were safe, and parents were informed. 

The benefits of employing ad hoc communications support

In a best-case scenario, life will go on as usual when your communications officer is away from their post. Nothing will happen and your community trust will remain intact. But, even in a best-case scenario, your peace of mind as an administrator is worth allocating resources to fill the gap so that you’re prepared no matter what happens. 

We’ve all seen what can happen in a worst-case scenario. Community trust once broken can be nearly irreparable when leadership is responsible for slow decision-making and miscalculations that turn a crisis into a tragedy. You can count on the media to do their job thoroughly by shining a light on law enforcement and leadership responses as a tragedy plays out. Unforeseeable situations such as these have a way of reminding us that an abundance of support is always better than no support at all. 

Conclusion

A crisis can happen at any time. The media waits for no one. That’s why it’s so important to plan for the unexpected. 

I have twenty-five years of experience as a strategic communications consultant and have served as a C-Suite executive and a counselor and advisor to numerous superintendents on countless bond elections, crisis incidents and high-profile media events.

In my experience, districts can thrive and can even become stronger after a crisis if parents, stakeholders and staff are all on the same page and working together to achieve student success. But to reach that goal you have to have timely, accurate and transparent communication that builds parent and stakeholder confidence and encourages community involvement.   

Don’t let a temporary absence be the misstep that defines your district. If you find yourself without a communications officer for any period, I can provide you with 24/7 guidance and support so you never have to navigate a crisis alone. Send me an email at veronica@veronicavsopher.com to ask about my monthly ad hoc communications support or to receive crisis communications support now.