Loudoun County Public Schools Communication Audit Report 2023-24

surveys

materials focus groups

interviews results

Copyright © 2024 by the National School Public Relations Association. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without formal permission from the National School Public Relations Association or from the organization audited in this report.

Adobe: Malambo C/peopleimages.com (front); WS Studio 1985/Studio Romantic/Yakobchuk Olena/yoshitaka/Andrey Popov (above, clockwise from “materials”); Blue Planet Studio (back).

Executive Summary

About the NSPRA Communication Audit

Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) in Virginia has contracted with the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) for an in-depth, independent review of the school district’s overall communication program. The NSPRA Communication Audit process helps to identify the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for improvement in a school communication program through an extensive process that includes:

y A review of print and digital communication materials, tools and tactics;

y Quantitative research through the surveying of district staff (instructional, support, administrative, etc.), parents/ families and community members; and

y Qualitative research through focus groups with these same audiences and through interviews with staff who perform formal communication functions for the district.

Details of this process can be found in the Introduction of this report.

The results of this process are shared in four main sections of the report:

y The Key Findings section provides details about what was learned through the review of materials and the analysis of quantitative and qualitative data.

y A SWOT Analysis distills these findings into the division’s primary internal strengths and weaknesses, and external opportunities and threats related to its communication goals.

y The Benchmarking of Results section reflects how the division’s communication

program compares to other districts on nationally benchmarked SCOPE Survey questions and national standards of excellence in school public relations, as outlined in NSPRA’s Rubrics of Practice and Suggested Measures.

y The Recommendations section details suggested strategies and tactics for addressing identified communication gaps and for enhancing effective strategies already in place.

Report Synopsis

Following is an overview of this report. As with all school systems, LCPS has areas in which it excels as well as areas where improvements can be made. For a full understanding of what was learned, the rationale behind the resulting recommendations and what will be required to implement those steps, it is recommended that the report be read in its entirety.

Key Strengths of the Current Communication Program

y LCPS has a highly qualified communications staff with a wide range of skills and expertise that will enable them to build on the program’s current strengths, even as they are making improvements in areas of challenge.

y Communications staff recognize that communication improvement is an ongoing process and are already implementing changes to how communications and engagement with stakeholders is approached and structured.

y The division’s new superintendent and school board members understand the importance of a strong communication program and they support the Department of Communications and Community Engagement through access to division leaders and information as well as by providing the equipment, tools and

staff resources needed to communicate broadly and effectively.

y The division’s high-quality education program, excellent schools and supportive community offer many opportunities for positive story-telling.

Key Challenges of the Current Communication Program

y There has been a perceived lack of transparency in communication in recent years. Internal factors creating this perception include fear of making a mistake when communicating, uncertainty about who is responsible for communicating and concerns about violating privacy.

y Rapid growth of the division, doubling the number of students and opening 36 new schools in the past 20 years, has put strain on the communication infrastructure, which sometimes results in confusion or contradictory messages.

y Perceptions of inadequate engagement and two-way communication has internal audiences feeling overlooked about decisions. Externally, parents and community members feel they are frequently asked for input but don’t hear how their input impacts decisions.

y LCPS’ engagement efforts are decentralized and spread across multiple offices and programs.

y Regional population growth has changed the culture and demographics in Loudoun County, creating divisions between longtime and newer residents that impact the strategies the division must use to effectively communicate with residents.

y Community members who have no affiliation with the division (e.g., children are grown, they do not have children, their children attend private schools) lack adequate information from the division to correct the sometimes inaccurate

information conveyed on social media.

y LCPS receives a greater than usual amount of national media attention, and that requires significant staff time to be allocated to reactively respond to media inquiries.

Recommendations

Based on analysis of the research, the auditors suggest the following strategies for enhancing LCPS’ communication program. For each of these recommendations, a series of practical action steps based on current best practices are included in the report.

1. Expand the LCPS Strategic Communications Roadmap into a comprehensive communication plan.

2. Leverage new leadership to rebuild trust and confidence.

3. Improve communication infrastructure by developing and consistently implementing communication processes and procedures.

4. Combat misinformation and disinformation.

5. Develop a stronger, more proactive media relations plan that contains a social media component.

6. Strengthen the two-way communications culture in LCPS.

7. Implement tactics to engage local residents with no personal connections to the schools.

Implementing these recommendations should be considered a long-term process that involves everyone responsible for communicating in LCPS, not just communications staff. It is generally not feasible to address more than two to three recommendations each year. But while some report recommendations may require major investments of time, this report also offers opportunities to rethink existing practices or to make quick improvements without a significant investment of resources.

Introduction

The Environmental Setting for Communications

When assessing the communication program of an organization, it is important to first have an understanding of the organization itself as well as the environment in which it operates. That background is provided here.

About the Division

LCPS is the third-largest school division in Virginia, serving more than 82,000 students in 98 schools and employing more than 13,000 staff. The division is located in northern Virginia, and is part of the large metropolitan area that includes all of Washington, D.C., and parts of Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia.

LCPS is governed by the nine-member Loudoun County School Board, which serves as the official policy-making body of the division, operating under the laws adopted by the General Assembly of Virginia. School board members are elected for two- or four-year terms in the November general election with one member elected for each of the eight electoral districts and one member elected at-large. Voters elected nine new school board members in November 2023 to begin serving in January 2024.

The LCPS student body is racially, ethnically and economically diverse. According to the Virginia Department of Education, students identify as 40.4 percent white, 26 percent Asian, 19.5 percent Hispanic, 7.3 percent Black/African American and 5.9 percent two or more races. About a quarter of students are considered economically disadvantaged, and about a fifth are English language learners.

LCPS has experienced rapid growth over the past 30 years. The division had fewer than 16,000 students in 1992. Then in the past 20

years, division enrollment increased from about 40,700 students in 2003 to more than 82,000 students in 2023, and the division opened 36 new schools in the same time period, according to data provided by the LCPS Division of Planning and GIS Services. Enrollment declined modestly by about 100 students from the 202223 school year to the 2023-24 school year.

The division enjoys strong financial support from constituents, with 71 percent voting “yes” on a November 7, 2023 school facilities bond measure that allows the division to issue more than $362 million in general obligation bonds for school facilities.

Superintendent Dr. Aaron Spence began his tenure in September 2023, following a challenging period for LCPS that included the COVID-19 pandemic and national media scrutiny. As this communications audit was being conducted, Dr. Spence was in the midst of a listening tour where he will hold separate sessions for staff and community at each of the 18 high schools in the division over an eight-month period to build relationships with the community and discern where change may be necessary. Dr. Spence previously served as superintendent of Virginia Beach City Public Schools, and school board members from that district lauded his leadership in a Dec. 31, 2023 Washington Post article.

The division has highly regarded schools, as cited by participants in every focus group and interview, with an overall graduation rate of 97 percent and 70 percent of 2023 graduates planning to attend a four-year college.

One of the four goals in the One LCPS: 2027 Strategic Plan for Excellence is to “enhance educational excellence through building meaningful relationships with families and the community.” Its aligned actions are to:

y Deepen family engagement by offering inclusive opportunities for conversation across the division; and

y Strengthen existing and create new business and community partnerships.

The division supports its commitment to communication through various board policies and regulations that address the importance of two-way communication between the school board, participation by the public in school board meetings, media relations, community involvement and guidelines for various methods of communication.

About the Department of Communications and Community Engagement

The LCPS Department of Communications and Community Engagement (DCE) is formed by an award-winning team of 14 professionals, who have a diverse set of skills and expertise:

y Chief Communications and Community Engagement Officer Natalie Allen

y Director of Communications and Community Engagement Joan Sahlgren

y Public Information Officer Daniel Adams

y Communications Supervisor Erin Robinson

y Communications Coordinators Christina Arpante, Ed.D., Amiee Freeman and one

open position to be filled

y Graphics and Digital Content Specialist Nicole Eggers

y Internet Content and Video Production Assistant Denver Peschken

y Executive Assistant Kimberly Goodlin

y Videographers Jeff Riegel, Michael Ferrara and Laura Cruz

y Administrative Assistant Maria Polink

Their department has earned the division numerous state and national communication awards over the years, including NSPRA Golden Achievement Awards in 2023, 2022 and 2018 as well as multiple NSPRA Publications and Digital Media Excellence Awards. Their work has also earned multiple Telly Awards for excellence in video and two Emmy Awards from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences: National Capital Chesapeake Bay Chapter for short form video content and video essay.

Like the division itself, the department has evolved over the last 10 years as the division’s enrollment and communication needs grew. From an office of seven in 2014, it expanded by seven positions between 2020 and 2024 to better match staff capacity with increasing responsibilities and stakeholder demand for two-way communications from the division.

Recently named its own department, today DCE oversees a wide range of functions such as:

y Managing LCPS’ mass notification system

y Coordinating emergency communications

y Overseeing the development of a new website planned for launch in fall of 2024

y Producing content for the LCPS website, news releases and newsletters

y Fielding media requests

y Producing videos for LCPS-TV

y Serving as communication liaisons with the division’s various departments

y Overseeing division branding

y Writing speeches and providing briefing documents for the superintendent and school board members

y Responding to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests (405 received during the 2022-23 school year)

It should be noted that this department is separate from the division’s Family and Community Engagement Office, which exclusively serves English language learners and their families and operates within the Department of Teaching and Learning.

The NSPRA Communication Audit Process

NSPRA’s mission is to develop professionals to communicate strategically, build trust and foster positive relationships in support of their school communities. As the leader in school communication™ since 1935, NSPRA provides school communication training, services and national awards programs to school districts, departments of education, regional service agencies and state and national associations throughout the United States and Canada. Among those services is the NSPRA Communication Audit, which provides:

y An important foundation for developing and implementing an effective strategic communication plan.

y A benchmark for continuing to measure progress in the future.

The development of any effective communication program begins with research. Therefore, the first step of the process is to seek data, opinion and perceptions. The process for this research is detailed in the following section, and the results of this research can be found in the Key Findings section.

Based on the research findings, the auditors identify common themes and make general observations about the strengths and weaknesses of the communication program. The auditors then use this information to develop Recommendations designed to help the division address communication challenges and enhance areas of strength. Each of these customized recommendations are accompanied by practical, realistic action steps grounded in today’s public relations and communications best practices, as reflected within NSPRA’s 2023 edition of the Rubrics of Practice and Suggested Measures benchmarking publication.

It is important to note that the primary goal of any communication program is to help the division move forward on its stated mission. Accordingly, the auditors developed each recommendation in light of the division’s vision: “Every student will reach their full potential and achieve their dreams;” its mission: “Empowering all students to make meaningful contributions to the world” and the One LCPS: 2027 Strategic Plan for Excellence.

The result is a report that will provide LCPS with a launching point for enhancing communication efforts for years to come.

Research Components

The NSPRA Communication Audit process incorporates three methods of research to capture both qualitative and quantitative data.

Materials Review.

One of the first steps in the communication audit process involved the Department of Communications and Community Engagement submitting samples of materials used to communicate with various internal and external audiences (e.g., the One LCPS Strategic Plan for Excellence 2027, the LCPS Strategic Communications Roadmap 2023-24, board policies related to communication and a wide range of sample materials and publications

produced by the department). The auditors conducted a rigorous review of these materials as well as of the division and school websites and social media.

These digital and print materials were all examined for effectiveness of message delivery, readability, visual appeal and ease of use. The auditors’ review of websites and social media platforms also focused on stakeholders’ use of and engagement with online content.

SCOPE Survey

For LCPS, NSPRA conducted its proprietary School Communications Performance Evaluation (SCOPE) Survey to collect feedback from two stakeholder groups: parents and families, and employees (instructional, support and administrative staff). The nationally benchmarked SCOPE Survey was conducted from November 28 - December 15, 2023. It included questions regarding the following:

y How people are currently getting information about the division and its schools, and how they prefer to get it.

y How informed they are in key information areas such as leader decisions, district plans and district finances.

y Perceptions about what opportunities exist to seek information, provide input and become involved.

y To what degree stakeholders perceive communications to be understandable, timely, accurate, transparent and trustworthy.

There was also an opportunity for participants to comment on any aspect of school or school/ department communications.

Responses to the SCOPE Survey resulted in attaining the following confidence interval for each audience, based on the total audience populations reported by the division and using the industry standard equation for reliability.

y Parent Survey:

ƒ 2,732 surveys completed

ƒ ±1.8 percent confidence interval (± 5 percent target exceeded)

y Faculty/Staff Survey:

ƒ 1,384 surveys completed

ƒ ± 2.5 percent confidence interval (± 5 percent target exceeded)

This same survey has been administered to more than 100 school districts across the United States, and the Benchmarking of Results section includes the SCOPE Scorecard, which compares LCPS’ SCOPE Survey results with the results of other districts who have conducted the survey.

Focus Groups and Interviews

The core of the communication audit process is the focus groups component designed to listen to and gather perceptions from the division’s internal and external stakeholders. The auditors met in person or virtually with 20 focus groups and conducted interviews with the superintendent, the chief communications officer, the director of communications and community engagement, the chief academic officer and school board members from December 4 - 20, 2023.

For the focus groups, division officials identified and invited as participants those who could represent a broad range of opinions and ideas. Each group met for an hour and was guided through a similar set of discussion questions on a variety of communication issues. Participants were assured their comments would be anonymous and not attributed to individuals if used in the report.

The stakeholder groups represented in the focus group sessions and interviews included the following:

y Parents (three groups, including a nonEnglish-speaking group)

y High school students (two groups)

y Community leaders and partners

y Teachers (middle and high schools)

y Teachers (elementary schools)

y Support staff (custodians, aides, nutrition, maintenance)

y Paraprofessionals

y Transportation staff

y Professional staff (two groups of psychologists, counselors, curriculum specialist, nurses, etc.)

y Administrative assistants

y Directors/supervisors

y Principals (middle and high schools)

y Principals (elementary schools)

y Family and Community Engagement Office staff (exclusively serve English language learners and their families)

y Department of Communications and Community Engagement staff

y Superintendent

y LCPS School Board members

Your NSPRA Communication Audit Team

The NSPRA team who delivered these communication audit services included the following:

y Naomi Hunter, APR, Lead Auditor / NSPRA Communication Surveys Manager

y Steve Mulvenon, Ph.D., Consultant Auditor

y Sarah Loughlin, On-site Audit Assistant / NSPRA Communication Manager

y Alyssa Teribury, On-site Audit Assistant / NSPRA Communication Research Specialist

y Susan Downing, APR, NSPRA Communication Audit Coordinator

y Mellissa Braham, APR, NSPRA Associate Director

The team’s vitae are included in the Appendix

The NSPRA Communication Audit Report

This report demonstrates the willingness of the LCPS School Board, superintendent and chief communications officer to identify and address communication challenges, and to continue to strengthen the relationship between the division and its internal and external stakeholders. When reviewing the report, it is important to keep the following in mind:

y The report is intended to build on the many positive activities and accomplishments of the division and its Department of Communications and Community Engagement by suggesting options and considerations for strengthening the overall communication program. The recommendations included here are those the auditors believe are best suited to continuing to elevate LCPS’ communication program.

y NSPRA’s communication audit process involves a holistic assessment of a district’s overall communication program, meaning it goes beyond any one department or individual to assess communication efforts throughout the division and its schools.

y Whenever opinions are solicited about an institution and its work, there is a tendency to dwell on perceived problem areas. This is natural and, indeed, is one of the objectives of an audit. Improvement is impossible unless there is information on what may need to be changed. It is therefore assumed that LCPS would not have entered into this audit unless

it was comfortable with viewing the school district and its work through the perceptions of others.

y Perceptions are just that. Whether or not stakeholders’ perceptions are accurate, they reflect beliefs held by focus group participants and provide strong indicators of the communication gaps that may exist.

y This report is a snapshot of the division at the time of the auditors’ analysis, and some situations may change or be addressed by the time the report is issued.

Next Steps

The recommendations in this report address immediate communication needs as well as those that are ongoing or that should receive future consideration as part of longrange planning. Implementation of the recommendations should be approached strategically, using this report as a road map and taking the following into consideration:

Implementing the Recommendations

y It is generally not feasible to implement more than two to three major recommendations each year while maintaining all current communication programs and services.

y The recommendations are listed in a suggested order of priority, but school leaders may choose to implement the recommendations at different times.

y Recommendations may go beyond the purview of the Department of Communications and Community Engagement. NSPRA views communication as a function that occurs across every level of a division. While some recommendations may apply only to formal communications staff, others may apply to additional departments or staff.

y Look for opportunities for immediate improvement and to rethink existing practices. Action steps that can be taken immediately with minimal effort from the school or the Department of Communications and Community Engagement and still pay quick dividends are noted as “quick wins’’ with the symbol shown above. There also are action steps that may offer opportunities to “rethink” a task or process that could be eliminated or reassigned based on stakeholders’ feedback and the auditors’ analysis. These are noted with the symbol shown to the left.

y Some recommendations may require additional staff capacity or financial resources to undertake while maintaining existing communication activities.

Sharing the Report

Participants were generous in sharing their thoughts and ideas during the focus group sessions. They were also interested in finding out the results of the communication audit. Because of their high level of interest and the importance of closing the communication loop to build trust and credibility, NSPRA recommends that LCPS share with focus group participants the outcome of the audit process and its plans for moving forward.

Be sure to also share this information with key stakeholders such as employees and parents/families. This kind of transparency will demonstrate that division leaders prioritize twoway communication with stakeholders.

NSPRA’s staff auditing team can provide suggestions and examples for how this report could be effectively shared with various constituencies as well as the public.

Key Findings

The following key findings reflect common themes that emerged from the SCOPE Survey, focus group discussions, interviews with division leaders and review of district materials. In reviewing the charts that follow on SCOPE Survey results, keep in mind that LCPS exceeded confidence interval targets for both parent/family and employee responses; there is a high level of confidence in the results.

This section of the report begins with key findings on stakeholder perceptions of the division’s image because communication from a district influences how it is perceived by stakeholders. Conversely, the image or reputation of a district influences the nature of communications necessary for a district to achieve its goals.

Division Image/Brand

y On the SCOPE Survey, when participants were asked to rate their overall perception of the division, 60 percent of parents and employees rated the division as excellent or above average. Some of the most common words survey participants identified as coming to mind when they think of the division are good, diverse, quality and inclusive, as illustrated on page 33.

Overall Perception of the Division

y When converted to a 5-point scale for comparison with national averages, ratings for perceptions of the division by LCPS parents and employees are close to the average SCOPE Survey results of more than 100 school systems nationwide and above average for systems with more than 50,000 students.

y When asked about the image and brand of LCPS, participants in all focus groups praised the division for its high academic standards, dedicated and caring staff, and its success in preparing students for college and career. A staff member commented, “Our community is diverse, supportive and caring, with individuals who value education.”

y Focus group participants in multiple groups noted that the division is located in one of the wealthiest counties in the United States, which brings significant resources to the district, resulting in top-notch programming, a wide range of curricular choices and modern, wellmaintained buildings.

y The division has grown rapidly over the past 20 years, bringing change that has affected its brand and image, according to focus group participants in nearly all groups. A department leader noted, “I think a lot of times we communicate with people who don’t know us, but we communicate with them as if they do.” Another district employee voiced a concern that the division isn’t educating newcomers about the high quality of LCPS schools: “A neighbor sent her kids to private school because she moved here from an area where public schools weren’t valued.”

y Several division leaders expressed a belief that LCPS is not effectively engaging families and the wider community, and that an effort to do so is critical to building trust. Example comments included a perceived “need to focus on community and family perceptions of communication and how we can attain authentic two-way communication,” and a belief that, “We don’t have a good ground game with key communicators and tendrils into the community that promote two-way dialogue.”

y Participants in every focus group voiced concern about the discrepancy between their firsthand, positive experiences within the division’s schools and the perception held by outsiders whose views are shaped predominantly by national and local news coverage. Comments such as these were typical:

ƒ “I hear from family [members] around the country that we’re constantly in the news. It’s disheartening.”

ƒ “The media’s portrayal of us doesn’t align with our reality.”

ƒ “The negative people get the microphone.”

y In every focus group, auditors heard a longing for the wider community to hear stories about the many positive things happening across the division. As examples, focus group participants shared stories of student successes and achievements as well as anecdotes about the dedication of staff in supporting students.

y Parents, employees and community members in nearly all focus groups expressed optimism about the opportunity for a new superintendent, new division leaders and new school board members to bring about positive change and improve morale among staff and parents after several years of challenges that included the COVID-19 pandemic and high-profile, national media attention. Just a few of many such comments auditors heard include:

ƒ “There’s now a great opportunity to build that community engagement back up. The new superintendent is community-minded.”

ƒ “The new board of education is an opportunity for a reset.”

ƒ ”The new superintendent seems to be on board with providing the county hope, equity and listening.”

ƒ “Leadership has changed and the fort is starting to be taken down. They are inviting businesses to the table to provide input. It’s a slow needle they are trying to move.”

Communication Sources and Preferences

y LCPS parents and employees have a rich array of sources from which they can learn news and information about the division: email; newsletters from the division, school sites and departments; district and school websites; the Blackboard Connect mass communication system for phone, email and texts; various mobile apps for classrooms; social media; and news media.

y The SCOPE Survey sought participants’ insights on the frequency with which they rely on various sources for information about LCPS. The results on the following two pages show that on a daily or weekly basis, the top three sources of information for parents and employees are email, the division newsletter and what other people tell them, though employees rely more heavily on what other people tell them, and parents rely more on newsletters.

ƒ The LCPS results on pages 15-16 are similar to national averages on the SCOPE Survey, where email is the top source used daily/weekly to get information about a school system by both employees (93%) and parents (85%). Also high on the national averages are newsletters (57% for employees, 61% for parents) and what others tell me (64% for employees, 43% for parents).

y When survey participants who use email as a frequent source of information about the division were asked which types of email they reference, both groups showed a strong reliance on a number of sources but rely most heavily on information emails from the division.

Types of Emails Referenced for Division Information

Email

What others tell me

Newsletters

Website

Social Media

Local news and media

Calendar

Meetings

Text messages

Mobile app

Phone calls

Printed Information

School board

Frequency of Reliance on Communication Sources for Information About the Division - Employees

Email

Newsletters

Loudoun County Public Schools

Frequency of Reliance on Communication Sources for Information About the Division - Parents

What others tell me

Website

Calendar

Text messages

Social media

Local news and media

Mobile app

Phone calls

Printed information

School board

Meetings

y Survey participants who use newsletters as a frequent source of information about the division were asked which types of newsletters they reference. Results indicate that parents rely most heavily on principal or school newsletters, which are read by 79 percent of parents, and staff rely most heavily on the One LCPS Newsletter, which is read by 84 percent of staff.

y Survey participants who frequently rely on what other people tell them for information about the division were asked whom their sources of information are. As shown to the right, employees rely most heavily on colleagues for information and parents rely most heavily on their student, followed by teachers and principals.

Sources of Word-of-Mouth Information

Loudoun

y While local news and media are less frequently used sources of information for LCPS parents and employees than email, newsletters and what other people tell them, it is a more frequently used source than in many division/districts NSPRA audits. The following chart compares the reliance of LCPS stakeholders on local news and media in comparison with several other recently-audited school systems in major metropolitan/suburban areas.

y NSPRA used Meltwater, a media monitoring service, in its analysis of local and national news coverage of LCPS during the 2022-23 school year, which began for students on Aug. 25, 2022, and ended on June 8, 2023. The analysis finds that news coverage of LCPS is largely neutral.

ƒ During the school year, there were 3,735 English language news articles published about LCPS in the United States, an average of 12 mentions per day. Unusually large spikes in national news coverage occurred on Oct. 17 (200 mentions), Nov. 4 (225 mentions), Dec. 5 (173 mentions), Dec. 12 (400 mentions) and Dec. 13 (353 mentions). News topics coinciding with those spikes included a group’s recommendation for a school name change in LCPS, the election of local board members, teacher-related court rulings and appeals, the release of a grand jury report on an investigation in LCPS, and the indictment of the former LCPS superintendent.

ƒ Meltwater’s analysis of the “sentiment” of the national news coverage of LCPS in 2022-23 shows 57.3 percent were neutral, 31.5 percent were negative and 11.2 percent were positive.

ƒ Less than a third of the national news coverage (30.7 percent) was from media sources in Virginia (19.5 percent), Washington, D.C. (8.1 percent), Maryland (2.3 percent) and West Virginia (0.8 percent). The majority was from other states.

Sentiment of National News Coverage Aug. 25, 2022 - June 8, 2023

Sentiment of Virginia News Coverage Aug. 25, 2022 - June 8, 2023

ƒ Analysis of coverage only in Virginia finds 607 mentions during the 2022-23 school year, for an average of two mentions per day. Spikes in news media coverage were similarly seen in Virginia on Nov. 4, Dec. 5 and Dec. 12. During the spike period, the sentiment of coverage was 49.5 percent neutral, 41.7 percent negative and 8.9 percent positive. Otherwise, at

least two-thirds of the coverage for the rest of the school year had a neutral sentiment (Aug. 24 – Oct. 17, 2022: 78 percent neutral, 14.4 percent negative, 7.6 percent positive; Dec. 14, 2022 – June 8, 2023: 75.8 percent neutral, 18.9 percent negative, 5.4 percent positive).

y LCPS is regularly covered by two local weekly newspapers, The Loudoun Times-Mirror and Loudoun Now. Both have a strong online presence and weekly print editions. Additionally, The Washington Post occasionally carries stories on major division events. The four major television networks (NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox), independent station DCNewsNow, and online media such as InsideNOVA.com and Patch also cover division events. During the 2022-23 school year, reporters with Loudoun Now, the Associated Press and WJLA-TV (an ABC station) generated the most articles about LCPS and significantly more than other media outlets’ reporters.

y LCPS’ national media attention is perceived by some parent and employee stakeholders as affecting the content and frequency of division communications.

ƒ Participants in several focus group sessions expressed a belief that the extensive coverage, which rank-and-file employees perceive as unfairly negative, has produced an atmosphere of caution when communicating because of concern that any misstep, however minor, might put the division back in the spotlight.

ƒ In another focus group, auditors heard a different perspective. Members in this group said that after being criticized for a lack of transparency, the division is now overly eager to issue media releases on even minor issues.

y Parents and employees rely on different communication sources depending on the type of information they are seeking, as shown in the charts on pages 19-20.

ƒ Both parents and employees prefer email as their source of information for all but emergency communications, for which they prefer text messages.

ƒ For communication on student’s progress and how to best support their learning, email and the parent portal (ParentVUE) are rated the most highly.

ƒ When staff were asked to identify their preferred methods for receiving information to help them perform their duties and support student learning, email also received the highest rating.

y Social media ranked fifth for employees and seventh for parents as a source of information about the division, but in nearly every focus group, participants shared a perception that social media plays an especially significant role in providing information and shaping public opinion

Parents’ Preferred Methods for Communication About Student Progress

Parents’ Preferred Sources for Various Types of Information

Employees’ Preferred Sources for Various Types of Information

Employees’ Preferred Sources for Information About How to Perform Their Duties

in LCPS. Focus group participants perceive that social media posts about negative attentiongrabbing incidents quickly overshadow positive news and general information. A division director commented, “These negative occurrences happen everywhere, but our county’s proximity to D.C. creates a unique situation,” sharing a belief that Loudoun County is too often a “poster child” for a range of controversial issues that play out on social media.

Communication Satisfaction, Effectiveness and Quality

y Parents have higher levels of satisfaction with LCPS communication than employees. When SCOPE Survey participants were asked to give an overall rating for their satisfaction with communication from the division, 58 percent of parents and 47 percent of employees rated LCPS as excellent or above average.

y When these responses are converted to a five-point scale to compare with the SCOPE Survey results of more than 100 school systems nationwide, LCPS’ ratings for overall satisfaction with communication are slightly below the national average but comparable to an average of districts with 50,000 or more students enrolled, as shown in the following chart.

Overall Satisfaction With Division Communication

5=Excellent 4=Above Average 3=Average 2=Below Average 1=Very Poor *Districts with enrollment of 50,000 - 187,000

y When parents and staff were asked to rate how informed they are on eight different topics, both groups gave the highest marks to information about school safety (including school closings, serious incidents and school crises), with 54 percent of parents and 52 percent of staff saying they felt extremely or very informed, as shown on pages 22-23.

ƒ Employees were more informed about division successes and achievements, with 87 percent indicating they are at least moderately informed in this area.

ƒ Parents feel more informed about student successes and achievements, with 78 percent indicating they are at least moderately informed in this area.

How Informed in Key Areas - Parents

How Informed in Areas Specific to Parents

How Informed in Key Areas - Employees

Loudoun County Public Schools

How Informed in Key Areas - Parents

How Informed in Areas Specific to Parents

How Informed in Key Areas - Employees

y When parents were asked to rate how informed they feel on topics pertaining to their role as a parent, the highest ratings were for “about PTA/PTO Activities” and “about my child’s progress in school,” as shown on the previous page.

y When staff were asked to rate how informed they feel on topics pertaining to their role as an employee, the highest ratings were for “about how to best perform my duties” and “about how I can support student achievement.”

y Parents and employees were asked to rate their level of agreement with statements related to the quality of communication in key areas on the SCOPE Survey, as shown on pages 26-27.

ƒ Both groups had high levels of agreement with statements that “communications are easy for me to understand,” “I know where and how I can direct a question, complaint or concern,” and “information is accurate.”

ƒ They had lower levels of agreement in areas related to the division’s relationships with stakeholders, such as, “I trust the communication I receive,” “my involvement is welcome and valued,” “communications are open and transparent,” and “my input and opinion are welcome and valued,” which ranked sixth to ninth out of nine areas for both groups.

ƒ For the trustworthiness of information from the division, LCPS scored lower than the national average but in line with other similarly large school systems.

y The LCPS Department of Communications and Community Engagement (DCE) was lauded by many employee focus group participants for its professionalism, expertise and commitment to service. A department director said, “[The communications team] is phenomenal. They always come through for me.”

y Numerous employee focus group participants, especially those in senior management positions, commented on the challenges of communicating effectively in an environment of heightened scrutiny due to the national profile of LCPS. Auditors heard empathy and appreciation from employees and parents alike for the difficult jobs being done by members of the communications team.

y Parents and employees in focus groups balanced criticisms of division communication with a general acknowledgment that the division is in a leadership transition and efforts to improve communication are already underway. Even those who were critical of past communications often commented that they are seeing signs of improvement.

y Feedback from parents and employees reflect a perception that there are too many channels for receiving information. Participants in all focus groups and on the SCOPE Survey commented that the sheer volume of communication coming from multiple people and a variety of sources is overwhelming. Parents and employees both reported that it is challenging to process, absorb and act on all the information they receive.

ƒ A principal shared, “The more information tools we add on, the more options there are for communicating.” There was agreement in the group that an excess of channels used contributes to confusion and information fatigue.

ƒ A parent comment on the SCOPE Survey was typical and echoed by many in the focus groups: “There are too many ways of receiving communication from school teachers and principals. Remind, texts, emails, the LCPS app, ParentVUE, etc. It is too confusing. Keep it simple.”

y Stakeholders in both internal and external focus groups also shared that there appear to be no standard practices for the format used to share information, how often it is disseminated and who is responsible for providing it.

ƒ A focus group participant shared, “Parents prefer the longer post with one update versus dribs and drabs of information trickled out across the week.”

ƒ Principals shared that there have been recent attempts to standardize, with most principals now sending a weekly school newsletter using a platform called S’more that is visually simple and easy to scroll.

y Comments by parents in the SCOPE Survey expressed a desire for more concise and straightforward communication that is focused on essential academic and safety issues. Comments such as these were typical:

ƒ “The communication is too wordy with a lot of information that is very overwhelming to understand. The important information is lost among other non-important/marketing information and it’s very easy to miss key information.”

ƒ “Communication should be focused on relevant and immediate concerns, such as details about curriculum, lunch menus and testing schedules.”

Perceptions Related to the Quality of CommunicationsParents

Loudoun County Public Schools

Perceptions Related to the Quality of CommunicationsEmployees

Perceptions Related to the Quality of CommunicationsParents

Perceptions Related to the Quality of CommunicationsEmployees

ƒ “The division and schools should reduce the amount of non-essential information.”

ƒ “Schools and the division should deliver clear, direct messages.”

y Although parents and employees were aware of the fine line between sharing information and violating the privacy rights of students and staff, a common theme in both focus groups and SCOPE Survey comments was the need for greater transparency and accountability in communications, particularly regarding incidents affecting student safety and well-being.

ƒ Some expressed the idea that there is a disparity between how the division and parents define transparency. A parent put it this way: “The whole division is doing a better job of providing information, but it’s not coming across as transparency to regular parents like me.”

ƒ Many comments centered around frustration about the vagueness of messaging. Following are representative statements from focus group and SCOPE Survey participants:

▫ “There’s a serious lack of transparency, with vague communications that raise more questions, particularly during threats of incidents.”

▫ “Language like ‘does not reflect school values’ or ‘an incident occurred’ can mean anything from a child saying a racial slur to a child assaulting someone physically, to a child making a gun threat.”

▫ ”Don’t be afraid to tell parents the truth, don’t sugarcoat things.”

▫ “Communications seem to be protecting against litigation rather than prioritizing students.”

ƒ Some parents and employees expressed the perception that the division’s or school’s fear of causing offense is the reason for what they described as bland, vague communications.

ƒ Others pointed to what they see as inconsistency in messaging around serious incidents. “On the one hand, it seems as though these mass emails make mountains out of molehills, and on the other hand, they sweep very troubling information under the rug.”

ƒ Parents shared that the messages on sensitive subjects should always be accompanied by guidance on where to address questions.

y Employees, especially those at the director, managerial and site administration level, attributed many of the communication challenges faced by the division to structural weakness in how communication flows internally and externally.

ƒ Employees from various departments in the central office, as well school-based administrators and division partners such as law enforcement public information officers, pointed to a lack of systems and standard operating procedures for communications as making it more complicated to frame messages positively and to release news efficiently.

ƒ Employees expressed frustration about the volume of communications they receive from multiple departments on a wide variety of topics. Following are some illustrative comments:

▫ “I feel inundated with the amount of communication I receive. It’s challenging to keep up and there are instances of duplicate messages.”

▫ “I frequently find myself with five or six newsletters in my inbox from different departments, each with its own agenda and numerous links. Reviewing these can be a full-time job.”

ƒ Several school-level administrators said they feel they are “at the end of an information fire hose” with confusing and sometimes contradictory messages from the central office. They attribute this to departments not working together and operating in silos.

y Parents and employees at all levels expressed frustration that they do not have input into division decision-making.

ƒ Focus group participants explained that input is often gathered, but it is not shared back. Many employees and parents shared a desire for more feedback loops that make a connection between the input they provide and the decision that is made.

ƒ Auditors also heard that stakeholders are weary of completing surveys. Parents and employees want to provide information, but in ways besides surveys.

ƒ Central office directors/supervisors say they often feel overlooked in the decision-making process and when major news/changes/policy decisions are announced.

y Without exception, participants in every focus group expressed a longing for “good news” stories. Their desire for an increase in positive stories went beyond district communication tools to include school-level tools and the public news media. Illustrative comments include:

ƒ “There needs to be more outreach to build a positive relationship with reporters so they’ll tell the good news and wonderful stories. They’re always looking for great stories to tell, and they aren’t mind readers, so we need to bring the story to them.”

ƒ A parent said, “All the good stuff that’s happening with students is being distributed districtwide, but the division office needs to train the folks who do the newsletters at each school to do that at a local-level to effectively communicate both the good news and the challenging news.”

Digital Communication Tools

Division/School Websites

y A complete redesign of the LCPS websites began in December 2023, with plans to launch the new website in time for the 2024-25 school year. Because of that, the auditors did not undertake an extensive analysis of the current division’s or schools’ websites. As part of that transformation, responsibility for the website will move to DCE, which aligns well with the primary role of a website as a tool for online communications, marketing and engagement.

y As development of the new websites progresses, the auditors offer a few considerations based on the focus groups feedback and SCOPE Survey comments:

Loudoun

ƒ The auditors heard in both employee and parent focus groups that the current division website is hard to use, difficult to navigate, requires too much scrolling and has an ineffective search function.

ƒ The auditors also heard from employees in several focus groups that the current intranet is minimally useful. One teacher said she had not used it in years. Another said he finds it easier to call someone in HR to get what he needs.

ƒ There are wide differences in the quality of individual school websites, and the need to standardize the user experience across the division was a frequent comment.

▫ As one assistant principal said, “It would be nice if there were expectations of what schools should place on their website. What the pages should look like. Fonts, formatting, length of content, bullets vs. sentences, etc.”

▫ Another assistant principal put it this way. “It’s a general rule that whoever maintains a school calendar also updates the website; I would also love for this responsibility to belong to a communications professional or, at the very least, provide some more guidance/expectations about what needs to go on the website.”

Division/School Social Media

y LCPS has a broad social media presence, with official, verified division accounts on Facebook, X/Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn as well as on the video hosting site Vimeo. The Department of Communications and Community Engagement (DCE) uses Facebook, X and Instagram as the “foundation of its social media strategy” and uses LinkedIn for Human Resources and Talent Development (HRTD) announcements as well as for thought leadership opportunities. At the time of the writing of this report:

ƒ The division’s Facebook account has about 48,000 followers. There are about one to four posts per weekday, and posts are generally about division events, programs for students and families, student and staff accomplishments, school board meetings, community partnerships, holiday and weather-related announcements, and acknowledgments of employee awards and recognition weeks. Links to division webpages with more information are frequently included.

ƒ The division’s X/Twitter account has about 216,000 followers. There are about one to three posts per weekday, and posts are generally about programs for students and families, student and staff accomplishments, school board meetings, community partnerships, holiday and weather-related announcements, and school-level news retweets. All posts are accompanied by images, with some featuring photos and others featuring graphics and text. Links to division webpages with more information are frequently included. There is occasional use of hashtags and regular tagging of related school and community organization accounts.

ƒ The division’s Instagram account has more than 7,000 followers; DCE reports that the amount of followers has increased by 49 percent from the previous year. There are about one to three posts/reels per school week, and posts are generally about programs for students, student accomplishments, staff recognition days, and holiday and weatherrelated announcements. All posts include images, as Instagram requires, with some featuring photos and others featuring graphics and text. Photo captions tend to be lengthy, and hashtag use is limited except for an athletic sportsmanship series featuring #WeAreOneLCPS #WeAreOneCompetingTogether.

ƒ The division’s LinkedIn account has more than 10,000 followers and at least 6,300 linked employees; DCE reports that the amount of followers has increased by 20 percent from the previous year. There are about one to three posts per school week, and posts are generally about job fairs, employment opportunities, messages of thanks to community partner organizations, acknowledgments of employee awards and recognition weeks, and spotlights on training programs. There is occasional use of hashtags, particularly for #ThankAPartner posts, and regular tagging of related community organization pages.

ƒ As spotlighted in DCE’s annual communications report, some notable division social media campaigns in 2022-23 included a special education series with videos on assistive technology, Unified Sports and United Sound; the award-winning Black History is My Story series; promotions of a Mental Health and Wellness Conference that saw a 41 percent increase in attendance; a Teacher Cadet series; the “We are LOUDoun” recruitment series; and the Thankful Thursday school-business partnership series of posts.

y Numerous schools, clubs and division departments have their own social media pages. Most high schools have 2-3 social media accounts, typically on Facebook, X/Twitter and/or Instagram. While many middle schools have accounts on Facebook and X/Twitter, some have not been updated in two to three years.

y Auditors reflected on LCPS social media in part based on DCE’s half-yearly and year-end communications reports, which include internal data about their social media platforms and campaigns, and in part based on industry formulas for determining engagement rates through publicly available post data (e.g., reactions/likes, comments, shares).

ƒ DCE reports that in 2022 it began using paid social media advertising, in addition to its organic posts, on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn to target specific county populations with relevant events, messaging and program opportunities, and to boost recruitment for open staff positions. Its 2022-23 communications report shared results of several paid ad campaigns, including one for dual language immersion on Facebook and Instagram that had a reach of 6,732 in English and 5,570 in Spanish, a “We are One LCPS” college grads series on LinkedIn with 88 web clicks, and an HRTD recruitment ad on Facebook and Instagram with 442 web clicks.

ƒ Public data during a school week of posts from December 11-15, 2023, suggests that average engagement for posts on LCPS’ Facebook and Instagram pages are at or above the 2022 average engagement rate across all industries.

y The division has Social Media Guidelines posted in the Communications and Community Engagement section of the division website. Each of LCPS’ social media channels also include a link to the social media guidelines (under “privacy and legal info” on Facebook, in the page

Loudoun

bios on X and Instagram). LCPS also has a division-level Social Media Communications Protocol with a content rubric on what and what not to post, community moderation guidelines and instructions for dealing with unanticipated issues.

y In DCE’s regular communications reports to the LCPS School Board, it includes updates on the department’s major social media campaigns and its post/ad analytics such as engagement, reach and click-through rates. A draft of the Division Strategic Communication Roadmap for 2023-2024 did not contain objectives related to the division’s various social media channels, but social media use is often part of the

Social Media Platforms Used for School- or Division-related Information strategies and tactics for achieving a communication objective.

y The SCOPE Survey found that 76 percent of parents and 78 percent of employees use Facebook and 28 percent of parents and 20 percent of employees use Instagram either daily or weekly to get school or division information, as shown in the chart above.

y During a focus group of community partners, a perception was shared that the division uses social media to publicize awards and achievements but doesn’t use it for difficult messages or negative news.

Division/School Videos

y DCE has an in-house production team, and that unit is branded as LCPS-TV.

y The team earned two NSPRA Golden Achievement Awards in 2022, for its “School is...” video series and its “Mental Health Awareness” alumni video series. Their work also earned multiple Telly Awards for excellence in video and two Emmy Awards from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences: National Capital Chesapeake Bay Chapter for short form video content and video essay.

y LCPS-TV provides programming on a Vimeo page, on Comcast channel 18 and Verizon FIOS channel 43, and on the division’s website. The videos are also often featured on other division social media channels.

y The division website footer includes, among its social media links, a link to the division’s Vimeo account, which has 580 followers and more than 1,100 videos posted. DCE reports

that the Vimeo page is primarily used to house videos and is not intended as a place to drive audiences. Instead, audience engagement with LCPS videos primarily happens when the videos are posted on the division’s other social media platforms. The Vimeo page doesn’t offer playlists or another easily searchable organizational structure, and there is no public indication of how many times videos are viewed, liked or shared.

y Videos fall into a variety of categories and topics such as superintendent messages, spotlights on educational programs and student services, spotlights on school facilities and renovations, staff recognition weeks/months, “making an impact” community member interviews, staff training modules, and student and alumni interviews.

y LCPS streams school board meetings live and archives them. The recordings are housed in the Meeting Agendas & Documents (aka, BoardDocs) section of the website. Finding the recordings can be confusing, as it requires seven clicks from the website’s home page to reach them.

Word that Best Describes the Division: Faculty/Staff Word that Best Describes the Division: Parents/Families

Benchmarking of Results

National Benchmark: SCOPE Survey Scores

As part of this communication audit, NSPRA conducted the online School Communication Performance Evaluation (SCOPE) Survey to collect feedback from three stakeholder groups: parents and families, employees (instructional, support and administrative staff) and community members. This data was used by the auditors to identify strengths and weaknesses of LCPS’ communication program, and many of these key data points are included in the Key Findings section of this report.

An additional value the SCOPE Survey brings to our clients is the ability to compare their SCOPE Survey results on issues that matter most in school communication with the results of the more than 100 surveys conducted by districts and educational service agencies, large and small, across the United States since 2015. This data is presented in the SCOPE Scorecard on the following page.

The rating numbers provided for each question, on a 1-5 scale, correlate to the following descriptions as applicable for the type of question to which participants were responding:

1. When participants were asked to rate how informed they feel on specific topics, they responded using the following scale:

ƒ 5 = Extremely informed

ƒ 4 = Very informed

ƒ 3 = Moderately Informed

ƒ 2 = Slightly informed

ƒ 1 = Not at all informed

2. When participants were asked to rate their level of agreement with specific statements, they responded using the following scale:

ƒ 5 = Strongly agree

ƒ 4 = Agree

ƒ 3 = Undecided

ƒ 2 = Disagree

ƒ 1 = Strongly disagree

3. When participants were asked to provide ratings about their perceptions of the division and their overall satisfaction with communications, they responded using the following scale:

ƒ 5 = Excellent

ƒ 4 = Above average

ƒ 3 = Average

ƒ 2 = Below average

ƒ 1 = Very poor

In reviewing the SCOPE Scorecard for LCPS, keep in mind that the division exceeded confidence interval targets for both parent/ family responses and employee responses to the SCOPE Survey. There is a high level of confidence in the survey results.

SCOPE Scorecard

Perceptions

National Benchmark: Rubrics of Practice

and Suggested

Measures

In 2011, the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) embarked on a major undertaking to create a benchmarking framework for school public relations practice that members can use to assess their programs. To accomplish this, NSPRA sought to identify the characteristics that define a district’s communication program as “emerging,” “established” or “exemplary” in seven critical function areas.

As of June 2023, rubrics have been completed for the following critical function areas:

1. Comprehensive Professional Communication Program

2. Internal communications

3. Parent/Family Communications

4. Marketing/Branding Communications

5. Crisis Communication

6. Bond/Finance Election Plans and Campaigns

7. Diverse, Equitable and Inclusive Communications

Within each critical function area (CFA), research teams of award-winning, accredited association members identified top performers in school systems across the United States and Canada. Top performers’ best practices— as demonstrated through essential program components identified for each area—provide a benchmarking framework for school communicators to assess whether their communication programs are emerging, established or exemplary.

Benchmarking against the Rubrics of Practice and Suggested Measures© - Fifth Edition differs from other parts of the communication audit

process in that it is not measuring and making recommendations based on survey results, what an auditor heard in focus groups and interviews, or discovered in district materials. Instead, it addresses how LCPS’ communication program compares to national, benchmarked standards of excellence in school public relations.

Benchmarked Areas

CFA 1: Comprehensive Professional Communication Program is the basis for all communications deployed from a school district and is rooted in the communications function residing at the executive management level. Communications are systematic, transparent, two-way and comprehensive. They align with and support the district’s goals and objectives. Ultimately, the foster dialogue, collaboration, understanding, engagement and trust to support student achievement.

CFA 2: Internal Communications recognizes the invaluable role of all personnel as representatives of the district. It includes having a proactive program for providing staff with the skills, information and resources they need to effectively serve as ambassadors.

CFA 3: Parent/Family Communications recognizes the relationship between family involvement/engagement and student success. It includes a proactive communications program to keep parents/families informed about and involved in their children’s education with the ultimate goal of building collaboration and trust to support student learning.

CFA 4: Marketing/Branding Communications acknowledges that increased competition, declining resources, changing demographics, news media scrutiny and the importance of public perceptions are just a few of the reasons districts need an effective marketing program. Having a well-defined and authentically experienced brand promise as part of the marketing strategy helps position a district in the community and supports the district vision.

CFA 5: Crisis Communication demonstrates that no better opportunity exists for districts to show the effectiveness of their leadership and communication than during a crisis. All eyes attention are focused on how a district handles and responds to crises at hand.

CFA 6: Bond-Finance Election Plans and Campaigns addresses specific instances in which districts must receive voter approval before spending the district’s existing funds and/or levying a tax to raise funds for specific purposes. Before residents vote, there are foundational steps for building informed consent through communications on a district’s operating budget, capital project proposal, millage increase or other bond/finance election campaign.

CFA 7: Diverse, Equitable and Inclusive

Communications recognizes that implementing effective, equitable communications and engagement strategies—for daily communication efforts as well as for formal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives— creates a respectful, inclusive culture that encourages individuals to share their thoughts and experiences without fear of backlash.

Benchmarking Scale

As noted previously, each benchmarked area is assessed on a progressive scale:

y Emerging. The program is in the early stages of development and largely responsive to immediate needs or problems, with minimal proactive planning. Goals, if articulated, are loosely defined with minimal alignment with district goals and objectives.

y Established. The program includes a series of defined approaches based on some research. Strategies, tactics and goals are defined. The program aligns with district goals and objectives. Some evaluation may occur.

y Exemplary. The program is conducted according to an articulated plan following the four-step strategic public relations planning process, a model of communications known by the acronym RPIE (Research, Plan, Implement, Evaluate). The program is aligned with and integrated into district strategic plans. It is supported through policy, training and resources. Ongoing evaluation to improve progress is embedded into operations.

LCPS and the Rubrics of Practice

When considering the LCPS communication program in light of this benchmarking scale and the essential program components of each benchmarked area, as detailed in the Rubrics of Practice, auditors found the division to be well-established in CFA 4, established in CFA 1 and CFAs 6-7, nearly established in CFA 3, and emerging in CFA 5.

The Recommendations in this report provide insight and advice that will help the LCPS communication program continue to enhance its efforts in each benchmarked area. However, making comparisons against national benchmarks is something that DCE staff can engage in themselves regularly using the Rubrics of Practice. That might involve including self-assessment via the rubrics as an evaluation measure in DCE’s strategic communications roadmap for example.

For more details on the national benchmarks established in the Rubrics of Practice, visit https://www.nspra.org/PR-Resources/Booksand-Publications-Online-Store/Product-Info/ productcd/RUBRICS-2023

SWOT Analysis

The auditors have identified the following items as specific internal strengths (S) and weaknesses (W) and external opportunities (O) and threats (T)—known as a SWOT analysis—affecting the ability of LCPS to achieve its communication goals. Each item is addressed, either as something to build on or try to mitigate, in the recommendations of this report.

STRENGTHS

y LCPS has long been considered an academically excellent division that offers strong preparation for students as they prepare for college and career with the support and guidance of highly-qualified, dedicated and caring teachers and employees.

y LCPS is a well-resourced district that has been able to build state-of-the-art schools as the division has grown thanks to steady support from the local community.

y New division leadership committed to open and transparent communication offers the opportunity for a reset after several years of disruption due to COVID-19 and highprofile incidents.

y LCPS has a highly competent Department of Communications and Community Engagement with skilled staff who bring a wide range of knowledge, experiences and abilities to the division’s communication program.

y LCPS has a chief communications officer with experience serving in a large district. She is a trusted advisor to the superintendent and has a seat at the leadership table.

OPPORTUNITIES

y LCPS is located in one of the wealthiest counties in the United States, offering a strong base of highly educated residents who are willing to invest tax dollars to provide highquality schools.

y An increasingly diverse student and staff population widens the array of perspectives on public school education and creates the possibility of new, innovative ideas for serving students and families.

WEAKNESSES

y Recent high-profile events and ongoing media coverage has created a fearful atmosphere among division and site administrators. Afraid of making a mistake and inviting more media attention, they are cautious and slow to respond. Compounding these issues are concerns about protecting student privacy. Together, these factors have produced inconsistent and seemingly incomplete responses, making the division appear less than transparent.

y Responding to higher-than-typical and often negative media coverage requires significant time from communications staff and creates barriers to delivering more positive stories.

y The infrastructure and defined functions of the Department of Communications and Community Engagement staff has not kept up with the demands created by the rapid growth of students and schools in the division, leading to a lack of effective systems and protocols.

y A fragmented approach to the dissemination of information is contributing to confusion and information overload among parents and frustration among teachers and administrators.

y Despite a concerted effort to gather feedback and input from stakeholders, lack of a specific family engagement strategy and a gap in feedback mechanisms for all stakeholders creates an impression that input is not heard or heeded and leads to a lack of understanding about district successes and priorities.

THREATS

y The division’s proximity to the nation’s capital increases the odds that decisions and crises in LCPS will be subject to high-profile attention that is sometimes politically motivated.

y Local population growth and changing community demographics have increased the challenge of keeping external stakeholders informed of and satisfied with division decisions.

y As in many school systems today, social, cultural and political conflicts in the wider community and nationwide are amplifying some internal and external stakeholders’ sense of division within the LCPS school community.

y The continued prevalence of social media use gives all stakeholders a public platform to share negative perceptions, experiences and misinformation.

Recommendations

LCPS is at a turning point in its efforts to communicate effectively with parents, employees and the community. With new division leadership that is committed to open and transparent communication that engages the community in authentic ways, and as the COVID-19 pandemic and high-profile incidents recede with time, the division has an opportunity to strengthen its stakeholder relationships through strategic communications.

Interviews with school board members, the superintendent, division leaders and members of the Department of Communications and Community Engagement revealed a sincere desire to build on the division’s communications strengths and improve in areas of challenge. LCPS is fortunate to have a talented and highly experienced team in place with the variety of skills needed to implement the recommendations included in this report. While the Department of Communications and Community Engagement plays a fundamental role in ensuring the smooth outflow of accurate, transparent information, it is critical to note that all departments and staff have a responsibility to ensure that LCPS continues to build trusted relationships with its stakeholders. As the

division considers and begins to implement these recommendations, it will be important to involve staff beyond the Department of Communications and Community Engagement.

The following recommendations, which were developed to address specific areas of challenge identified in the audit team’s thorough review of district materials, SCOPE Survey data and focus groups with stakeholders, are listed in a suggested order of priority and are accompanied by action steps that provide tactical ideas for how these recommendations might be accomplished. However, the division may choose to address these recommendations through tactics other than those outlined here.

Some of these recommendations can be implemented immediately, and others may take several years. Generally speaking, a district should not try to address more than two to three recommendations each school year, while also continuing to deliver existing programs and services. This is a long-term effort, and new communication components will need to be introduced as budget, resources and staff capacity allow.

Summary of Recommendations

1. Expand the LCPS Strategic Communications Roadmap into a comprehensive communication plan.

2. Leverage new leadership to rebuild trust and confidence.

3. Improve communication infrastructure by developing and consistently implementing communication processes and procedures.

4. Combat misinformation and disinformation.

5. Develop a stronger, more proactive media relations plan that contains a social media component.

6. Strengthen the two-way communications culture in LCPS.

7. Implement tactics to engage local residents with no personal connections to the schools.

Recommendation 1: Expand the LCPS Strategic Communications Roadmap into a comprehensive communication plan.

The audit team commends LCPS for its commitment to strategic communication and for creating both a Communications Plan Summary for the 2022-23 school year and a more explicit roadmap for the 2023-24 school year. Following are some primary components of an effective strategic communication plan that are already present in the roadmap:

y Target audiences are identified.

y Channels to be used to deliver key messages are prescribed.

y Messages that align with the goals of the division’s strategic plan (One LCPS) have been developed.

y Strategies to support the stated objective of the division’s strategic plan are articulated.

y Specific action steps are incorporated along with a matrix identifying who is responsible for each task.

This plan provides an excellent structure to build upon. In addition, the audit team learned that the Department of Communications and Community Engagement recently held a departmental retreat in which they further refined the mission, strategic direction and goals of their department. At the time of the audit, the communication team leaders had not yet formalized the findings of their retreat but shared the themes that emerged with the auditors. The auditors agree with and support the direction and ideas developed during the retreat and encourage the Communications and

Community Engagement team to incorporate them into an even more comprehensive communication plan along with the findings, recommendations and action steps provided in this audit. This will take LCPS to the next level in strengthening relationships, increasing understanding, building trust and solidifying support for the core values articulated in the division’s strategic plan.

Action Step 1.1

Fully align the communications roadmap with the four-step strategic public relations planning process.

Team members from the Department of Communications and Community Engagement conveyed to the auditors a strong desire and intention to implement a highly strategic communication plan focused on the division’s broad goals. Rising above reactive, tactical communication in a division as large and complex as LCPS can be challenging even for experienced practitioners who are strategically oriented. To address this challenge, the audit team recommends following a planning process that:

y Sets specific measurable objectives to help achieve communication goals;

y Builds upon and expands the existing strategies, action steps, target audiences, key messages, timelines and staff member assignments in the existing roadmap; and

y Sets the evaluation criteria that will be used to measure success.

The audit team is aware that the highly experienced Department of Communications and Community Engagement team already

understands the core components of a strategic communication plan, and the auditors acknowledge that a variety of styles and formats are used by organizations in drafting strategic communication plans. For NSPRA, however, the gold standard is the four-step strategic communication planning model, often referred to by the acronym RPIE (research, plan, implement, evaluate). This planning model is foundational to strategic communications and to earning accreditation in public relations as well as to earning NSPRA’s Gold Medallion and Golden Achievement awards.

The action steps that follow describe components of the RPIE process that can be added to enhance the effectiveness of LCPS’ strategic communication plan.

Action Step 1.2

Add a research component to the communications roadmap.

Highly effective communications are grounded in research, so in a comprehensive, strategic communication plan, it is helpful to begin by detailing the key research findings that led to the identification of priorities for the communication program. The NSPRA Communication Audit Report, including the SCOPE Survey data, provides a wealth of information about the perceptions of LCPS and its communications, which should inform the selection of at least some of the challenges to be tackled or opportunities to be seized by communications staff in their plan. When revising the Communications Roadmap, add a section on research that summarizes key data informing the plan goals and objectives.

Following are additional data sources to consider when developing the research portion of the plan, as they can also help with identifying priorities for communications:

Expand the LCPS Strategic Communications Roadmap into a comprehensive communications plan.

y Reports from LCPS’ Research Office, the LCPS Division of Planning and GIS Services and other research sources specific to the school system that provide information about enrollment trends, student poverty, access to technology and tax base growth/decline. Also include school climate survey results, analytics for current communication tools, state school report cards, school ratings by news media and specialized websites, etc.

y Local community demographics: National Center for Education Statistics (https:// nces.ed.gov/), the U.S. Census Bureau (https://data.census.gov/) and local county/city/town websites

y National public opinion on schools: PDK Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward Public Schools (https://pdkpoll.org/), Gallup polls on education (https://news. gallup.com/poll/1612/education.aspx) and EdChoice Schooling in America Poll (https://www.edchoice.org/what-we-do/ research/schooling-in-america-pollingdashboard-2/)

y Global communication trends: Pew Research Center (https://www. pewresearch.org/) and Gallup Workplace Insights (https://www.gallup.com/ workplace/insights.aspx)

As part of the research section, consider incorporating a high-level summary of the team’s regularly expected communications, public relations and marketing activities. Examples might include managing websites, creating social media content, producing newsletters, handling emergency notifications to parents and staff, drafting letters for administrators, issuing news releases, designing annual reports, etc. It is also helpful to outline endeavors to cultivate relationships with internal and external stakeholders such as parent workshops, participation in advisory groups, fostering business partnerships, managing relations with the news media and involvement in community organizations.

This compilation will provide a detailed picture of how communications is currently integrated into district operations and an opportunity to reflect on how well current efforts align with communication priorities. For division leaders, it will also provide a more realistic look at the scope of responsibilities and tasks related to the communications function.

The communication audit report and survey data also detail how LCPS’ internal and external stakeholders access information, how they prefer to receive it and how they feel about the communications they receive; that research data should shape the selection of communication strategies and tactics.

Action Step 1.3

Expand the planning components in the existing communications roadmap.

The Department of Communications and Community Engagement excels at communication planning, and this is at the heart of the process of developing an effective strategic communication plan. This is the heavylifting phase of creating the communication

plan, and fortunately, LCPS has already begun this work. Following through on these steps will pay big dividends for the district:

y Continue to identify goals as well as shorter-term, measurable objectives. Goals focus on the big picture aims for communications, but just as important are shorter-term, measurable objectives based on desired changes in awareness/ knowledge levels, opinions/perceptions and behaviors of key audiences. When developing objectives, make sure they are SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time bound. (Other industries sometimes refer to SMART goals, but in strategic communications, the objectives are SMART.) An example of a measurable objective for LCPS communications might be:

ƒ Sample Objective: By the end of the 2024-25 school year, at least 75% of LCPS staff and parents will strongly agree or agree that they trust the information they receive from LCPS.

y Identify specific strategies for reaching your measurable objectives. Strategies describe the general approach for how you will reach your objectives, and tactics describe the specific elements (e.g., tools, activities, timing) that will be used to implement the strategy. Carefully sorting the strategies from the tactics and organizing them under the measurable objectives will make the plan easier for staff to implement and evaluate for effectiveness. For the example objective in the prior bullet, following is an example strategy:

ƒ Sample Strategy: Organize and promote a committee to provide feedback on the effectiveness of efforts to build trust in the division.”

(See Action Step 2.2)

ƒ Sample Tactics:

▫ Work with principals and department leaders to identify potential committee members who are not yet serving in leadership roles as parents, employees or community members.

▫ Send personal invitation letters and emails to potential committee members.

▫ Develop a handout for committee members about the purpose of the group, how it aligns with division goals, and how their feedback will be used by division leaders.

y Evaluate existing key messages in the current Communications Roadmap in light of the audit Key Findings and make any necessary adjustments. For each target audience, determine what that stakeholder group should come away knowing, doing or believing because of the division’s communications and use that information to evaluate and revise targeted key messages. People’s attention span and time are limited, so

Get on the Road to Achieving Communication Goals

It can be challenging to distinguish between goals, objectives, strategies and tactics in part because some industries use the words interchangeably. For their use within the field of school communications, an analogy that can be helpful is to think of the terms in the context of traveling to a desired destination.

y The goal is the final destination of a long journey.

and repeated consistently have a better chance of being noticed and absorbed. For the strategy in the prior bullet, following is an example key message:

ƒ Sample Key Message: “LCPS leaders are committed to earning and maintaining your trust, as a valued member of the school community.”

y Continue to include stakeholder groups in the Communications Roadmap. A strategic communication plan often has a unique set of strategies, tactics and key messages for each stakeholder group, or target audience, interested in and/or impacted by a division and its initiatives. Review the groups currently identified in the Communications Roadmap at least annually to determine if there are adjustments or additions to be made.

y Identify any resources necessary to implement the plan. It is helpful in a strategic communication plan to reflect the potential budgetary impacts of the plan and anticipated purchases. This is separate from a departmental budget, and instead typically outlines specific areas of expense to be planned for if certain

y Measurable objectives are stops along the way to reaching that destination. They might outline how many miles to be covered each day, where the driver will stop each night and by what time the driver plans to arrive at each pit stop.

y Strategies and tactics get into the nittygritty details: Will the driver take the scenic route or highways? If the chosen strategy is to take the scenic route, which songs should be put on the playlist to keep the driver awake?

some areas to consider for expenditures:

ƒ Equipment/software

ƒ Materials and supplies

ƒ Printing and duplicating

ƒ Advertising (digital, print, broadcast)

ƒ Professional development

ƒ Staff travel

ƒ Professional dues/fees

y Re-evaluate timelines. As new objectives and strategies are introduced, be sure to re-evaluate timelines for major plan components. Include starting dates for actions to be taken, dates for objectives to be reached and dates for evaluation to be carried out. While formal evaluation will come at the end of the implementation process, the plan should identify key times to take stock during the implementation phase so real-time modifications can be made as necessary.

y Re-evaluate responsibilities. For each tactic under a new strategy, determine who will be responsible for deployment.

As the LCPS communications team enhances its plans, be sure to reflect on the following questions for each objective and allow the answers to guide the selection of communication strategies and tactics:

y Who needs to know?

y What do they need to know?

y Why do they need to know?

y When do they need to know?

y How are we going to tell them?

y What do we want them to do with the information they receive?

y How will we track and measure what they have learned and done as a result of our communication efforts?

y How will we measure success?

Action

Step 1.4

Incorporate measures for evaluating success.

When creating the strategic communication plan, identify evaluative measures to be used later to determine the success in achieving the stated goals and objectives. Those evaluative measures might take the form of survey responses, participation numbers, election results, user analytics, etc. For example, if an objective is to increase the percentage of stakeholders who strongly agree or agree that they trust the information they receive from LCPS, the 2023 SCOPE Survey can be measured against updated survey results in two years.

Action Step 1.5

Include a family engagement component in the comprehensive communication plan.

Several division leaders shared a belief that more intentional engagement with families is needed, as noted in the Key Findings. Results of the SCOPE Survey suggest this to be true for some, if not many, families: only 41 percent of parent survey respondents feel their involvement is welcome and valued, and just over half (54 percent) feel their input is welcome and valued. Additionally, the survey data (see p. 22-23) suggests that more than half of parents feel moderately, slightly or not at all informed in key areas such as LCPS and student successes and achievements as well as leader decisions and division goals and plans, facilities and finances.

Loudoun

Given that LCPS has a higher percentage of community members who are parents than many other divisions (see Recommendation 7 introduction), it is vitally important to overall community engagement for parents to be wellinformed and engaged in division schools.

In the comprehensive communication plan, be sure to include RPIE components that address family engagement with elements such as:

Research

Assess all the ways the division is currently engaging families, including programs that are run by other offices or departments within the division. The auditors learned that a Family Engagement Work Group—comprised of representatives from several different division offices, including the Family and Community Engagement Office (FACE), the Community Connections office, the LCPS Partner program, and the School-Business Partnership program, who all work on various aspects of family engagement—was formed in the early days of COVID-19 as a result of a grant to support families during the pandemic. The grant has ended, but the group has continued to meet because they are passionate about strengthening family engagement in LCPS.

The auditors recommend that the Department of Communications and Community Engagement convene an effort to map the work of everyone in the Family Engagement Work Group. Identify the specific family groups being addressed, the programs in place, how those programs are communicated, the office or department overseeing the work, and the staff members who are responsible for the work.

Planning

After conducting that research, it should be clear which programs are having a measurable, positive impact on families’ engagement with LCPS, and which might benefit from enhanced communication efforts. (This research might also present opportunities to identify and

explore new engagement opportunities; auditors have provided several possible ideas in Recommendation 6.) Based on the research results, set specific, measurable objectives related to increasing family engagement with LCPS, in support of the department’s communication goals, and identify several strategies and tactics to achieve the objectives.

Implementation

No matter how the efforts dedicated to family engagement are structured, it is critical to have an implementation plan that clearly identifies the staff responsible for developing, driving and communicating the effort. With so many different offices, departments and programs involved in developing and promoting LCPS’ family engagement efforts, and communication audit data suggesting a knowledge gap about them for many families, LCPS leaders should explore the possibility of consolidating the efforts within a single reporting structure to improve coordination and message alignment. (See Action Step 6.2 for specific suggestions on how this effort might be structured.)

Evaluation

Some possible evaluation measures for a communication-related objective focused on family engagement might include registration and participation numbers, analytics on webpage access or downloads, number of inquiries received on a topic, etc. Plans to have a follow-up SCOPE Survey conducted could also serve as a future evaluative measure. In your plan, be sure to include a description of how you will measure success in achieving your family engagement objective.

Action Step 1.6

Update the crisis communications plan.

LCPS has a comprehensive crisis management plan in place that incorporates communication elements. The auditors commend LCPS for including a formal communication component in the overall crisis communication plan, as efficient and effective communication is key to the successful management of any crisis or serious incident.

The plan is due to be reviewed and updated in the spring of 2024, and regardless of whether the communication components are incorporated in the crisis management plan, the overall strategic communication plan or both, the auditors suggest the following be done as part of this process:

y Clearly delineate communication responsibilities at the division office and school building levels. Members of the Department of Communications and Community Engagement already take charge of various communication responsibilities in the event of a major district crisis. Those responsibilities should be formally designated and delineated in the crisis communication plan, along with any plans for who is expected to handle or support crisis communications at the school building level.

y Review and revise as necessary the list of items to include in communications staff “go bags.” The list might include ensuring Wi-Fi hotspots are available, a list of administrators’ mobile numbers, login information for all communication platforms, cell phone chargers, a list of local media and their phone numbers, a list of public information officers and local emergency responders along with their contact information, and a change of camera-ready clothing.

y Review and revise as necessary predrafted messages about potential crises that are easily adaptable for quicker dissemination. View one district’s example of crisis messaging templates for school leaders: https://www.nspra.org/Portals/0/ PR%20Resources%20Section/Samples%20 and%20Resources/Principal%20 Comm%20Templates%202018. pdf?ver=2mwpER09ojIKGOsVb3gc%20 9w%3d%3d

y Review and revise as necessary the list of likely media holding/press briefing areas for different types of crises. Key players in the crisis communications response may need to have easy access to mobile podiums and district signage for use in unexpected press briefing locations.

y Plan for regular crisis communications response training and practice sessions with administrators and educators. Be sure communications staff can practice their plan and are included when LCPS has crisis response training for administrators, educators and first responders.

Action Step 1.7

Draw on other NSPRA resources for inspiration and support.

As communications staff reflect on their roadmap in light of this report, consider having appropriate staff also watch the NSPRA PR Power Hour on “Simple Steps to Transform Your Communication To-Dos Into a Strategic Communication Plan,” moderated by former NSPRA President Lesley Bruinton and featuring a panel of accredited, awardwinning NSPRA members. The webinar is available on the association website in the members-only Samples and Resources subsection on Strategic Communication Plans

at https://www.nspra.org/PR-Resources/ Samples-and-Resources-Gold-Mine/StrategicCommunication-Plans.

For more inspiration, check out the Strategic Communications and Engagement Plan developed by the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board in Ontario, Canada, following a 2017 NSPRA Communication Audit. While this plan is several years old, it offers an excellent example of how another large district used the results of an NSPRA audit to develop a comprehensive communications plan. The plan for the district, which enrolls about 50,000 students, is available at this link: https:// www.hwdsb.on.ca/about/media/strategiccommunications-and-engagement-plan/

Recommendation 2:

Leverage new leadership to rebuild trust and confidence.

While LCPS has faced the challenge of recent negative coverage in national and local media, that is not the only factor impacting public trust. A general decline in trust in institutions, and public schools specifically, is affecting many school systems across the nation. A July 2023 Gallup poll showed “significant declines in public confidence in the institutions it tracks annually.” Specifically, the percent of respondents who have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in public schools declined from 32 percent in 2021 to 26 percent in 2023.

Interviews with division leaders and board members provide strong evidence that LCPS is aware of the need to rebuild trust and confidence with all stakeholders. The audit team heard frank acknowledgment from all levels of division leadership that a deliberate effort to communicate transparently and listen attentively to stakeholders is vital to rebuilding trust where it has been broken and to rebuilding confidence among rank-and-file staff, who have grown weary of hearing negative news about the division. A common theme heard from employees at all levels is a desire to “get back to good news,” with a corresponding hope that the new superintendent and chief communications officer will be effective in achieving this.

Numerous focus group participants, including parents, employees and community members, mentioned the unique opportunity for LCPS to rebuild trust and confidence under the leadership of a new superintendent and an entirely new school board. The audit team concurs that the division has a window of opportunity to reach out and build new relationships with internal and external

stakeholders through attentive listening and honest communication delivered through appropriate channels.

As division leaders already understand, rebuilding trust is vital for reasons that go well beyond simply making people feel better. Trust promotes greater effectiveness and efficiency in all areas of division operations, which in turn has an impact on student achievement. Leaders who are not responding to crises generated by mistrust have more capacity to focus on the division’s student-driven vision and mission. Greater trust also provides a buffer when unexpected events occur.

Edelman is a global communications firm that partners with businesses and organizations to evolve, promote and protect their brands and reputations. One of their tools is the Edelman Trust Barometer, an annual global survey of more than 32,000 respondents in 28 countries that covers a range of timely and important societal indicators of trust among business, media, government and NGOs. According to Edelman, “If you go into a crisis as a distrusted company [or organization], it takes only 1-2 negative stories for a person to believe negative news. If you go in as a trusted company, it takes only 1-2 positive stories for you to achieve belief. Trust is a protective agent, a facilitator of action.”

All of the recommendations in this communication audit report can help LCPS rebuild trust and confidence among its stakeholders, but the following action steps provide tangible, specific ways to do so for the new superintendent and new board members.

Action Step 2.1

Continue engagement opportunities with the superintendent.

Active listening is the first step in rebuilding trust, and the auditors applaud the extensive schedule the superintendent is undertaking to meet with 18 groups of staff and 18 groups of community members during his first eight months in LCPS. In addition, he has provided a feedback form on the website so that community members unable to attend in person can provide feedback. Giving people an opportunity to express their opinions, ideas and feelings is critical in determining if changes in protocols or policy are necessary, as listening carefully may reveal nuances that can lead to improved practices.

The audit team heard positive feedback about Dr. Spence’s listening tour in multiple focus groups, with a school administrator observing that Dr. Spence is particularly communityminded and sharing an opinion that becoming part of the community is one of the most important steps needed to rebuild trust.

The audit team recognizes the significant investment of time required by the superintendent to visit individual schools, but recommends that he continue this practice into the 2024-25 school year if at all possible. Several ideas to consider for 2024-25 include:

y Take these sessions on the road to meet diverse groups of people in the areas where they live, providing the superintendent with opportunities to meet constituents who do not have an affiliation with the school district. These meetings might take place in public libraries, community or senior citizen centers, or even local coffee shops so stakeholders

Leverage new leadership to rebuild trust and confidence.

can meet with the superintendent off the division’s turf. As with the school-based sessions, make it clear that the purpose of the listening session is to hear from stakeholders, not to make decisions. A staff member from the Department of Communications and Community Engagement should accompany the superintendent on such visits to listen for emerging issues that may need to be communicated about more proactively.

y Schedule virtual listening opportunities for the superintendent at school and department staff meetings. An example from a large school district in Oregon, Salem-Keizer Public Schools, may be helpful to consider. The division’s last superintendent, who retired last summer, offered “Live with Christy” virtual events that were very popular with employees. Similar “Live with Dr. Spence” events could focus on a particular topic and give employees the opportunity to interact with the superintendent. The format could include taking 5-10 minutes to provide a brief update on district issues and then using the remaining time to solicit staff comments and concerns. There might be a specific topic to focus on, but it is also useful to ask for comments on issues or topics that are top-of-mind for stakeholders. Gathering input in this manner can inform decisions, clarify rumors and put a human face to a large, complex organization.

Action Step 2.2

Form a community trustbuilding committee.

One of the first steps in rebuilding trust is to acknowledge that it has diminished, whether the breakdown has occurred from misperceptions or an actual lack of transparency. NSPRA’s work with other school districts demonstrates that stakeholders respond positively to an honest assessment that such work is needed, and stakeholders are often as eager as the division/district to reestablish a relationship of mutual trust. The auditors recommend that LCPS actively engage stakeholders in this process through the development of a community trust-building committee (perhaps named as such) comprised of a variety of external and internal stakeholders from different walks of life, with meetings moderated by a professional facilitator.

Members of the committee should include parents and other community members, such as real estate agents or small business owners, as well as employees at various levels. The auditors suggest the committee be composed primarily of rank-and-file employees, parents not serving in leadership roles and community members who are not civic leaders. The idea is to hear from everyday stakeholders, who are not steeped in district news and events.

The purpose of this committee should be to provide a feedback mechanism that will allow the superintendent and the Department of Communications and Community Engagement to highlight trust-building efforts across the division and discuss with community members their own changing perceptions, as well as what they’re hearing in the wider community, in order to gauge progress and make adjustments and improvements to strategic communications about its trust-building efforts. Consider meeting quarterly at first and in person if schedules allow.

Action

Step 2.3

Create opportunities for the LCPS School Board to form a positive, trusting relationship with the

public.

An entirely newly elected school board presents both challenges and opportunities for LCPS. At this time, the public has had little opportunity to get to know school board members, creating a clean slate for building a new relationship of trust. At the same time, school board members do not have legacies to build upon, so it is critical for the new relationship with the public to get off to a good start.

In interviews with incoming school board members, auditors heard a strong desire to reset the relationship between the public and the school division, and build a more positive and collaborative culture. The board members had not been sworn in at the time of the interviews, but the reflections they shared with the audit team suggested a deep understanding that action is needed to build bridges where there are gaps in understanding or perception. Concerns were shared about a reduction in public engagement due to the increase in security needed at schools and school board meetings—a situation that is not unique to LCPS, but an outgrowth of security concerns across the nation. Board members also expressed concerns about the challenges of communicating with the public in board meetings, where interaction and dialogue are constrained by protocol and policy.

The auditors see many opportunities to strengthen the bond between the board and its community through effective communication.

Loudoun County Public Schools

The ideas and best practices that follow are designed to achieve that.

y Offer more opportunities for dialogue between school board members and the public outside of structured board meetings. When the public and the school board gather for conversations, it can build trust in elected officials and lead to long-term support for education initiatives. Similar to the recommendation about Dr. Spence’s community outreach, the auditors suggest scheduling community meetings with school board members at non-division locations on specific topics such as raising academic performance, student health and wellness, state legislation affecting schools, operational budgets, etc. Position the meetings as informal opportunities to gather opinions and listen to public concerns about specific issues; be clear that it is not a venue for formal decision-making. Board members could rotate attendance so that a quorum is not called.

y Make it easier for stakeholders to participate in, attend and monitor board meetings. While it is outside the purview of the auditors to make recommendations about how board meetings should be structured, it was clear from comments made by parents and staff that the long meetings with ambitious agendas have created a barrier to the community realistically being able to monitor discussions or participate in public comment. This affects the perception of the division by reinforcing the notion that the division is not interested in public feedback and leads to misunderstandings about policy decisions. The auditors suggest that the new school board and the superintendent consider changes in structure that create a more welcoming and inclusive environment.

y Provide communication training to all board members. Given the high profile of LCPS with local and national media, school board members may be fearful of saying the wrong thing or being misunderstood in a board meeting, during an interview or even in an informal conversation with a constituent. Hesitancy can get in the way of transparent communication, and the auditors recommend engaging a skilled communication trainer, who can build confidence for board members that will help them communicate directly, frankly and authentically in a manner that is easily understood by stakeholders. The Virginia School Boards Association also offers a VSBA Master Board Program, which includes improving communications among its training topics; this may be worth exploring further, too.

y Review the school board’s communication policies annually. The auditors commend the division and the school board for having a robust set of policies that provide guidance on a wide range of topics pertinent to division public relations, communications and related topics such as social media, engagement, media relations, etc. Reviewing policies regularly, even if changes are minimal or none, signals a commitment to communication and transparency and provides the public with an opportunity to provide feedback on policies and regulations related to communication.

y Adopt schools. Have each school board member “adopt” a set of school campuses in their assigned district each year to pay closer attention to and to be visible in on a more regular basis. The division’s size makes it impractical for all school campuses to be adopted each year, but rotating campuses annually can give board members a broader, firsthand experience within their district.

y Eliminate the release of board memberspecific newsletters. Currently, some board members send newsletters to their district constituents and some do not. The auditors considered this individual communications practice along with frequent comments about the amount of information distributed to stakeholders by the division in general. Stakeholders are simply receiving too much information from too many sources. Eliminating these newsletters would be responsive to that stakeholder feedback, and instead relying on school board information produced and distributed by the Department of Communications and Community Engagement would help ensure messages are accurate and consistent across the division.

Recommendation 3:

Improve

communication infrastructure by developing and consistently implementing processes and procedures.

LCPS is a large and complex organization. When the average Loudoun County citizen thinks about the division, they probably envision their closest neighborhood schools, forgetting—or not even knowing—that LCPS has 98 schools spread across the county, with more than 13,000 employees serving 82,000 students. As several focus group participants commented, LCPS still operates in many respects as it did when there were half as many schools, when personal relationships defined how things were done and when principals and department directors had a lot of autonomy.

However, the rapid growth of the division has exceeded the capacity of those communication practices to keep everyone on the same page and in the loop. Participants in both the parent and employee focus groups observed that a lack of consistent processes and procedures has resulted in communication missteps. Designing communication processes and procedures that keep an enterprise as large as LCPS functioning as one cohesive unit is a huge challenge but essential to ensuring the flow of information vertically (from administrative offices to schools and other sites and back) and horizontally (from one department or office to another) as well as externally to parents, students and the larger community.

As noted in Recommendation 1, in November 2023, the Department of Communications and Community Engagement held a planning retreat and developed several broad goals and priorities for their work, including standardizing communications processes for the division and for schools, and streamlining communication channels for families.

As this work progresses, consideration should be given to the following strategies.

Action Step 3.1

Clarify the communication roles of all administrators.

Ensuring all relevant information is disseminated in a timely manner requires teamwork and coordination. All LCPS leaders should be able to articulate their communication roles and, if they do not already, have collaborative relationships with the Department of Communications and Community Engagement. Communication expectations for division, school and department administrators should be clarified and discussed several times a year so there is no question about the collaborative nature of communications.

Consider using a chart, such as the one on the following page, to clearly define communication roles and responsibilities for different administrators. By clarifying their responsibilities and ensuring communication activities are aligned with the strategic plan and integrated at all levels, the division can connect more directly with parents and community members while also strengthening internal trust and engagement among employees.

Action Step 3.2

Follow a consistent process for internal communications.

Throughout the focus groups, staff reported significant differences in how they get information, depending on their work location and their supervisor; this, in turn, negatively affected the flow of information to the community. In a group of division

Example: Communication Roles Guide for Administrative Staff

Staff Position Type of Information to be Communicated Communication Channel(s) Used

Department of Communications and Community Engagement

Division-level updates on:

y Routine matters that impact more than one school

y Urgent matters that impact any school

y Major division-wide initiatives

Staff and student stories that illustrate the division’s mission, vision and goals

Superintendent Board decisions and policy changes

Superintendent’s Administrative Assistant

Board meeting agendas, minutes, extras/ action briefs Board policy changes

Chief Academic Officer Academic/curriculum updates and changes

Chief Financial Officer Budget and finance updates Bond/capital project updates

Chief Human Resources Officer Employee benefits and resources Job openings Compensation-related items

Principals

School-level updates on:

y School-specific routine matters

y School-specific urgent matters

y Major division-wide initiatives (using tool kit provided)

Division-level tools for internal and external audiences:

y Emails

y Automated messages

y Text messages

y Website

y Print/digital newsletters

y Social media

y Video channel

y News releases to media

y Paid ad placements

Tool kits for administrators

Email/phone/in-person responses to community members’ inquiries

Emails to staff

Staff, board and community meetings

Board webpages

Curriculum webpages

Emails to staff

Staff, board and community meetings

Business office/budget webpages

Facilities project webpages, e-newsletter

Emails to staff

Staff, board and community meetings

HR webpages

Emails to staff

Administrative and staff meetings

Board meetings

School-level tools for internal and external audiences:

y Emails

y Automated messages

y Text messages

y Website

y Print/digital newsletters

y Social media

directors, several participants remarked that they are often overlooked when important news is being shared. A principal put it this way: “The leadership of the schools need to communicate with each other. The leadership teams and departments seem disjointed. It’s unclear who to go to with an issue. I don’t see any clear accountability, and until we learn to communicate with each other internally, I don’t see how we can communicate well externally.”

The Department of Communications and Community Engagement should work closely with the Superintendent’s Cabinet to clarify the internal communication processes and develop a list of preferred channels for communication. The process and list should be shared and reviewed with division administrators and school principals at least annually.

The internal communication process document might include:

y Guidelines for who will distribute various types of information to internal audiences and what channels are to be used, as described in the previous action step.

y Plans for issuing talking points for departments and building staff meetings for all major initiatives. To ensure all staff receive the same information simultaneously, the division should consistently develop and share with administrators talking points around key issues, including what decision-making processes are being used and how decisions will impact employees, students and families. The points can be drafted by those responsible for the issues, but they should then be vetted through the Department of Communications and Community Engagement for consistency of message, ease of understanding and coordinated distribution.

y Expectations regarding the timing of internal communications. Setting

Improve communication infrastructure by developing and consistently implementing processes and procedures.

expectations for the timing of communications will create consistencies that will help alleviate anxiety about when information can be expected. It will also reduce the frustration we heard from some employees that they often hear important division news from the media or their neighbors before receiving it officially from the division. Following are examples of timing expectations to consider:

ƒ Staff should receive important information at least 15-30 minutes before families and the community so that they can serve as front-line communicators and ambassadors for the schools. When possible, such information should be sent at a time of day when staff are more likely to have easy access to email.

ƒ Information staff need to act on should be sent to them at least 48 hours before they need to act on it.

ƒ The central office will respond to staff inquiries within 48 hours.

y Protocols for dedicating time for key announcements during leadership/ faculty meetings. Such meetings should always include an agenda item for sharing updates on and answering questions about current key initiatives and issues.

y Internal communication tips for principals. Provide principals with tips on how to successfully and efficiently communicate at the building level with their staff as well as their families. NSPRA members can find inspiration for communication tips to share with principals through multiple posts in the NSPRA Connect online community (example 1, example 2) and the book The Communicating Principal: Practical Strategies for School Leaders by authors Trinette Marquis, APR, and Natalie Nash, available on the NSPRA website at https:// www.nspra.org in the online store.

y Suggested methods for determining when and how information is to be shared with internal audiences. One way to address communication inconsistencies after meetings is using a communication responsibility management grid. The ambiguity of “who does what” for each agenda item can be resolved by creating a grid that carries the discussion item, the action taken, the name of the responsible party for next steps, and the deadline established. This type of grid can also be used with councils and committees to ensure information is disseminated. Another simple way to incorporate communication planning is to add checkboxes for “FYI,” “to be shared” and “confidential” to each agenda item. Then the person facilitating each topic should clarify what others in the meeting are to do with the information. If an item is marked “to be shared,” then a discussion will be needed to decide to whom, when and how the information is to be distributed, as outlined in the previous bullet.

Following are links to some example communication guides for administrators:

y Administrators Guide to Communications and Public Relations, Brenham (Texas) Independent School Division—https://bit. ly/3uoCe8J

y Communications Handbook, Pflugerville (Texas) Independent School District— NSPRA Connect post share

y Communication Guide for School-Based Administrators, Collier County (Fla.) Public Schools—https://bit.ly/4a0z0ZF

In addition, the auditors recommend that the Communications and Community Engagement team evaluate the current employee newsletter, One LCPS, to determine how effectively it delivers the basic information staff need to do their jobs and serve as ambassadors for LCPS. Auditors heard in some employee focus groups and saw in comments on the SCOPE Survey that newsletters from multiple central office departments cause “inbox clutter.” Its possible that the division would be better served by consolidating some or all of these multiple employee newsletters into One LCPS

Action Step 3.3

Streamline the number of parent communication tools in use at the division and school levels.

In parent focus groups, and from openended comments on the SCOPE Survey, there was extensive discussion about the variety of communication tools used by the division, schools and teachers. Parents expressed frustration at the variety of tools currently in use. The auditors’ review shows nearly a dozen apps and methods, including ClassDojo, Remind, S’more, Blackboard’s ConnectED, PeachJar, Schoology, Schoolinks, ParentVUE, principal newsletters, division newsletters and individual teacher emails.

To begin streamlining parent communications, the auditors recommend the following steps:

Loudoun

y Take inventory of all communication tools currently in use across the division. To make sure the list is complete, each school principal should be asked to provide a list of the communication tools used in their building, what they are used for and whether they think they should be retained or replaced.

From there, the division should establish a small review committee that includes representative teachers, parents, schoollevel administrators, technology staff and Department of Communications and Community Engagement staff. The committee should be briefed on what each tool is used for, who uses it, who receives it, how often it is used, how easy it is to use, whether training is provided on its use and any available data on readership, open rates, distribution schedules, etc. Committee members can also use this audit report to inform the group’s discussion. As part of the process, the group should identify situations where schools and teachers are using different platforms to accomplish the same purpose.

Another consideration for the group is the potential for a holistic solution that integrates many communication capabilities into a single platform. (A wide range of such products and features are available, and the division’s new website provider Apptegy appears to offer that capability through its Thrillshare product.) If individual users are able to select how they want to receive information and only receive it that way, fewer would feel the frustration of getting pinged by email, text message, auto-generated calls and social media all at the same time.

From this analysis, the group will be able to develop a set of recommended

communication tools for use by all teachers and schools as appropriate for student age groups. The list of recommendations should be shared with division leadership, who would make the final determination of which tools to keep and which to eliminate.

As the division conducts its analysis, it may find this article in Forbes Magazine helpful: “How To Better Understand Customers’ Communication Preferences.” While this article is oriented to how companies can serve the communication needs of their customers, it contains useful tips for school divisions such as the following:

ƒ Remind stakeholders frequently to review and update whatever communication options are currently provided, and tell them how they can subscribe and unsubscribe to information feeds. In some cases, a person may opt-out of a communication channel, like texts for example, then forget they’ve done so and become frustrated when they miss urgent communications.

ƒ Notice and periodically track how certain stakeholder groups communicate with you. If they typically use email, they probably prefer email. If they typically call division offices, they probably prefer a phone call.

y Develop a guidance document that spells out which communication tools are preferred for which schools and grade levels, along with best practices for how frequently they should be used, in which situations they should be used and how to obtain support or training to use the designated tools effectively. The guidance document should also include recommended release and response times to ensure information is shared in a timely manner and stakeholders

are not left waiting for responses to their questions, comments or concerns. Consider also including:

ƒ Basic formatting tips to improve readability, visual appeal and accessibility of school newsletters.

ƒ A list of approved sources of royaltyfree images, graphics and videos that won’t violate copyrights.

ƒ Templates for common school-toparent or teacher-to-parent messages.

ƒ Summaries of relevant school board policies and laws that relate to sharing information with parents.

Find examples of staff guidelines on when to use which communication platforms in NSPRA’s Samples and Resources (Goldmine) section on “TrainingAdministrators, Board Members, Staff” at https://www.nspra.org/PR-Resources/ Samples-and-Resources-Gold-Mine/TrainingAdministrators-Board-Members-Staff

To ensure the guidance document remains complete, effective and current with changing technology or stakeholders’ needs, it should be reviewed annually by communications staff for any necessary content updates.

Recommendation 4:

Combat misinformation and disinformation.

LCPS is not alone in facing the challenge of dealing with misinformation (false information that is spread inadvertently) and disinformation (false information spread with the deliberate intent to deceive). A survey conducted by NSPRA in January 2024 shows that 96 percent of the association’s members consider the spread of false information to be an issue for K-12 public school systems, and at least three out of four school PR professionals (78 percent) indicated their school system has experienced a challenge caused by the spread of false information within the last 12 months. On a wider level, a November 2023 survey by the Institute for Public Relations, the Fourth Annual Disinformation in Society Report, found that among Americans, 61 percent consider misinformation and 60 percent consider disinformation to be more significant threats to society than terrorism, border security, the budget deficit and climate change.

In school systems, data suggests that misinformation and disinformation tend to occur the most around big issues and decisions facing the division/district. Nearly 70 percent of school systems dealing with false information note that the information spread was regarding policy-related issues, such as regulations. Another 66 percent indicate that false information was related to safety concerns. While less common, false information related to individual students or staff members may be particularly hard to address, as obligations to protect the privacy of individuals often prohibit full disclosure of the facts.

Responding to false information can be time-consuming and may feel futile; however, a growing body of research from experts suggests the efficacy of responding and offers

evidence-based strategies for correcting false information.

The distinction between misinformation and disinformation is important because the terms are often used interchangeably, but require different strategies to combat. According to Alethea, a technology company whose mission is to protect organizations from disinformation and social media manipulation, disinformation campaigns often target a specific population in order to advance a goal or agenda. The Institute for Public Relations, a nonprofit foundation dedicated to fostering greater use of research and research-based knowledge in public relations and corporate communication practice, offers a resource library of materials on topics related to both misinformation and disinformation, including background on behavioral theories and models, combating disinformation, fighting polarization and media literacy materials.

This recommendation draws on that body of research and NSPRA’s communications audit work with other school systems dealing with similar challenges. NSPRA’s research team firmly believes that a demonstrated commitment to transparency and a proactive effort to provide information and to understand community sentiment around potentially controversial topics can build understanding of key initiatives and head off potential misunderstandings before controversy breaks down trust. Listening carefully with compassion, as Dr. Spence has been modeling in his listening tour, encourages positive outcomes and is far preferable to being forced to react after an issue has erupted into a divisive or polarizing event.

The following action steps provide ways to inoculate against the threat of misinformation and disinformation, with the deployment of deliberate strategies for providing truthful information through a variety of channels. These steps will require the collaboration and support of other division leaders in addition to those in the formal communications function.

Action Step 4.1

Monitor emerging issues.

Identify a small team of about three LCPS leaders who will be responsible for monitoring emerging issues. The team should include a school administrator, a division administrator and a representative from the Department of Communications and Community Engagement. It will be most helpful if the team members have strong existing relationships in the community.

The team should work to identify and discuss new and emerging issues they have heard about, both locally and nationally, that may impact the division and its policies. Questions to discuss as a team might include:

y What is the issue, and how widespread is its area of concern?

y How did we become aware of this issue?

y How might the issue impact the division?

y Is talk about the issue factually accurate?

ƒ If not, what needs to be clarified or corrected, with whom and how?

ƒ If it is accurate and indicates that the division needs to take corrective action, what actions need to be taken?

Team members should follow local and national news coverage, scan social media posts and community forums, and talk with key communicators in the community as well as listen for potential issues they might hear about during meetings of other committees or groups on which they serve. The team should meet at least quarterly to share new areas of concern that may be emerging and discuss the status of those that have been identified and are being addressed. The chief communications and community engagement officer or her designee on the team should be responsible for sharing summaries or fact sheets on this information, as needed, with other division leaders.

Combat misinformation and disinformation.

Action Step 4.2

Respond to misinformation and disinformation.

A new body of research on misinformation suggests that the approach used to debunk it makes a difference in the efficacy of the correction. According to Ullrich Ecker, a scholar from the University of Western Australia, (https://www.nature.com/articles/s44159-02100006-y), rebuttals are most effective when you:

y Repeat accurate information and facts. More familiar information is more likely to be believed.

y Use empathy in your response. Avoid being confrontational and frame communication according to the audience’s perspective.

y Provide alternative or additional information. Consider that detailed refutations are more effective than brief ones. Explain why the misinformation is wrong, and if possible, expose the vested interest of the misinformation source.

y Use a credible source. Corrections are more effective from sources perceived as trustworthy than from “experts.” For example, on a health matter a local nurse may be more highly trusted and believed than a professor or drug company executive, even though his/her actual level of expertise may be lower.

y Respond promptly. The longer it takes for information to be provided, the more skeptical recipients may become about the transparency of the message.

Ecker notes that communicators sometimes fear that in correcting information they will create a “backfire” effect that reinforces the information. His data and research does not back this up and rather suggests that carefully constructed refutations are effective.

The auditors recommend a practice of proactively posting information on the division website on topics of broad interest and about which stakeholders may have concerns or questions. This should be an exercise in building understanding, demonstrating transparency and reducing confusion to combat false information. Stay focused on topics with wide community appeal/impact and avoid responses that might appear confrontational or targeted at individuals. Collaborating with the monitoring team described in Action Step 4.1 may help identify topics that should be addressed. If an issue is emerging locally, regionally or nationally, or there is the potential for a local issue to connect to a larger national issue, LCPS can get ahead of it before rumors and incorrect information begin to circulate.

As accurate information is developed, links can be shared on social media and in district or school newsletters, as appropriate, to get accurate information in front of audiences who may be subject to misinformation.

Action

Step 4.3

Develop fact sheets on potentially controversial issues to frame the conversation accurately.

School communicators often create fact sheets on significant topics like bond proposals as a resource to share with administrators, school board members, front-line staff and key communicators in the community; the same practice should be followed for potentially controversial issues. By identifying and framing key issues, these fact sheets can help people feel more confident in articulating the division’s position. This helps foster understanding, accuracy and more transparency around issues, policies and leadership decisions.

Each fact sheet will differ based on the topic, but following are the tool’s basic components:

y The issue at a glance. In a sentence or two, describe the overall situation or issue.

y Details of the issue. Provide the pertinent details of the situation or issue in layman’s terms, including the barriers and/or objections to be overcome. Use infographics and pictures, as appropriate, to share data or illustrate a point.

y Timeline. Outline what has been done so far and when the issue should be resolved.

y Next steps. What is the process being used to address the issue or solve the problem? Include any means for community engagement that will be made available and how that input will be used.

y Community involvement. Beyond participating in any formal community engagement opportunities that may be

provided, share what various stakeholder groups can do to assist in the process.

y Key messages and talking points. Provide succinct answers to common questions.

y For more information. Direct people to where additional information on the topic can be found and who to contact if they have questions.

Action Step 4.4

Build a network of digital ambassadors.

Before social media changed how many adults and teens communicate with one another, strategic school communicators often used key communicators groups, made up of influential members of the community, to combat misinformation by spreading accurate information through word-of-mouth. This practice aligns with SCOPE Survey data showing that “what other people tell me” is used daily or weekly by more than half of LCPS parents and staff to get division information.

Today, when so much information is spread quickly via social media, an adaptation of that idea is to build a network of volunteer digital ambassadors, who can increase transparency by expanding the reach of accurate information. A network of respected parents, staff and community members who are not division leaders or part of the communications team but who deploy accurate, easy to understand information can build trust around issues and share good news. LCPS is fortunate to have significant percentages of parents and employees who note strong trust in the division’s communication, and they provide a large pool of candidates to serve as ambassadors.

To put together such a team, consider having division, school and department leaders each

identify and nominate a couple members of the Loudoun County community who are respected and trusted by others. Invite those nominees to serve as LCPS Digital Ambassadors, who will be among the first to get important division information. Ask them to share that information with their perspectives on it over their social media networks. Digital ambassadors should also receive details on how to best share information they receive from the district.

Be sure the digital ambassadors understand that LCPS knows it cannot and should not control the content they put out in their online communities. Instead, by providing in-depth information to ambassadors who have the interest to absorb details, the division hopes they will spread understanding to those who may be looking for a short-hand explanation from someone they trust.

The ambassador tactic is common among colleges, but some districts have also embraced it. Following is one example:

y Social media ambassador, Bethlehem (Pa.) Area School District Nation—https://www. basdnation.org/social_media_ambassador

Action Step 4.5

Create a campaign to educate stakeholders about misinformation and disinformation.

Consider ways to provide resources to stakeholders grappling with how to identify misinformation and disinformation. The following resources may be of assistance:

y Researchers from the University of Cambridge recently worked with Jigsaw, a Google unit, to prepare a series of short animations that help viewers understand the tactics behind misinformation and

help to “inoculate” people against harmful content on social media.

y News Literacy Project is a nonpartisan education nonprofit dedicated to creating a more news-literate America. Its website includes a wealth of resources and information for educators and the public.

y The website for Media Literacy Now, a grassroots movement intended to ensure that students learn 21st-century literacy skills, also contains a wealth of resources on misinformation and how to help students learn to discern between truthful and false information.

y FrameWorks Institute is an organization that uses social science methods to study how people understand social issues.

The following webinars also offer helpful ideas and are available on demand:

y “Curbing Public Forum Free-for-Alls and Returning to Civil Discourse,” a November 2021 NSPRA Leaders Learn webinar available on-demand to association members at https://www.nspra.org/ Professional-Development/Webinars/ On-Demand/On-Demand-ProfessionalDevelopment-Library

y “Navigating Equity Communications in a Divided Community,” a June 2021 webinar posted in the Samples and Resource (Gold Mine) section on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging under “presentations” at https://www.nspra.org/ PR-Resources/Samples-and-ResourcesGold-Mine/Diversity-Equity-InclusionBelonging.

Recommendation 5:

Develop a stronger, more proactive media relations plan that contains a social media component.

SCOPE Survey data, as shown on report pages 15-16, suggests that more than a third of staff (39 percent) and nearly a third of parents (28 percent) rely on local news/media daily or weekly to get information about the division. At the same time, LCPS has been the subject of several incidents with a high media profile over the past two years. The media scrutiny was persistent, and numerous stories and editorials at the local and national levels were critical of the incidents and of some decisions made by division leadership.

Auditors heard in nearly every focus group a perception that the division has been too slow in responding to negative coverage, allowing the media to shape the story. When a response was forthcoming, participants said they thought it often sounded defensive or vague. It is therefore critically important for LCPS to have a carefully crafted and faithfully executed media relations strategy.

Auditors have seen encouraging signs that the division recognizes the need to strengthen its approach to news media coverage and relationships. Dr. Spence recently sat for a 30-minute, wide-ranging interview with WUSA-9 and made himself available for a profile piece in The Washington Post. With such careful consideration and the following action steps, the division can continue to build a more positive media presence for LCPS and help keep its media-seeking stakeholders better informed about their schools.

Action Step 5.1

Invite regular meetings with the editorial boards of the county newspapers.

Effective media relations goes beyond issuing regular news releases and media advisories. Public entities with effective media relations also develop a practice of meeting in person with local newspaper editorial boards.

Communications staff are most likely to interact with reporters and editors on a regular basis, but depending on the nature of the topics to be addressed, they should be accompanied to these meetings by senior administrators with subject matter expertise. Such meetings should focus on major initiatives of the division, particularly those that are complex and need in-depth explanation, and on topics that have the potential to be (or have been) unfairly or inaccurately reported.

Editorial board meetings are an opportunity to build trust, establish personal relationships and set a tone of mutual understanding through human connection and direct access. LCPS leaders understand they must operate openly and transparently, and it is crucial to receive media acknowledgment for doing so.

Action Step 5.2

Be the first to make major announcements about LCPS, especially when a crisis or problem arises.

Several focus group participants said they wished the division would be more proactive and “get ahead of the news” rather than what they observed to be reactive communications after the fact.

In the case of a crisis, it is more challenging for a division/district to stay ahead of the flow of information and break its own news, with most adults and teens today having access to mobile devices and social media. When a serious event happens, communications staff also may not have detailed and verified information at the outset, and they will have student and staff privacy issues to consider. Nevertheless, best practices dictate that an early acknowledgment of the event should be made with an indication of where and how more information will be provided when it’s available.

When timing is critical to provide authoritative information that can calm confusion and ease fears, the auditors recommend making full use of the division’s social media channels, just as is done during inclement weather. In the focus group with law enforcement PIOs, participants also shared a belief that the division would be better served if their social media channels included information during crisis situations as well as good news.

Action Step 5.3

Offer media relations training for school board members, principals and senior administrative staff.

The Department of Communications and Community Engagement has skilled professionals with experience in responding to media requests for information, conducting on-camera interviews and knowing how to respond to media questions during difficult circumstances. However, it is not always possible or most appropriate for the professional communicator to be the person in front of the camera or responding to the print media: When incidents happen at a particular

Develop a stronger, more proactive media relations plan that contains a social media component.

school, parents want to hear from their child’s principal, and when the school board is considering vital topics, the public wants to hear from their elected officials.

Providing media relations training and practice for school board members and principals, as well as senior administrative staff who may be called on for media interviews, will help them be comfortable and proficient in those roles. Consider these specific steps:

y Make media relations training a part of the back-to-school staff development sessions for all administrators. Then, in smaller groups throughout the year, conduct on-camera practice sessions. Use the Department of Communications and Community Engagement’s media production team to video the sessions, and have the public information officer act as a reporter. Offer similar opportunities for interested school board members, particularly the chair and vice chair.

y Provide written guidelines and standard protocols for administrators in working with the media if they are not already available. The guidance should include how to respond to calls and emails from reporters, how to coordinate responses with the Department of Communications and Community Engagement, an overview of state and national privacy laws, how to

handle requests to interview students and teachers, rules regarding media presence at public events hosted on school campuses, etc.

Action Step 5.4

Coordinate the release of information to parents and the media with local law enforcement during crises.

Representatives in the focus group with local law enforcement expressed some concern that the school division has not always worked in concert with them when serious incidents happened on school campuses. To address those concerns, the auditors recommend that LCPS consider the following:

y Review the existing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Loudoun County School Board, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office and the Leesburg Police Department, and consider amendments that would outline procedures for which agency will initiate a news release and how to fact-check information and other matters relating to the release of public information. Consider allowing joint releases, when appropriate, so that the public knows that LCPS is working in concert with law enforcement.

y When a campus situation extends over a period of time, consider holding a joint news conference with law enforcement to provide updates.

Recommendation 6:

Strengthen the two-way communications culture in LCPS.

Stakeholders’ belief that school division leaders actively listen to, reflect on and honor their feedback and concerns builds trust and can lead to consensus on educational topics. Conversely, the perception that a division isn’t interested in the views of its internal and external constituents can create a lack of trust and lead to higher levels of controversy and reactivity when difficult situations arise. Research findings in LCPS suggest that this is an area to strengthen through the strategic efforts of the division’s communication program.

In response to the SCOPE Survey, more than half of parents (59 percent) and staff (54 percent) strongly agreed or agreed that they trust the communication they receive from the division, but only half of parents (50 percent) and a bit more than a third of staff (38 percent) strongly agreed or agreed that communications are open and transparent. Regarding whether their input and opinion are welcome and valued, fewer parents (41 percent) and staff (34 percent) also indicated agreement or strong agreement. Similarly, auditors heard during focus group discussions a regular theme that input is often gathered but it is unclear if and how that input contributes to final decisions.

LCPS regularly engages in two-way communications, a best practice that involves both sharing and receiving information from an organization’s stakeholders, but the audit findings suggest about half of parents and staff are unaware, uncertain or unbelieving that this practice happens. It is vital that at least part of the focus for the Department of Communications and Community Engagement is helping stakeholders understand what LCPS does with their feedback and why.

Maintaining a divisionwide culture of twoway communications cannot be accomplished by the communications office alone, though. It requires that the practices of listening, responding and sharing become comfortably embedded in LCPS leaders’ and staff members’ everyday work routines. Division leaders can set the tone for such a culture through their example behaviors as well as through policy.

The following action steps also offer ideas for strengthening the two-way communications culture in LCPS as well as stakeholders’ awareness of it.

Action Step 6.1

Be transparent about the outcome of the communication audit process.

A recurring theme in the focus groups was a perception that although the division conducts a lot of surveys and focus groups, it is not truly interested in feedback from its stakeholders. This is a comment often heard by NSPRA when conducting audits for school districts, particularly when leaders have not specifically articulated their commitment to two-way communication and made a consistent practice of sharing results and how they impacted division/district decisions. While the audit team heard a strong desire from division leaders to listen and be responsive to the community, it may take further work to ensure that stakeholders understand division leaders’ sincerity and commitment.

Sharing the outcome of the communication audit process is a good place to start. Develop a plan to outline how the audit outcome will be communicated clearly, with the supportive guidance to be provided by NSPRA researchers. Tactics might include sending emails to focus

group participants and to all staff, posting information on the website and issuing news releases. In the plan, include methods for telling stakeholders why the division conducted the audit, how it is taking the findings to heart and what the division’s next steps will be in response to those findings. Offer ways that stakeholders can continue to be a part of the improvement processes through ongoing feedback.

This kind of transparency will demonstrate clearly that LCPS leaders prioritize two-way communications. Find examples of how other school districts have shared their communication audit results at these links:

y Reynolds School District, Oregon—www. reynolds.k12.or.us/communications/2022communications-audit

y Pelham Public Schools, New York— www.pelhamschools.org/district/ communications-audit

Beyond sharing news of the completion of the communication audit, the report findings could also become the basis for productive discussions about LCPS communication practices and tools by sharing and discussing the results at department and school staff meetings, during parent-teacher association meetings and with non-English-speaking parents during meetings hosted by the Family and Community Engagement Office.

Action Step 6.2

Increase transparency regarding decision-making processes.

NSPRA’s audits of school systems large and small often show that it is impossible to satisfy the needs and interests of all groups when system leaders must make a decision that will impact multiple stakeholder groups with diverse and varying perspectives. However,

Strengthen the twoway communications culture in LCPS.

districts that aim for public consent around the decision-making process can avoid the perception of winners and losers. In other words, the goal is that all stakeholders affected by a decision are aware that a decision was necessary and that the decision-making process was fair and reasonable, even if they don’t like the outcome.

This approach is well-studied and widely taught by Hans and Annemarie Bleiker, who have trained more than 40,000 public-sector professionals in systematically developing informed consent over the past four decades. It may be worth exploring their courses and webinars as possible training modules for staff in the Department of Communications and Community Engagement.

Following are some points to think through in preparation for any decision-making process:

y Distinguish between decisions that require public input and those that don’t; decisions that affect a high number of stakeholders or those related to issues playing out beyond the division, such as national culture issues, are more likely to be controversial. In these situations, it is vitally important for the school system to involve its stakeholders in the decisionmaking process. For decisions that are more routine, the focus should be on building understanding around the situation that led to the particular decision, why it was made and how it will benefit stakeholders.

y Ask for input only if you are prepared for it to possibly influence a decision. Stakeholders can sense when a request for input is perfunctory, and they will feel their time was wasted if they believe a decision has already been made.

y Decide how to include stakeholders in the decision-making process. Having a carefully thought out plan that considers where stakeholder input is most pertinent and valuable will make for a more strategic approach to gathering input.

y Seek input from a variety of voices and perspectives. It is tempting to go back to the same people who always respond when a request for input is made rather than to seek new and different voices from people that are less likely to get involved. However, with the goal of honoring all voices, it is important for LCPS to be intentional about who is invited to participate in its decision-making processes. With employees, that may be remembering to seek input from classified support staff. With parents, it may mean going outside of the parents who are active in volunteer leadership positions. Consider which stakeholders may be directly affected by the decision as well as those who may perceive themselves or those they care about to be affected by it, directly or indirectly.

y When seeking input, state clearly and upfront who has decisionmaking authority. For example, if a superintendent’s advisory council is being formed to provide financial advice, it is vitally important to convey that final budget recommendations come from the superintendent and are approved by the school board. Participants should understand that they are advising, not making the final decision.

y Create a plan for providing regular feedback loops when input is gathered. It is easy to forget to report back the results of feedback that is gathered, but it is a critically important step in keeping stakeholders willing to participate in future information-gathering. The best way to do this is to have a plan at the beginning of the process for sharing out the resulting feedback. Identify checkpoints and tell stakeholders when you expect to have updates.

y Once the decision has been made, acknowledge how the input influenced the decision and explain the rationale for the decision. If the decision is not in alignment with the input received, it is important to provide information that provides context for the division’s decision to override the input. And when input has an authentic impact on the direction of a decision, make sure that is also conveyed. This will increase trust and willingness to participate in future input-gathering.

Action Step 6.3

Discuss communication protocols when major decisions must be made.

Communication protocol questions help leaders consider the public relations outcomes of potential decisions and demonstrate the vital role of communications in building understanding of and support for major decisions. They should be used as a regular component of the Superintendent’s Cabinet meetings, but they can also be adapted for department, school and committee meetings.

When a leadership group is discussing a topic with the potential for a major decision that

would impact internal or external stakeholders, have them consider answers to these questions:

y What is the issue or problem? Discuss and clearly identify the core issue or problem and the specifics that stakeholders need to know about it.

y How will the issue be framed? Consider how the division will outline the issue or problem and present it to stakeholders.

y How does this issue/problem affect stakeholders or impact other concerns? Consider how a particular issue or problem will affect various stakeholder groups or impact other issues or concerns facing the district. Identify the stakeholder groups that are the primary audiences for the issue. They are the ones directly (or perceived to be directly) affected by it.

y What are the key messages that must be communicated about the issue? Identify a few key points that stakeholders need to know about the issue, including the rationale behind decisions to date.

y How will this issue be communicated? Identify the methods and strategies that will be used to communicate with identified stakeholders as well as who is responsible for communicating with each stakeholder group. Develop a timeline for communication efforts. Identify who will serve as the main spokesperson with news media, staff and other stakeholder groups.

Action Step 6.4

Quickly elicit staff input informally through “rounding” conversations.

The practice of “rounding” is not scientific like a survey might be, but it is a quick way to gather first-hand input from staff while demonstrating

that administrators care about staff members and their input. Rounding conversations are useful for major decisions, but can also be used successfully for smaller issues that may only affect a single department.

If a division leadership team is discussing a topic where staff input is desired to inform a decision, here is how the rounding conversations might work:

y The division leadership team develops two or three questions that would provide helpful staff insight into the issue.

y The division leadership team asks a few principals and/or department leaders to pose the questions informally to 5-10 staff members in their building or department.

y Principals and department leaders later share the responses with the division leadership team for consideration in their decision-making process.

By purposefully engaging more staff to seek multiple perspectives, LCPS leaders will expand the ownership of change and contribute positively to all employees’ feelings of being valued team members.

Action Step 6.5

Raise awareness of

feedback channels and how to use them most

effectively.

LCPS adopted the Let’s Talk online feedback tool about a year ago to centralize and streamline community feedback and responses to questions and concerns. Feedback in focus groups on the Let’s Talk system was mixed, with staff who manage it appreciative of the way it helps to manage inquiries about a wide range of topics, but some site and division administrators seemed unaware of Let’s Talk or

how it was being used. SCOPE Survey data also suggests that about one in five employees and one in four parents don’t know where and how to direct a question or concern.

Consider developing a mini communications plan focused on increasing awareness of how to use Let’s Talk and of how the division uses Let’s Talk submissions to inform decisions and better serve stakeholders. Multiple NSPRA members have shared their communication plans for and experiences with Let’s Talk in the NSPRA Connect online community (example post 1, example post 2). Check out their posts for inspiration, and be sure to use a mix of communication channels and targeted messaging to let stakeholders know why and how to use Let’s Talk along with what to expect from its use.

Action Step 6.6

Centralize LCPS’ external stakeholder engagement efforts.

As noted in the Key Findings, LCPS leaders conveyed a high commitment to family and community engagement, but auditors found that LCPS’ engagement efforts are decentralized and spread across multiple offices and programs. For example, within the Division of Teaching and Learning is the Family and Community Engagement (FACE) office, which engages English-learner families, and the Community Connections office, which engages local business leaders in school-business partnerships. Meanwhile, the Department of Communications and Community Engagement (DCE) works to engage all division stakeholders via social media, special events, websites and a variety of other communication methods.

Centralizing formal division functions related to external stakeholder engagement—whether of families, the business community or other

local residents—could increase their awareness of engagement opportunities and deepen their understanding of LCPS initiatives while ensuring that all engagement strategies are wellcoordinated, maximize staff efficiency and focus on relationship building using best practices in two-way communications. If centralized under DCE, this would also allow the division to fulfill its mission and engagement-related objectives in the Communications Roadmap 2023-24.

Following are possible strategies for centralizing LCPS’ engagement activities:

y Fold other family and community engagement functions under a comprehensive stakeholder engagement umbrella. This might involve bringing the FACE and Community Connections offices’ formal engagement efforts under the DCE umbrella to improve coordination and collaboration.

y Expand DCE staff capacity dedicated to stakeholder engagement. Currently, only the chief communications and community engagement officer and the director of communications and community engagement have formal, titled responsibilities for engagement. Given their day-to-day administrative responsibilities, it is unlikely that they have much time for the practical implementation of engagement efforts.

Centralizing engagement efforts spread across multiple offices and programs will likely take some time. While this idea is explored, consider starting first by encouraging joint planning sessions with DCE, FACE and Community Connections to discuss upcoming efforts that might be complementary or having staff from the two offices attend DCE meetings.

Action Step 6.7

Use the FACE Family Room and Feedback Circles concepts as inspiration for greater engagement of all LCPS families.

Among the FACE office’s many engagement programs is the Family Room, “a virtual space for LCPS families, school staff and community to come together to build strong partnerships and be in community.” The virtual meetings offered in English, Spanish, Arabic and Farsi cover topics such as understanding high school graduation requirements, the special education process and how to use LCPS technology programs. FACE also uses feedback circles to gather families’ insights on their school experiences, and the larger Division of Teaching and Learning offers general parent programming on a topical, as-needed basis.

These efforts align well with the desire for a two-way communications culture in LCPS and provide opportunities for developing new methods to increase the engagement of all local families.

One new method to consider is a comprehensive approach to promoting virtual family engagement. Bring the many different online learning opportunities for families under a single, branded effort. While some learning topics may appeal to a different niche group of families than others, all families can benefit from having a comprehensive, easy-to-find menu of options to choose from throughout the year.

Another method to consider is designing an engagement offering that empowers families to feel they have a voice in their division and schools. Some school systems do this by offering parent leaders academies that provide the knowledge and tools necessary for them to better advocate for their children (view example from system with 189,000+ students)

or 101-style programs for community members to learn more about school system operations (view example from system with 46,000+ students).

LCPS parents/families could be offered the opportunity to apply to participate in a school year-long program, virtual or in-person, that will provide them with valuable information about division operations and how to advocate for their children. Meetings might take place quarterly, or monthly if enough valuable content can be provided, and they could offer opportunities to interact with division staff, including translators. Following are just a few examples of topics that might be featured:

y An overview of LCPS, including an introduction to the structure and governance of the division.

y A focus on teaching, learning and division efforts to ensure student success.

y A focus on human resources, including how staff are recruited, retained and trained.

y A focus on finances, including a simplified explanation of funding and the budget.

y A focus on food service to explain what goes into feeding students at school.

An added benefit of learning-focused engagement programs like this is that they can result in a large cohort of parent ambassadors, who better understand the school system and share their knowledge in the wider community through informal conversations.

With FACE Feedback Circles in mind, consider creating feedback circles, or focus groups, for other diverse family groups such as those who are Black, indigenous, from single-parent households, have a child attending college for the first time or are first-generation U.S. citizens. These targeted listening opportunities engage families while also gathering valuable information to guide the division’s selection of communication priorities for target audiences.

Recommendation 7:

Implement tactics to engage local residents with no personal connections to the schools.

NSPRA has observed many school districts nationwide who struggle to communicate with and engage their local citizens who have no personal connections to the schools but whose tax bills and votes help fund school operations. LCPS is no exception: Several participants in the external focus groups said they believe many people in the community are influenced by negative information and misinformation shared in the media and on social media because they see no communications from the division.

Division leaders expressed a belief that a higher percentage of local residents than is typical in many school districts has an affiliation with the division either through student enrollment or employment. This may be true as U.S. Census data for Loudoun County indicates that 10.8 percent of local residents are 65 years or older, while 11.3 percent of residents in Prince William County, 15 percent of residents in Fairfax County and 16.8 percent of residents across Virginia are 65 years or older. Nearly half of all households in Loudoun County (45 percent) also report having one or more people under the age of 18.

LCPS communications to students’ families and to division employees likely do reach, or have the potential to reach, a large percentage of local residents. However, not including less affiliated community members in the division’s communication efforts leaves a knowledge gap among some taxpayers and potential voters that appears to be filled frequently by less authoritative sources of district information.

The following action steps are offered to help LCPS deliver accurate division information to more of its local residents.

Action Step 7.1

Issue an annual report to Loudoun County residents.

Many school systems send mailers when a bond or ballot measure is being considered, but some also update community members about their school system once a year with an attractive print and digital publication, sometimes referred to as an annual report. Topics often include updates on key achievements during the past year, student academic data and athletic accomplishments, financial information, a feature on school board members, and photos and stories of students engaged in innovative learning experiences. The publication can be an effective way of extending the division’s branding and messaging to external audiences.

LCPS does not appear to issue an annual report publication of this nature for the division, but some of its offices, programs and committees produce annual reports such as the Office of the Ombuds Annual Report. Consider developing one for the full division at the end of each school year.

For inspiration, following are a few larger school systems that earned 2023 NSPRA Publications and Digital Media Excellence awards for their annual reports:

y 2021-22 Annual Report, Orange County Public Schools, Florida (208,000 students)

y Preparing Our Students for the World They Want to Live In, Guilford County School District, North Carolina (69,000 students)

y District at a Glance, Cumberland County Schools, North Carolina (50,000 students)

The NSPRA members in these school systems would likely be willing to offer their insights on which methods they’ve found most effective for community distribution.

Action Step 7.2

Develop and promote programs to increase senior citizens’ engagement in schools.

The Department of Communications and Community Engagement (DCE) is well positioned to offer thought leadership in LCPS around events that would increase senior citizens’ engagement in their local schools. If designed to appeal to their interests and needs, such programs could give less affiliated residents an exciting reason to welcome a firsthand look at LCPS’ impressive educational and extracurricular programs.

Garland Independent School District in Texas (53,000 students) earned a 2020 NSPRA Gold Medallion Award for its strategic communication campaign to promote a Senior Citizen VIP Pass. The pass offered free general admission to district-hosted athletic events and fine arts performances. In three months, the campaign netted more than 1,000 senior citizen sign-ups, and the effort later led to the development of a successful senior citizen VIP tour of schools. Programs like this build good will but also create personal connections to local schools that otherwise might not exist.

Following are two other program ideas with similar aims worth considering:

y Matinee Receptions—a one-hour brunch event exclusively for senior citizens held before the matinee of an annual high school musical, where they can hear the director talk about the performance.

y Technology Help Days—Technophile high school students host senior citizens for one-on-one help with questions about computers, mobile devices and software.

Implement tactics to engage local residents with no personal connections to the schools.

Action Step 7.3

Provide division leaders with a brief, branded presentation for use with community groups.

LCPS could benefit from a few informative community presentations that do not focus on current or future bond initiatives. Instead, focus on other areas related to division operations that are also important to community members such as academics, career and technical programs, school safety and student wellness. The “road show” could be prepared by DCE (as it did for the One LCPS strategic plan rollout with a principals toolkit) and presented by various division leaders to business and community groups, providing an opportunity to turn the conversation towards student learning and division goals.

Recommendation 2 includes ideas for superintendent outreach, but other division leaders who are active in community organizations can help carry key messages. A brief, branded presentations would make it easier for them to serve regularly as ambassadors for LCPS outside of the regular work environment (e.g., booster groups, service organizations, recreational clubs) and to create new personal connections with the schools.

Focus Group Discussion Questions

All Participants

1. What do you perceive as the division’s strengths? What are the areas needing improvement?

2. What is the current image of your division in the community? How would you describe the division to someone new to your community?

3. You have all been invited to participate in the SCOPE Survey, which asks many questions about how you receive information, how you prefer to receive information, how informed you feel in certain key areas and the general quality of information. We also want to invite you to share with us any additional insights you have about how communication flows in LCPS, about the tools used to communicate, frequency of communication, etc.

4. If you were to give the division advice on how to strengthen communications about important issues, what would it be? What are one or two changes you would like to see the division make in how it communicates about important issues?

5. When division leaders make important decisions that will affect you, do you feel they truly listen to your input when appropriate and consider it before decisions are made? What makes you feel that way?

6. How do you currently learn about opportunities to support and be engaged with division schools? What more would you like to know about these opportunities, and how can the division best communicate them to you?

7. From your perspective, what is the greatest communication challenge facing the division?

Additional Questions: Staff

1. How do division communications affect your ability to be successful in your job?

2. Are there any areas where you need more communications support?

3. What do you see as your role in communicating with families, staff and the wider community? Is that role clearly defined so that you understand your responsibilities?

Additional Questions: School Board

1. How can communications staff best support you in your leadership role?

Loudoun

What Is NSPRA?

Since 1935, the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) has been providing school communication training and services to school leaders throughout the United States, Canada and the U.S. Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools worldwide. NSPRA’s mission is to develop professionals to communicate strategically, build trust and foster positive relationships in support of their school communities. That mission is accomplished by developing and providing a variety of diverse products, services and professional development activities to association members as well as to other education leaders interested in improving their communication efforts.

NSPRA members:

y Connect and Grow: This unique professional community includes the NSPRA Connect online forum, Mentor Match, APR Learning Cohort, and national leadership and service opportunities.

y Expand and Elevate: Through digital e-newsletters and alerts, free PR Power Hour webinars on tactics, free Leaders Learn webinars on strategies, ondemand learning and National Seminar scholarships, members expand their knowledge and elevate their work.

y Share and Learn: Members have access to best practices at www.nspra. org, which offers the online NSPRA Gold Mine; resources on topics such as crises, budget/finance, communication training, strategic communications plans, etc.; salary and career surveys; and more.

With more than 80 years of experience, NSPRA is known for providing proven, practical approaches to solving school district and

education agency communication problems. The association offers useful communication products and programs as well as an annual NSPRA National Seminar, the most comprehensive school communication conference in North America. NSPRA also offers a National School Communication Awards program, which recognizes individuals, districts and education agencies for excellence in communication.

In keeping with its mission, NSPRA also provides school public relations/communications counsel and assistance to school districts, state departments of education, regional service agencies and state and national associations. For many of these organizations, NSPRA has completed comprehensive communication audits to analyze the effectiveness of their overall communication programs and to recommend strategies for improving and enhancing their efforts.

NSPRA has more than 30 chapters across the United States that provide local professional development and networking opportunities. NSPRA is a member of the Learning First Alliance and the Universal Accreditation Board. The association also maintains collaborative working relationships with other national education associations and corporate communication professionals.

The Flag of Learning and Liberty is a national education symbol developed by NSPRA during its 50th Anniversary Year. On July 4, 1985, the Flag of Learning and Liberty flew over the state houses of all 50 states to symbolize America’s commitment to education and a democratic, free society.

Join NSPRA

To join this vibrant, national association and reap the benefits of being an NSPRA member, visit www.nspra.org/membership.

Audit Team Vitae

Naomi Hunter, APR

Lead Auditor and Communication Surveys Manager

As NSPRA’s communication surveys manager, Naomi Hunter, APR, oversees the association’s in-house SCOPE Survey service for communication audits.

Hunter is an accredited public relations professional (APR) with 30 years of experience in strategic communications and public relations in the public, private and nonprofit sectors. She joined the NSPRA staff in October 2022 as the communication audit surveys manager after previous work with the association as a consultant auditor.

Prior to joining NSPRA, Naomi spent five years providing communication services to numerous school districts and public agencies in the San Francisco Bay Area and Southern California, including serving the Redwood City School District (RCSD) as an advisor and facilitator on community engagement processes for school closures and school reconfigurations. She had served as director of communications for RCSD for more than 10 years previously. In 2021 and 2022, she also taught an undergraduate course, Public Relations Theories and Principles, at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif.

Naomi served as chair of the NSPRA Accreditation Committee from 2018 to 2022, and served on the board of the California School Public Relations Association (CalSPRA) from 2015 to 2021. She served as president of the Public Relations Society of America, San Francisco Chapter (PRSA-SF) in 2014, and as a PRSA-SF board member from 2012 to 2016.

Naomi has presented workshops at conferences for NSPRA, CalSPRA, the California School Boards Association (CSBA), the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) Women in School Leadership Conference, and the ACSA Classified Educational Leaders Institute.

Naomi earned her accreditation in public relations (APR) in 2010. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Northwestern University and a master’s degree from Stanford University.

Steve Mulvenon, Ph.D.

Consultant Auditor

Dr. Steve Mulvenon has a 42-year career in public education as a high school teacher, debate coach and administrator. He retired in 2010 after spending 24 years as the director of communications and community outreach for the Washoe County School District in Reno, Nevada. In that leadership position, he successfully oversaw the passage of four bond issues, started the district’s schoolbusiness partnership program, launched the first district website, began a comprehensive community engagement process (for which the district received NSPRA’s highest award, the Gold Medallion), instituted a parent involvement program, and oversaw the move into a coordinated social media program. He also served as the district’s principal media spokesperson.

Before moving to Nevada, he held a similar position with Salina (Kan.) Public Schools, serving as its first director of public information. He served two years as the president of the Kansas School Public Relations Association (KanSPRA). While in Kansas, he also served

Loudoun

for two years as the director of admissions for Marymount College.

Dr. Mulvenon has been a presenter at various national conferences including the NSPRA National Seminar, the American Association of School Administrators and the National School Boards Association annual conferences. He has authored a number of articles for NSPRA’s online publications on topics such as marketing, test security, parental involvement, copyright infringement and media relations. In 2009, he was honored by the Sierra Nevada Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) with induction into its Hall of Fame.

Dr. Mulvenon has taught graduate level classes in school/community relations for both the University of Nevada’s College of Education and the Reno campus of the University of Phoenix. He has served on the Community Advisory Board for Reno’s PBS station (KNPB) and is the past-president of the Board of Directors for the Northern Nevada International Center. He is also a past board member of the Ronald McDonald House, The Girls Scouts of Northern Nevada and the Sierra, and Truckee Meadows Tomorrow.

Sarah Loughlin

Audit Assistant and NSPRA Communications Manager

As NSPRA’s communications manager, Sarah Loughlin manages the communications and marketing strategies of NSPRA, including the development and implementation of its strategic communication plan. She is a communications and association professional with a background in content strategy and development, member engagement and project management. Prior to joining NSPRA, Sarah served as the marketing and membership engagement manager at the American Urological Association.

Learn more about Sarah at https://www. nspra.org/About-Us/Contact-and-Staff/ Communications-Manager.

Alyssa Teribury

Audit Assistant and NSPRA Communication

Research Specialist

As communications research specialist, Alyssa plays a key role in NSPRA’s research efforts such as developing communication audits, data reports and white papers. She joined NSPRA in 2023 after serving as a school public relations professional for 10 years—an award-winning career that included being named to NSPRA’s 2022-23 Class of 35 Under 35.

Learn more about Alyssa at https://www. nspra.org/About-Us/Contact-and-Staff/ Communication-Research-Specialist

Mellissa Braham, APR

NSPRA Associate Director

Mellissa Braham, APR, has more than 25 years of experience in public relations, working primarily in the education and healthcare sectors. As NSPRA associate director since 2018, she is responsible for overseeing NSPRA’s research services, managing staff, coordinating programming for the NSPRA National Seminar, overseeing chapter relations, contributing to member resources and developing association products. She is an accredited public relations professional (APR).

Learn more about Mellissa at https://www. nspra.org/About-Us/Contact-and-Staff/ Associate-Director

Susan Downing, APR

NSPRA Communication Audit Coordinator

As NSPRA’s communication audit coordinator, Susan Downing, APR, handles the logistics for all audit projects as well as audit report editing and layout. She is an accredited public relations professional (APR), who has spent her career in marketing and communications. Prior to joining NSPRA in 2021, she served as a school communications director for 11 years, spent five years serving on a school board and enjoyed a communications career in the financial industry.

Learn more about Susan at https://www. nspra.org/About-Us/Contact-and-Staff/ Communication-Audit-Coordinator.