Issuu

P OW E R E D BY A P P T EGY

SUMMER 2023

BOARDS & BONDS Leveraging trust to grow your schools

“COOPERATION IS THE THOROUGH CONVICTION THAT NOBODY CAN GET THERE UNLESS EVERYBODY GETS THERE.” - VIRGINIA BURDEN

What does a school district need to thrive? This is probably the question that occupies school leaders most as they strive to build resilient schools. In a time when public education is under more scrutiny than perhaps ever before, we believe that the answer to this question is challenging but simple. What schools need most is trust. In this issue, we’ll explore two areas of school life where trust matters most—school board relations and school bond campaigns. Although these two issues may seem different at first glance, trust is the critical element for resounding success on both fronts. The reality is that if your community doesn’t trust your schools, they won’t vote to support your district monetarily. Similarly, if your board doesn’t trust your leadership and vision for the district, they’re unlikely to give you the support you need to make that vision a reality. In each instance, cultivating trust is essential. Here, we’ll delve into many stories that will give you clarity and hope as you generate trust with your school board and broader community. We’ll highlight leaders such as Dr. Quintin Shepherd, who turned the compassion he experienced as a student into a leadership philosophy that works for the success of all children. We’ll also share a

OUR TEAM

perspective from current NSPRA President Cathy Kedjidjian on how folding communications into her district’s broader strategic plan laid the foundation for years of success. To aid you as you cultivate the broader community support you need to pass a referendum, we’ll also detail stories of school bonds from around the country—both successful and otherwise. We hope this will help you better understand what’s necessary to pass a bond against any odds. To help you communicate with your stakeholders more effectively, we’ll revisit the unifying power of storytelling. We’ll also give you tools to help build relationships with your school board that will translate into solid gains for your district’s students and families. The trust you build now, both with your community and your board, is evergreen. While it will help you pass bonds and work effectively in the short term, it will also lay the foundation for all your future work. Election Day is always the start of something new. With these strategies in hand, you can make it something great.

Editor: Melissa Hite Writers/Researchers: Barrett Goodwin, Brittany Keil, Marie Kressin, Corey Whaley Digital Marketing: Heather Palacios Art Director: Sebastian Andrei

VP of Marketing: Tyler Vawser Graphic Designers/Illustrators: Alex Barton, Marisol Quintanilla Social Media: Thiphavanh “Bri” Vongvilay Video/Podcast Producers: Ryan McDonald, Tanner Cox

Based in Little Rock, Arkansas, Apptegy is an education technology company dedicated to helping school leaders build a powerful identity for their schools. Learn more at apptegy.com

CONTENTS

Published by:

Vol. 5 No. 4 © 2023 by Apptegy, Inc. All rights reserved. Permission to reprint or quote excerpts granted by written request only. SchoolCEO� is published four times a year (October, January, April, and July) by Apptegy, Inc. 2201 Brookwood Dr., Suite 115, Little Rock, AR 72202. Views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the magazine or Apptegy, Inc. Accordingly, no liability is assumed by the publisher thereof.

Relentless Compassion

Forging Your District’s Path

Next-Level Storytelling

Working in Tandem

What’s New With School Bonds?

Avoiding the Fireworks

Mobilizing Advocates

The Science of Feedback

Online Bond Campaigns

School Shoutout

Pass/Fail

Dr. Quintin Shepherd’s personal, vulnerable style of leadership prioritizes people and puts unwavering compassion first.

We dive into the science of storytelling and how you can build a compelling, impactful narrative for your school district.

Education has changed in many ways over the last decade—and the task of passing a bond has not been immune.

Your district would be nowhere without advocates. But how can you use marketing to keep them enthusiastic and informed?

When it comes to online bond campaigns, you need to reach as much of your community as possible—and tell a good story.

Whether your most recent bond initiative passed with flying colors or came up short, we’ve got you covered for what comes next.

Cathy Kedjidjian, APR, shares how communications and branding play pivotal roles in the strategic planning process.

We go over the why, what, and how of collaborating better with your district’s school board members.

Superintendent Dan Barkel and board president Jason Loutsch discuss how they keep board meetings productive and drama-free.

Our tips on how school leaders can give meaningful, quality feedback to help employees learn and grow

With their student-run grocery store, CodyKilgore Unified in Nebraska is proving how rural schools can show up for their communities.

Want to read up on all you’ve missed? Past issues are available at: schoolceo.com Scan this QR code to read and share this issue online.

Referendums on the Rise

How three districts strategized, campaigned, and rallied enough community support to pass their referendums

Plus, find us on social media: Facebook: SchoolCEO Twitter: @School_CEO LinkedIn: SchoolCEO

GOOD NEWS

Grand Junction, CO

McHenry, IL

For the last decade, Mesa County Valley School District 51 has hosted an annual non-competitive robotics program and event called the FIRST Lego League Explore. (FIRST means “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.”) This year, over 200 STEM students gathered for the event, which is geared toward second, third, and fourth graders. The 34 participating teams were tasked with building Lego structures based on this year’s theme: energy. And though it’s not a competition, teams presented their builds to a panel and discussed other aspects of the project such as communication and collaboration. The event is made possible with the help of teachers who become Lego League coaches, as well as parent volunteers. (The Daily Sentinel)

Nature is playing out in real time at McHenry Community High School. Thanks to a successful bond referendum, the school’s Center for Science, Technology, and Industry has built a new greenhouse with a unique learning experience for students—its own aquaponics lab. Plants are grown on a raft floating in circulating water, then waste from a fish tank filters into the water to provide nutrients to the plants. The plants, in turn, clean the water before it’s sent back to the fish. Students help by feeding the fish, planting seeds, and testing and maintaining healthy water quality. “It’s kind of a nice, self-sustaining system,” says AP Environmental Science instructor Kaley Freund. “We’re hoping next year to incorporate it even more with the curriculum.” (dist156.org)

Brooklyn, NY

Forney, TX

A group of fifth graders at P.S. 328 have helped their campus get its very own community laundromat. The students, all members of the school’s My Brother’s Keeper initiative, lobbied New York state Senator Roxanne J. Persaud with data on chronic absenteeism due to lack of clean clothes. Their data then found its way to executives and designers at hardware store chain Lowes, who met with the students to plan the build. The two-month project turned a multipurpose room on campus into a free full-service laundry center that serves students and their families. “Daily, I am in awe of the ideas that our students come up with, and the bold visions that they bring to fruition,” says Principal Christian Pierre. The project also prompted Senator Persaud to introduce legislation establishing a competitive grant program to help fund laundry facilities at certain Title I schools in the state. (BK Reader)

One North Forney High School student saved a classmate’s life with his quick response to a tense situation. When a fellow student and football teammate started choking in the cafeteria during lunchtime, senior Gustavo successfully intervened with the Heimlich maneuver, which he had learned while volunteering with the local fire department. This won’t be the last time Gustavo saves a life, either. He plans to become a firefighter and EMT after graduation. “That’s what my parents have always told me,” Gustavo says. “Make a difference, wherever you go. It doesn’t matter if it’s small or big—just make a difference.” (CBS News)

Albuquerque, NM Things are lifting off at Eldorado High School. As part of the school’s annual Rube Goldberg competition, students were tasked with finding recycled materials at home and building machines that follow a series of steps to complete an action. This year, the competition had a lunar landing theme to honor NASA’s Artemis program. To win, the students’ machines had to successfully “land” small rockets “on the moon” in 10 steps. (KRQE)

Jenks, OK Talk about downward facing dogs! For their annual “Donate Your Best” philanthropy week, the Jenks High School student council decided to hold a uniquely adorable event: a puppy yoga class. Students at the school choose a different community charity to fundraise for each year during spirit week. This year, they held events throughout the month of April in an effort to raise $50,000 for the Jenks Community Food Bank. This 40-minute class, taught by a Jenks yoga instructor with help from a crew of young pups, was one of many fundraisers. Other events included a spikeball tournament and an auction dinner for the community. (News On 6)

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RELENTLESS COMPASSION

HOW DR. QUINTIN SHEPHERD PRIORITIZES PEOPLE AND REFUSES TO GIVE UP ON KIDS When Dr. Quintin Shepherd entered his first superintendency, he was 27 years old. But just 10 years earlier, as a teenager on a farm in rural Illinois, he’d nearly left school altogether. It was the 1980s, and Shepherd’s family was caught up in the chaos of the Farming Crisis—the worst economic crisis in agriculture since the Great Depression. “Everybody in the Midwest was losing their farms,” Shepherd tells SchoolCEO. “Our family struggled like any other farm family.” In the midst of this hardship, his family suffered an even more crushing blow: Shepherd’s father was in a major car accident. “Somebody pulled out in front of him on a country road. Dad never even touched the brakes,” Shepherd says. “There was a chance that we were going to lose him.” The accident left Shepherd, a junior in high school, with a heavy weight on his shoulders. It was autumn, and the livestock needed tending to before the long winter months. “That meant the burden of responsibility fell to me,” he says. “I had to step up.” For a while, Shepherd tried to do both—go to school and keep his family afloat. But “trying to live two lives was impossible,” he says. “And family was the priority.”

because I love music.” Wehrman piqued his interest in music education, and he earned his teaching license in his final year of college. “She’s the reason I became a teacher,” he says. After graduating, Shepherd taught music to grades pre-K through 12 while earning his principal credentials. After about five years, he applied to exactly one principalship, at an elementary school in Amboy, Illinois. He didn’t really expect it to pan out. “I thought, Maybe they’ll give me an interview, and if nothing else, at least I’ll practice interviewing,” he says. The interview went well, and afterward, the school board president walked him out. “He said, Look, typically the people we get here are either on their way up or on their way out,” Shepherd recalls. “I see you as somebody on their way up.” Not long after, Shepherd got the call. He’d gotten the job. Dr. Quintin Shepherd That time running the farm could have determined the rest of Shepherd’s life—had it not been for the support of his teachers. One in particular stands out in his memory: an educator named Fred McLaughlin. “Every time he saw me, he was relentless about not giving up, not quitting,” Shepherd says. But McLaughlin and his colleagues did more than just encourage Shepherd; they helped.

Amboy was small, with fewer than 1,000 students across three schools. Shepherd spent one year as the elementary principal, moving to the high school the following year. About five months into that job, he was pulled into the superintendent’s office. The board president was there—the same one who had hired him two years before. “I just figured I was going to get fired,” he says, laughing. Instead, they asked him to be the district’s next superintendent.

“I’ll never forget when Fred McLaughlin showed up at our house, unexpected, with a trunk full of groceries the teachers had collected for us,” Shepherd says. “They knew us. They knew our situation and what we needed.” McLaughlin brought school books, too, “but those were secondary,” Shepherd tells us. “Like any good teacher, he recognized that basic human needs are most important.”

Shepherd was shocked, to say the least. “I was like, I’ve been a principal for less than two years, and they’re wanting to give me the keys to the district?” he says. “But they had an unshakeable confidence in me—probably more than I had in myself.” Shepherd refused at first, but they kept asking. Finally, he applied and got the job. He became Amboy’s superintendent at 27 years old.

Shepherd’s father went on to recover, and Shepherd did graduate from high school. But those experiences on the family farm would continue to shape his philosophy of leadership even decades later. “I know what it feels like to not know when your next meal is coming,” he says. “After that, you lead differently.”

After four years at the helm, Shepherd left Amboy better than he’d found it. “The district had started to stumble academically and financially,” he explains. “But because I knew the people and built on those relationships, we were able to make some pretty significant changes.” Academics improved, and the district earned the Illinois State Board of Education’s highest rating for financial health.

On the Way Up Shepherd’s path to the superintendency was lined with mentors, people who believed in him more than he believed in himself. First was Dr. Elizabeth Wehrman, a music professor at Western Illinois University. “I actually started college as a premed student, but I really had no interest whatsoever in entering the medical profession,” he explains. “I took music classes

But “in Illinois, the story they tell you as a superintendent is that if you’re any good, you’ll get recruited up to the Chicagoland area,” he says. “That’s where all the action is.” And that’s exactly what happened to Shepherd. An executive recruiter pointed him in the direction of Skokie School District 69, a suburban system northwest of Chicago. SUMMER 2023 /

At the time, Skokie 69 was struggling. “They were in all kinds of financial turmoil, and their student achievement scores were tanking,” Shepherd says. Over the previous decade or so, the community’s demographics had drastically changed, but the district hadn’t changed with them. While the population had once been homogenous, the area had since become a major center for refugees, creating a boom of cultural diversity. “There were 115 languages spoken,” Shepherd explains— but the district’s ELL programming hadn’t kept up with this shift. The community’s economic makeup had also shifted; “there was tremendous poverty,” Shepherd says, “but they were still operating as though it was a wealthy district.” The superintendency at Skokie would not be an easy one. But Shepherd was, as he puts it, “up to the challenge.”

Compassionate Leadership During Shepherd’s five years there, Skokie 69 flourished. The district’s restructuring of its ELL program garnered recognition from both the Illinois Association of School Administrators and the state board of education. Further restructuring, along with grants, improved the district’s financial standing by several million dollars. It was during his time at Skokie that Shepherd realized he wanted to be a different kind of leader. “When you first start in this job, you play by the rules as they are handed to you,” he says. “I was doing leadership the way I was taught to do it, the

way I had seen other people do it—but it was like a suit that didn’t quite fit.” As Shepherd sees it, traditional leadership focuses on competence. “Competence is transactional leadership,” he says. ”If I’m judging you on your competence, then it’s a transactional relationship. I’m thinking about what you can do for me.” But increasingly, Shepherd found himself less interested in competence and more interested in compassion. If you take it back to its Latin roots, “compassion” most literally means “to suffer with”—and Shepherd has taken that definition to heart. “A compassionate conversation is one where we suffer together,” he says. “You share how you’re suffering in your world right now, and I’ll share how I’m suffering in mine. We can connect over our suffering.” This idea transformed the way Shepherd led in Skokie. “We were the first district in the state of Illinois to move away from a traditional salary schedule, and we did it with union support,” he explains. “The reason why was that for the first time, I went to the union and shared my suffering—and I asked them to share their suffering.” Shepherd opened up about the difficulty of being constrained by limited state funding and local taxes, about how much he hated cutting programs and letting people go. The district’s teachers, in

Photos courtesy of Victoria ISD 8

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turn, were frustrated at not knowing what they were going to be paid the next year—and felt that their experience and education weren’t being valued. Together, they made the decision to move away from a traditional salary schedule with a set pay matrix. Instead, raises would be based on a percentage of a teacher’s current income and level of educational attainment. The new model would also allow Skokie to negotiate raises after state funding was set, giving them the flexibility to lower raises in tight financial years. With this wiggle room, they could avoid layoffs and program cuts. “We didn’t get there through force of will, hierarchies, or power,” Shepherd says. “It was just sitting down with the union and saying, This is hard for all of us, and we’d like to make it better. We connected around that suffering.” “That became a hallmark of my leadership,” Shepherd tells us. “I will suffer with the community, I will suffer with a student, I will suffer with a family—and I’ll ask that they suffer with me. As a superintendent, I have these amazingly complex problems that I don’t have the foggiest idea how to solve: when to run a bond, when to open a school, how to make an ELL program more effective. So I made a commitment as a leader. Anytime I’m faced with a complex issue, before I try to come up with my own solution, I go to the community and share my suffering. It’s amazing to me how many people jump forward to help.”

What I Want For You After five years in Skokie, Shepherd made the leap across state lines to lead Iowa’s Linn-Mar Community Schools. He stayed there three years before an executive recruiter approached him yet again, asking him to check out Victoria ISD (VISD) in Texas. As had been the case at Amboy, it was the school board members who made the strongest impression on him. “One of the most interesting things in education, to me, is the school board,” Shepherd tells us. “Who are these people? How do they work together? Are they willing to trust a superintendent who leads a little bit differently? Are they courageous? Are they vulnerable?” What he saw in VISD’s board impressed him. “I knew they were interviewing me, but I interviewed the hell out of them, too,” he says. “And the more questions I threw at them, the more I started to like them.” A key question Shepherd had in mind related to that dichotomy of competence versus compassion. “I had already

decided that at my next job, I wasn’t going to tell people what I wanted from them—I was going to tell them what I wanted for them,” he explains. “What I want from you is all about your competence. It’s transactional. But what I want for you, again, speaks to that compassion, suffering together. I want compassionate relationships with the people I work with.” So in his first interview, he invited VISD’s board members to have that conversation. And they did. “They were super uncomfortable at first, but they really opened up and shared some beautiful things—things like, We want for you and your family to feel like an integral part of our community,” Shepherd explains. “They focused on me as a human being, and that made me want to do the best work of my life.” Now, Shepherd has been at VISD for five years—and though there’s been some turnover in membership, he still has those compassionate relationships with his board. “It’s a love fest,” he tells us, laughing. Maintaining those relationships over time, of course, requires “a relentless focus on communication,” he says. He points to the words of George Bernard Shaw: The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place. “Better to over-communicate than under-communicate,” he says.

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But that close-knit board culture stems in part from a mutual effort to understand one another, right from the get-go. “You don’t run for the school board without having an agenda, so share that with me,” he says. “Share what you don’t like about the district or what you want to change, and I’ll share the struggles that we’re dealing with and the great things that are happening. That’s how we connect and get closer.”

The Best Work of His Life Multiple times over the course of our conversation, Shepherd referred to his work at VISD as the best work of his life. Much of that work centers on caring for students as people—on sharing and understanding their suffering, then working to alleviate it. “We have made such amazing leaps and bounds in terms of student well-being and student achievement, especially for kids who have typically been underserved,” he says. “Pre-pandemic to post-pandemic, we increased the percentage of kids who are taking dual credit and AP coursework significantly—and their achievement scores went up at the same time.” Given his history, it’s no surprise that Shepherd is particularly passionate about students at risk of dropping out. “When you take students who are in credit recovery, there’s a group of kids who can’t do well and a group of kids who won’t,” he says. “The kids who won’t are self-sabotaging, and they need a different kind of support. But for kids who legitimately can’t, who have honest-to-God barriers in their lives—what if we put every effort we can imagine into removing all of those barriers?” That’s exactly what the district does for credit recovery students at its VISD Success Academy, a partnership with nearby Victoria College. Students in the program attend classes on the college’s campus in VISD’s six rented classrooms. “Some of these kids have zero credits through high school. They’ve historically struggled with discipline or attendance issues,” Shepherd says. For many of these students—much like Shepherd in his high school years—life has gotten in the way of education. Some felt it necessary to leave school to support their families. Others have struggled with mental health or other medical concerns. The Success Academy aims to take care of those life concerns for students, allowing them to refocus their attention and energy on school. “This is the deal of a lifetime,” says Shepherd. “Our students get emotional support,

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academic support, coaching. We even cover their food costs. Our goal is to enroll as many of them as possible in college by the time they’re done.” At the partnership’s inception in 2021, VISD placed 120 kids on Victoria College’s campus. By the end of the year, all 120 were enrolled in college. “It’s the whole person approach,” Shepherd says. “It’s looking at these kids and saying, We love you, and we’re not going to give up. We’re going to find a way to make this work.” It’s not hard to see where Shepherd got this mentality. It started when he was a junior in high school, when a teacher brought him a trunk full of groceries and a bag of books. “You just don’t give up on kids, ever,” he says. After all, no one gave up on him.

NEXT-LEVEL STORYTELLING BUILDING A COMPELLING NARRATIVE FOR YOUR SCHOOL DISTRICT

In almost any conversation about school communications, you’ll hear one word come up again and again: storytelling. On the surface, the concept is pretty clear: Your district communications should tell a story about all the good things happening in your schools. After all, storytelling is more than a buzzword—it has long been demonstrated what a powerful effect stories can have on people. And while storytelling may seem simple enough, building a strong narrative that can sustain and support your district over the long term requires a careful, thoughtful strategy. As you no doubt know, the story that your community tells about your schools can profoundly impact your district as a whole. Every member of your community has some idea about your district, even if it’s just from an anecdote they heard a decade ago. This, unfortunately, is the story that they believe about your district. If you’re in the middle of a bond campaign, ensuring that everyone has a compelling, positive story about your schools is incredibly important. Passing a bond requires the support of your entire community—not just your current families and staff. Crafting a positive narrative that engenders support is a lot of work, but it’s part of building a district that’s an asset to your community.

The Science Behind Storytelling Stories are an inherent part of human nature, and the impact they have on us as individuals is well documented by scientists. Research by cognitive psychologist Dr. Jerome Bruner suggests that stories are 22 times more memorable than facts alone. Stories can clarify complex ideas. They have the power to elevate boring subject matter into something tangible and interesting. And according to research, 92% of people say they prefer marketing that feels like a story. Stories also have the unique power to unify people. In a study conducted at Princeton University, researchers took MRIs of two different people: one telling a story and the other listening. As the storyteller progressed, scientists observed a phenomenon called “neural coupling,” in which the brain waves of the two participants synchronized as they experienced the story together. The better the listener comprehended the story, the more similar their brain waves were to the storyteller’s.

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What’s more, a well-regarded idea in psychology called “narrative transportation theory” has established that the more someone is immersed in a story, the more likely they are to mirror the thoughts and feelings of the story’s characters, even if those thoughts and feelings are usually counter to their own. Research has also established that most people don’t change their minds based on facts, but rather based on emotion and group affiliation. Storytelling has the unique ability to transfix listeners in a way that can move the needle on both fronts. That means that in an ever more divisive society, storytelling retains the power to change minds even in spaces where logical arguments fail. When used effectively, storytelling can be a powerful unifying force among both your internal and external stakeholders. While those outside your schools may be searching for a narrative of your district that fits their understanding of their community and public education in general, your students, teachers, and staff need stories just as much, especially if they’re still developing an understanding of what your district’s all about. Still not convinced? Consider the recent podcast series “Sold a Story” by APM Reports. In this series, journalist Emily Hanford investigates decades of reading instruction and the evidence—or lack thereof—behind popular reading curricula. While none of the data or evidence Hanford examines is new, the podcast was released to headlinecapturing popularity and is even impacting reading legislation across the country. What made Hanford’s approach different from so many researchers, educators, and even policymakers before her? The answer is storytelling. In the six-episode series, Hanford weaves together interviews, news clips, and data to build a captivating, empowering narrative.

Getting It Right In all the research on storytelling we examined, one theme comes up again and again: an emphasis on quality. If your audience isn’t enthralled by the story you’re telling, it’s going to be less convincing. Fortunately, there are storytelling best practices, some of which are new and some of which have proven themselves over millennia. We’ll go through a few of these best practices as you prepare to wield storytelling as a powerful tool in building your district’s brand.

Understand basic storytelling structures. At some point, you likely learned that all stories have a few basic components. Maybe you even drew a triangle depicting the rising action, climax, and denouement of a book like Where the Red Fern Grows when you were in school. You learned these story structures for a reason— they’re ubiquitous. They’re part of what makes a good story both compelling and memorable. But there’s more to structuring a story than Freytag’s Pyramid. While most story structures have some basic similarities, different models are better suited for different purposes. For example, you’ve probably heard of the hero’s journey, also known as the monomyth, which encompasses the stories of heroes as different as King Arthur and Disney’s Moana. While we’re not suggesting you need to know all the story structures, a few things are critical to constructing a narrative that is compelling, memorable, and conducive to building the district brand you want. Whether you’re telling stories online, in person, or through any other communication channel, most good stories have a few crucial ingredients. We suspect you likely won’t be using all of these elements at once. Depending on your media format, some of these elements may be more prominent than others. If you’re writing a Facebook post, maybe you’ll be more interested in highlighting a few heroes. If you’re creating a long-form video or writing a Twitter thread, you’ll have more time to detail conflict, climax, and resolution. When we experience stories, our brains crave these elements. Using them won’t make every story you tell an immediate viral hit, but it will help the story come across as both satisfying and memorable.

Climax: This is the big moment where the conflict comes to a head, like a championship game or Election Day for a bond campaign. Realize that if the conflict you’re focusing your story on is still ongoing, you may leave off (temporarily) with a cliffhanger. This is fine; it can even be a great way to lead to an action that you want your audience to take.

Heroes: Heroes give us someone to root for. Whether

Resolution: This is what happens after the climax—

the hero of your story is a fifth grader competing in the state spelling bee or a school principal just trying to do their best, you’ll want to start every story with people front and center. The more you can humanize your heroes, the better.

once the volleyball team goes home and the bond has passed. Exploring what has changed and how single events build into the broader brand of your schools helps your reader understand the longer, continuous story of your district.

Conflict: In the craft of storytelling, a conflict doesn’t necessarily have to be a battle between good and evil. It’s people facing obstacles: a high school band working their way to the national competition or a science class raising money for a butterfly garden.

This post from Springdale Schools in Arkansas highlights a conflict—and the heroes who are there to save the day.

Central Theme: All of these elements above build into what storytellers call a central theme. Each individual story you tell should tie back to the central theme of your district’s brand, mission, and core values, creating a broader narrative about your schools. If you already have a story you want to tell, think about how it relates to the brand you want for your district. SUMMER 2023 /

Engage multiple voices. We’ve said this before—what you say about your district matters much less than what others say about it. And unsurprisingly, what your community says about your schools can have an outsized impact on the overall narrative around your district. But how do you get ahead of this community conversation when you have little to no control over what other people say? This challenge is actually an opportunity to tell a story about your district that’s both authentic and inclusive of multiple perspectives. Superintendents and other school leaders are only a small fraction of the district’s stakeholders, and thus are only a small portion of the district’s potential storytellers.

At Saginaw ISD in Michigan, Superintendent Dr. Jeff Collier and his team have implemented a strategy they refer to as “collective authorship.” In this practice, Collier intentionally empowers each of his 614 employees to be partial authors of the overall narrative of Saginaw ISD. Employees are regularly trained on the district’s brand goals and guidelines, and given examples of what kinds of stories help positively build the brand. In the day-to-day, staff members at every level collect and share stories about their own facets of life at Saginaw ISD. “Storytelling in its own right is an innately human activity. It’s one of the things that helps bind and connect us,” Collier tells SchoolCEO. “In dedicating ourselves to the practice of collective authorship, we’ve asked each staff member this question: Is there one positive win that you can celebrate that would add to our district’s collective voice? And they begin to watch out for that story, that small golden nugget, that we can use to help tell the story of what it’s like to be a part of Saginaw ISD.” And staff members aren’t the only potential storytellers. Engaging multiple authors in your storytelling is also a strategic way to bring student voice to the forefront of your district’s narrative. Some districts, such as New York’s Copenhagen Community Schools, hold student-produced news shows, where students source stories that they believe are important to their district. Oklahoma’s Wyandotte ISD has gone as far as turning over their district’s Facebook page to the students themselves, with each post signed off by a student as part of a class on communication.

Be authentic. In some ways, authenticity has become just as popular a buzzword as storytelling. But when it comes to building a narrative that resonates with your stakeholders—and also rings true to them—being real is key. Strategically, you can accomplish this in two major ways: by demonstrating personal vulnerability as a leader and by telling a story about your district that is positive, but also plausible.

This post from Terrell ISD in Texas proves that sometimes, all you need are heroes.

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Showing vulnerability looks different depending on your own school leader persona—and on the subject matter at hand. But while vulnerability is usually associated with somber honesty, being vulnerable can also be joyful or even silly. There’s a reason playful snow day announcements go viral— people love the vulnerability and warmth of an authority figure singing a snow day song or making snow angels.

Authenticity means showing up as you are and building real relationships on that foundation. From a communications standpoint, this also means finding ways to communicate that are natural for both you and your audience. Utah’s Cache County Schools, for example, produces “PodCache,” an original podcast hosted by Assistant Superintendents Gary Thomas and Tim Smith. Each episode features interviews with students, educators, or staff members about their stories and their lives in the district. On the PodCache webpage, Thomas and Smith are pictured side by side, smiling in front of a district building on their motorcycles. “To help the kids relax, we realized that we had to be much more casual versions of ourselves,” Smith explains, “and it’s been a lot of fun to be able to do that.”

“Storytelling in its own right is an innately human activity. It’s one of the things that helps bind and connect us.” Look for ways to inject your personality into your communications and encourage your staff to do so, too. Take all of the hard-won relationship building skills you’ve honed over your career and think about what aligns best to the central narrative you want to project. For example, if your district has publicly stated that you prioritize student and staff well-being, consider sharing how you stay grounded as a leader. But authenticity isn’t just about you personally; it’s also about the plausibility of the story you project about your schools. No school district is perfect, and sharing how your school community is growing is an honest way to show off your district’s own hero’s journey. There’s a reason sports events are so popular—people love being part of a movement. Give them a chance to be a part of your growth and your everevolving district story.

Stories Change Minds Humans have practiced storytelling for centuries and are unlikely to stop any time soon. While the idea of using storytelling in public communication may not be new, it remains one of the strongest and most effective ways to make a clear message stand out against the noise of our everyday lives. Whether you’re trying to convince your school board to fund after-school programs or developing messaging around an upcoming bond campaign, stories are a powerful tool to change minds and build momentum—all while positively impacting your district’s brand. For more on telling your district’s story, check out these episodes of our SchoolCEO Conversations podcast. How many story elements can you spot in Saginaw ISD’s post?

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WHAT’S NEW WITH SCHOOL BONDS? HOW PASSING A SCHOOL BOND HAS CHANGED OVER THE PAST DECADE

magine it’s 2013. For anyone over the age of 35, that probably doesn’t seem so long ago. After all, some things haven’t changed. Taylor Swift is still reigning on the pop charts, and many of us still while away our time watching short, funny videos on our phones—only on TikTok now instead of Vine. But in more serious ways, the world is a much different place than it was 10 years ago. Gen Z has replaced millennials as the youngest segment of the workforce, and it’s not an overstatement to say that the global pandemic changed everything. Against this backdrop of sweeping changes, school bonds have changed, too. What was once a humdrum process now has all the markers of fully fledged political intrigue. But what can a school leader do to deal with all these shifts? The first step is learning what has and hasn’t changed over time.

What’s Changed? The Playing Field During the pandemic, many districts held off on running bond campaigns, fearing low voter turnout. This led to a rush of bonds in 2022 and 2023 once pandemic restrictions were lifted. And while national analysis about post-pandemic bonds is still very much in the research phase, one certainty is clear: The playing field is different.

The environment is more political. You don’t need us to tell you that the political environment is more polarized than ever. As a result, school bonds and levies have also become more politicized. While most voters have positive perceptions of their local schools, national approval of public schools has decreased since the pandemic, and many districts find themselves having to work harder than ever for stakeholder support. Politics, of course, don’t stop when you enter your school buildings. Experts are quick to point to one important factor for school referendum success: the unilateral approval of the school board. At a time when some school boards are more fractured than ever, this is a tall ask for many districts. The

reality is that most board candidates run for school board with an agenda—and if the details of your bond don’t support their agenda, they likely won’t support your campaign. The act of voting itself has also changed. According to Paul Hanley, the managing director of pre-referendum consulting firm Beyond Your Base, you can no longer count on the majority of voting to happen on Election Day. “More and more voters are voting early, either in person or via absentee ballot,” Hanley explains. “Campaign timelines need to factor in this growing number of early voters. Fortunately, data is often available to determine who voted early in previous elections, at least when it comes to general elections. This allows the campaign to develop two separate timelines— one for early voters and one for Election Day voters.”

Your bond doesn’t have to please everyone, but it does need to appeal broadly to different parts of your community. All of this speaks to the necessity of crafting a bond campaign that aligns with the goals of both your community and your district. Your bond doesn’t have to please everyone, but it does need to appeal broadly to different parts of your community. And because the timeline itself has changed, you need to build this strategy from the beginning to win over as many voters as possible.

Bond packages are under more scrutiny. Inflation has also impacted the world of school bonds. Throughout his career, Hanley has observed a steep rise in the cost of the average bond campaign, mostly due to inflation. “Driven primarily by construction inflation and aging infrastructure, school bond measures keep getting bigger,” SUMMER 2023 /

It isn’t just families who vote on school bonds—everyone in the community has an equal say about whether or not a referendum should pass. Hanley says, “Referenda between $100 million and $200 million are much more common now than they were just a decade ago.” Furthermore, some districts with long-term bond schedules are finding themselves in an especially difficult predicament: Construction projects that were approved years ago can no longer be completed within their initial budgets. But inflation isn’t the only reason bonds have gotten so expensive. Hanley explains that many districts have had to contend with aging infrastructures and shrinking enrollment. “Far more bonds are being passed for improvements to existing schools rather than new buildings altogether,” he says. According to Karen Fitzgerald, chief branding officer at Texas’ Celina ISD, some state laws have also contributed to this dilemma by requiring districts to build hyperspecific bond packages. This can be tricky for districts, especially since messaging for these kinds of bonds requires a lot more nuance. “We support the idea of transparency, but it can be so challenging to educate a community on the general nature of a package,” Fitzgerald explains, “let alone when you are required to go into all of the specifics of each proposition.”

It takes more work to get your word out. There are no doubt far more communications tools now than there were 10 years ago. While the local media once served as the gatekeepers to public awareness, schools now have myriad tools at their disposal, from social media platforms to newsletters. But unfortunately, more tools often mean more work. It isn’t just families who vote on school bonds—everyone in the community has an equal say about whether or not a referendum should pass. That means you can’t skip any communication method at the risk of alienating an important subset of your voter base. Additionally, some methods of in-person communication just aren’t working like they used 18

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to. “Post-COVID, it has been increasingly difficult to get voters to attend open houses, informational presentations, and other in-person events,” Hanley explains. “While these strategies are still used, they are now complemented by online webinars, which are often recorded and posted online.” As in many communities across the country, Fitzgerald has observed a gradual change in her district’s demographics, especially among families. “We have parents from ages 20 to 60, and each of these generations uses vastly different modes of communication,” Fitzgerald explains. “As a communications director, I can’t disregard any of these channels for fear of missing an important subset of our voting community.”

meetings before, but this was even better because it would allow them to ask questions even after they left the meeting. Our QR code gave them instant access to the online Q&A where they could log their new question or see answers to what’s already been asked.”

You’ve got attention. Gone are the days when school board elections and bond campaigns went by with only a bit of local attention. The recent political climate surrounding public education means that we’re in an attention economy where schools are, for better or worse, front and center. Just as school board elections have suddenly become newsworthy, school bond elections can serve as indicators of community support in a time when that is no longer a given.

What’s Changed? The Strategy Passing a bond has never been easy, but now more strategy has to go into your campaign than ever before. Not every change makes your job harder though; in fact, advancements in voter research and even a resurgence of interest in public schools can be used to your district’s benefit.

You’ve got technology. While the relationship between schools and their communities has changed a lot in the past few years, something else has changed, too: technology. Now, the average school leader can get their hands on a much deeper level of voter analysis. “The quality and amount of voter data is also improving,” Hanley says. “While fewer voters are willing to answer their phones, pollsters are turning to hybrid polls, which also use cell phones and text messaging.” At Union Public Schools in Oklahoma, Chief Communications Officer Chris Payne, APR, is considered the unofficial local expert on all things bond initiative. He’s helped five bonds pass while serving at various schools in the area. Technology has helped Payne not only communicate with voters, but also understand them better. For their most recent bond initiative, Union Public Schools partnered with Thought Exchange, an online platform that can be used to solicit feedback from the public. This helped the district learn how voters felt about different aspects of their bond package before Election Day. “We needed a feedback mechanism, and it’s good to go out there and launch your conversation so you can better understand what your voters want,” Payne explains. “We had done public input

The enhanced scrutiny that referendum packages face means that having strong buy-in, both internally and externally, is now even more essential for passing a bond. For Fitzgerald, this means building a strong strategy for communicating with the district’s most vital advocates— staff. “A lot of teachers live in the communities they serve, and they, too, are investors in our organization,” Fitzgerald says. “We have to be strategic about making sure they have the right messaging, as well as a sense of ownership around the information they’re sharing.”

What Hasn’t Changed? The Results Despite everything, bonds are still passing all over the country. In 2022, three out of four bond packages passed nationally, and while the number of failed bonds is higher than it was a decade ago, most voters are willing to support their schools. In fact, smaller districts actually fared slightly better than larger districts. This high passage rate may be even more meaningful considering the challenging economic climate and rising cost of the average bond campaign. According to Payne, the ways districts have passed bonds have certainly changed in the past decade—and especially in the past few years. But when it comes to education, what hasn’t changed? “While we may have to work harder in some respects to make sure we’re being strategic and strong with our messaging, our profession has learned a lot when it comes to developing a message that will resonate with our individual communities,” Payne explains. “But at the end of the day, a good bond campaign is still a good bond campaign.”

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MOBILIZING ADVOCATES IDENTIFYING AND EMPOWERING YOUR BOND’S STRONGEST SUPPORTERS In the context of your bond campaign, you have two very important groups of advocates: those who will vote “Yes” and those who can convince others to vote “Yes” with them. As school leaders, you can do just about anything to provide your stakeholders with information, and you can encourage them to vote—you just can’t legally tell them how to vote. But we’re confident that there are advocates in your district who are more than willing to mobilize on your behalf, to get out into the community and push for the “Yes” votes you need. But who are they? And how can you support them?

they have,” says Dr. Alina Lehnert, co-chair of Friends of SPS, an advocacy committee that supports Springfield Public Schools in Missouri. “People will listen to their former teacher or their former principal—because those people had an influence in their lives.”

Find your advocates. In an ideal world, every school district that went out for a bond would have the support of a local education PAC or at least a focused advocacy committee. But even if that’s not the case for your district, you likely do have enthusiastic advocates who want to see your schools thrive. They want to do more than vote “Yes”; they want to help you grow support throughout the community. Your students and families are great examples. They have the most to gain from the bond passing, so they’ll be the most willing to act as a persuasive force in the community and put their own free time into supporting the district. Retired teachers also fall into this category. “I suspect people don’t realize the power of retired teachers and the influence

“People will listen to their former teacher or their former principal— because those people had an influence in their lives.”

The same goes for community members who may not have a personal relationship with your schools, but who will likely support them on principle. For example, Friends of SPS called on the advocacy of the PTA, business leaders, alumni, faith-based groups, fire and police associations, homebuilders associations, the local chamber of commerce, and more during their bond campaign. Each entity formally endorsed the bond effort and used their resources to garner support from their members. You should also review voter data from past elections. Who showed up? Who will likely turn out to vote again? And who’s most likely to vote “Yes”? There are plenty of people in the community who will probably support you on Election Day, even if the bond doesn’t benefit them directly. As you get more and more people talking about your bond, you want to make sure they’re having the right conversations. So how can you keep everyone on message while generating as much positive buzz as possible? By thinking like a marketer. SUMMER 2023 /

Photo courtesy of Montgomery ISD

Students are advocates. When Montgomery ISD in Texas issued their 2022 bond proposal, the district’s students made their message loud and clear: They wanted the bond to pass. “We had a number of students participate in our bond process,” Superintendent Dr. Heath Morrison tells SchoolCEO. “They were even involved in the development of our bond proposals.” And when local advocacy committees were forming, they recruited students from the district’s bond task force. With these committees, the students were able to act as volunteers, advocating for the bond’s passage on their own time. “These students really took it very seriously,” Morrison says. Morrison is quick to credit MISD’s campaign success to its student leaders every step of the way. Early on, he says, when the bond was being proposed to the school board, he wasn’t certain that the proposal would receive a unanimous vote of approval. Morrison anticipated that one specific board member would push back on an initiative that dealt with technology. “But it was listening to our students present and hearing the needs around technology—the need for a more digitally rich environment—that finally convinced him,” Morrison explains. “So our board did vote unanimously to support the bond, and I really credit the students on our task force.” In addition to working on the bond task force and acting as advocacy volunteers, MISD students helped lead town hall presentations. Throughout their campaign, MISD’s goal was to prioritize and exemplify transparency and collaboration. “There was no secrecy,” Morrison elaborates.

“We were sharing everything that we were thinking in real time. We shared the need; we shared the data; we asked our community what they thought. And a third of those presentations were led by students.” “It was definitely intimidating during the first couple of meetings, trying to get the hang of things,” says Kyler, a junior at Lake Creek High School. “But it was good because I’m pretty connected in the community and I knew a lot of the people who were there, so it was easier to speak up.” The firsthand experience of students was invaluable to the campaign. “As a student, I can see how crowded our hallways are,” says Kyler. “We’re over capacity, and being able to walk around the hallways, you can tell it’s super crowded. I was able to share this experience with the group.” And it’s in those very hallways that students like Kyler continued to advocate for the school bond. They connected with students who were of voting age and encouraged them to vote “Yes” on Election Day. “We had a high participation rate of students voting in that bond,” Morrison says, “and that’s directly attributed to the leadership of our students.” Cline, a student advocate and junior at Lake Creek, said that when he decided to serve on the bond task force, he was thinking about his younger brother and sister. “I love my school district very much,” he says, “and when they told me about the opportunity, I remembered the bond they had in 2015. That’s when they built the high school I go to now, so I knew it was a big deal.” For Cline, advocating for the bond is how he can make sure his siblings will love their district, too: “It leaves something behind for them.”

Use marketing strategies to empower your advocates. You can’t count on every advocate to be a natural at bond campaigning. For some, this may be the first time they’ve even heard of a bond. But with a few strategic marketing approaches, you can ensure that all your advocates have the right information and enthusiasm to become votegenerating powerhouses in your community.

Identify the best language to communicate your message. Having lots of community buzz about your bond is great; it means people are interested and listening. However, the more people are talking, the more potential there is for confusion or misinformation. In order to keep everyone on the same page, it’s important to identify a core message, as well as specific language to communicate that message effectively. In Missouri, “Friends of SPS did a benchmark survey to figure out what the likely voter cared about,” Lehnert says. “Then we honed in. We knew for sure that safety and security would get people to the polls—so all of our messaging focused on that.” What does your community care about? How can you tailor your message to best connect with their needs? Once you have your message settled, it’s also important to identify the specific language that both the district and your advocates will use to talk about the bond. For example, Friends of SPS recognized the importance of their community understanding that they were proposing a notax-increase bond. They didn’t need to explain the intricacies of how that type of bond works; simply returning to the phrase “no tax increase” proved effective enough.

Meet your audience where they are. While it’s important to invite your community into the district, it’s equally important to go beyond the walls of your schools to meet your stakeholders where they already are. Keep in mind: Local community groups like realtors, Rotary Clubs, and chambers of commerce may not have direct ties to your district, but likely support your schools on principle. Now is the perfect time to leverage those personal connections. Why not offer to give an informative presentation at each of these organizations? By keeping influential groups in the know, you’re increasing the likelihood that your core message will make its way into the community—and that your voters will make their way to the polls.

Meeting your audience where they are also means being thoughtful about your online presence. Once you start going out into the community to make presentations, some of the folks you present to will probably be interested in learning more about the bond. Make sure additional information is readily accessible on your school website. (For more on this, turn to page 26.)

Get local influencers onboard. If you’ve spent any time on social media, you’ve seen influencers unboxing, using, and endorsing products. Whether it’s fashion, skincare, or even a luxury cruise, companies depend on influencers to promote their products to their legions of devoted followers. With built-in audiences and the right training, these brand ambassadors have tremendous influence. Our bet is you have the same kind of ambassadors for your district—advocates who could use their personal influence in the community to garner support for your bond. And you don’t even have to give them free products—they just need a little training. That’s exactly what Friends of SPS did with their Influencers Boot Camp. They identified people of influence in the community and brought them in to learn about the district bond. “We told them what was on the ballot. We gave them our talking points, the questions to answer, the message we needed to communicate,” says Lehnert. “Then, they’d take signs and pledge cards and go out to work within their circles of influence.” If these brand ambassadors have the power to influence your individual stakeholders, then strategic endorsements have the power to influence your entire community. Think about it like this: If your neighbor talks about how great something is, you might listen. But if a community icon or deeply trusted local institution talks about how great something is, a lot of people will listen. Friends of SPS sought endorsements from organizations like local teachers unions, police associations, realtors, and more. Whether you seek endorsements from well-known individuals or from organizations, the idea is to identify those in your area who can influence the most people and get them trained on your message.

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Leverage local media. Another strategy for generating positive conversations during a bond campaign is engaging with the local media. Who better to have on your side when it comes to spreading information than newspapers, magazines, and local reporters? Of course, in order to get the kind of coverage you want, you have to intentionally develop strong relationships with your local media over time—not just when you need something. “When you’re going into a bond election, you want to make sure that the people in your community trust you,” says Francisco Rojas, communications specialist at Longview ISD in Texas. “In order for the community to trust you, you have to show what you’re doing, how you’re using the resources that you have for kids, how you’re thinking outside the box.” In other words, the more innovative you are, the more likely you are to get news coverage. And if you already have positive relationships with the media, it’s more likely that news coverage will help you build further trust with your community. People talk about headlines. It’s your job to do everything you can to keep the conversation positive. Retired teachers, current students, proud grandparents—no matter who your advocates are, they support your schools for a reason. They believe in them. By finding, training, and empowering these advocates, you are not only helping your chances not only of passing a bond, but also of continuing on as a district. You will always need public support, and mobilizing your best supporters in the right way will help maintain and grow their advocacy for your schools. When your bond passes and your advocates realize the difference their work has made, you’ll gain lifelong supporters for your schools. No bond is the last one, after all. And no school system thrives without a community that knows how to support it.

“When you’re going into a bond election, you want to make sure that the people in your community trust you.” 24

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F ou r t i a l Essenents Elem of an e Bond Onlinaign * Camp 1. Centralize your online bond story. 2. Showcase your bond's impact. 3.Break down the details.

4.Amplify student voices.

pai gn, you r distric t has to Wh en run nin g a bon d cam d tant task of telling your bon focus on the all-too-impor r you and how it wil l imp act sto ry—why you nee d it ar ine platfo rm s to post cle stu dents. Uti lizin g you r onl p n abo ut you r bon d wil l hel and con sistent info rm atio ut abo ed rm eve n mo re info you r com mu nity bec om e your schools. and invested in the story of to your district’s online spaces So how can you leverage an g atin cre of your bond? By tell the multifaceted story ls t cascades across channe online bond campaign tha . constant and reliable source but connects back to one ld ial media , for instance, cou A focus exclusively on soc not all, r munity ’s voters; afte exclude many of your com social media equally. But all demographic groups use te only on your district websi posting about your bond r you ond bey r community may do the same, since you r you on spe nd mu ch tim e staff and fam ilie s may not t ren a compelling and transpa website. The key to telling your audience is as large and bond story is to make sure informed as possible. ial distric t we bsi tes and soc We rev iewed dozens of e common trends among media pages to pinpoint som fou r . Wh at we fou nd we re onl ine bo nd cam pai gns se the on cess. With a focus ess ential elements for suc a ch sto ry wil l not onl y rea fac tors, you r onl ine bo nd p you gain the support you wider audience, but also hel need at the polls.

1. Centralize your online bond story. When it comes to providing your voters with up-to-date information about your bond initiative, there’s no more reliable online tool than your bond proposal’s landing page. This page should serve as the major hub of information for your entire campaign, allowing any and all content shared online to be linked back to one reliable, consistent source. Even after the vote, this landing page can be used to provide construction updates or information about future bonds and levies. (For more on this, see page 34). In Texas’ Chapel Hill ISD, passing a bond in 2023 was a must for two reasons: The district hadn’t successfully passed a bond in 16 years, and the bond they’d run the previous year had failed by a narrow margin. To inform the community about their new $113.9 million referendum and its three proposals, the district designed a wide-ranging bond page for their website. This landing page, linked directly on the district’s homepage, immediately greets visitors with a comprehensive menu bar, clear breakdowns of all three bond proposals, and links to additional resources. By centralizing their campaign around a specific landing page, Chapel Hill ISD could provide detailed information to their community while using district social media channels to link back to their main site. “Our communications department remained consistent in utilizing our online platforms to

communicate with our audiences,” says Belén Casillas, the district’s director of communications. “Our audiences knew exactly where to go to find accurate and reliable information about the bond.” Establishing a home base for all your bond information also gives you a place to direct voters who want to learn more— whether they’re coming from a newsletter, email, or printed flyer. “We had established our online platform as a trusted source of information, and community members actively sought out our website for updates, clarifications, and opportunities for dialogue,” Casillas explains.

Chapel Hill’s bond landing page gives voters a wealth of information. SUMMER 2023 /

An updated and reliable bond landing page helped Chapel Hill ISD reach and inform their community of 15,000-plus voters, earning the support they needed to pass all three of their bond proposals. “By consistently utilizing our bond page and fostering a sense of trust and reliability, we were able to overcome historical challenges,” says Casillas.

For more on showing off your facilities, read “Building Hype” from the Summer 2022 issue of SchoolCEO.

2. Showcase your bond’s impact. Voters love to see how their dollars are being spent, and it’s no different with your bond. Time and time again, we see successful online bond campaigns that include videos and high-quality images showcasing students, school sites that need repaired or replaced, and even artist renderings of future projects. And there’s science to back up this strategy. According to Social Media Today, people are wired to process and respond to visuals 60,000 times faster than text. And while we only retain up to 20% of the words we read, we retain up to 65% of the information we receive through images or videos. These visuals may live on a bond landing page, your school social media, or both. Giving your audience something to look at not only captures their attention, but can also be an easy, accessible way to inform them of the district’s sometimes complicated plans. In May of 2022, Kansas’ Hays USD 489 passed a $143.5 million bond—their first in over 25 years. To rally their community around the proposal, which focused on renovations and the construction of an innovative new high school, the district used their bond page to help visitors visualize what their schools might look like after the bond’s successful passage. This isn’t just a smart way to garner enthusiasm for your bond; it’s also a great way to let your supporters see the impact of their votes.

Caption

“Seeing those architectural renderings of what we could be offering our students was extremely eye-opening for our voters,” says district PR Director Chrisy Crough. “In the end, we successfully passed a bond that will give our students opportunities and experiences they would not have had before. The new facilities will be a game changer for our students and staff.” So whether you’re showing them what could be or what already exists, giving your audience visuals is a quick, accessible way to help them understand your district’s needs and empower them to support your schools. 28

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Hays USD 489 shared artist renderings of possible bond upgrades to their schools.

3. Break down the details. As a school leader, you likely know more about referendums than you ever wanted to. But the general public may know little to nothing about school bonds and levies. It’s often up to your team and your advocacy groups to make sure voters know what your referendum entails, what the tax impact will be, and why your district needs it to pass. That’s why it’s always a good idea to break down the details of your proposal and share them in accessible, easy-to-understand ways. Wisconsin’s Athens School District did just that in 2023, when they asked their community to pass a four-year operational referendum to help save their schools from consolidation. “By listening and learning from conversations held with community members, and recognizing the specific information voters were seeking, we provided focused social media posts while sharing our story,” says Superintendent Andrea Sheridan. The district used Facebook and Instagram to share posts that broke down the referendum’s potential impact on their schools and on taxpayers. They also used social media to encourage voters to attend information sessions and to visit the district’s dedicated referendum landing page. By outlining the referendum’s many benefits and highlighting the importance of voter support for their schools, Athens was able to pass their measure with 74% community support.

Athens School District shared all the details of their bond in easily accessible social posts.

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4. Amplify student voices. Often, your best advocates are sitting in your district’s classrooms. After all, who knows your schools better than your students? Incorporating student voice into your online bond campaign is a great way to share information while also being authentic. Share quotes from students describing needed repairs or upgrades in their schools, or have them interview staff members on the bond’s potential impact. No matter how you include student voice, keeping kids front and center in your bond story is always a winning strategy. In 2022, Spring ISD in Texas passed three bond measures for a total of $850 million. This success didn’t happen by chance, though. Spring ISD spent months informing and rallying their community around the three proposals. One effective approach the district took was to create and share an animated “Bond 2022” video narrated by students. As the video begins, a student briefly details all the improvements that the district’s previous bond has made possible since being passed. Then he “passes the mic” to another student. “In case you didn’t know, Texas school districts only receive funding for daily operations,” she says. “That means things like new buildings, safety improvements, and important technology have to be funded by a voterapproved bond.”

To educate voters on their 2022 bond, Spring ISD created and shared this video narrated by students.

The video explains what bonds are, why they’re necessary, and what Spring ISD’s bond hoped to accomplish—all with the voices of students. “Everything we do is for our students, and that includes our plans for growth under the bond program,” says Superintendent Dr. Lupita Hinojosa. “So it was really important to have that student voice included, and I think our voters really connected with that.”

Successful bond campaigns are built on trust. No matter why your district is running a bond, one thing remains true: Maintaining trust and transparency with your community is paramount. This trust should anchor your online bond campaign. Sometimes too much information can bog people down. But when it comes to bonds, providing as much information as possible—in the right ways—will minimize dissent and misinformation and keep you in control of your district’s bond story. So use these essential elements accordingly: Centralize your bond information, give your audience memorable visuals, get deep into the details, and remind voters who they’re supporting by using student voice in your online campaign. Always remember to tell the whole story of your bond in appealing, accessible, and informative ways. That’s how you’ll push voters to the polls and push your district into the future.

After months or maybe even years of planning, you’ve finally made it to the end of your bond election. You’ve had countless meetings with your community, conducted feasibility studies, run surveys, and campaigned your heart out, but it all comes down to this: Will it pass or will it fail? Will you be celebrating a victory, or picking up the pieces and regrouping for another try? And in either case, what do you do next? No matter the outcome of your election, you have a job to do going forward. If you lost, now is the time to conduct a postmortem of sorts—to learn what went wrong and how to avoid those mistakes in future campaigns. And even if you won, the work isn’t over. To keep the trust and buy-in you’ve earned over the course of your campaign, you need to sustain your positive momentum. If you failed your most recent bond election, turn to page 32. If you passed, turn to page 34.

Fail

It’s disappointing—if not downright devastating—to see months of work end in a failed bond referendum. But even if your election didn’t go the way you hoped, it’s important not to lose heart. A failure is an opportunity not to beat yourself up, but to learn from the experience and prepare your school community to move forward.

Conduct a post-election analysis. For advice on next steps, we turn to Dr. Don Lifto, an expert on school referendums and the co-author of School Tax Elections: Planning for Success in the New Normal. According to Lifto, one of your top priorities should be conducting a post-election analysis, or PEA. The PEA “is not a survey,” Lifto explains. “It’s not asking anybody their opinions about anything. It’s a profile comparing the demographics of your whole registered voter base to the demographics of who actually showed up to vote.” Conducting a PEA is a useful exercise no matter the outcome of your election, but it’s particularly necessary in the event of a failure. “After winning, it paints you a demographic picture of how you won,” Lifto says. “But after losing, it provides a roadmap for what needs to change in the demographics of turnout to get a successful outcome next time.” The process for obtaining voter data varies from state to state, but in general, you can get a voter file for election research from the county or state agency that oversaw your election. (Commercial vendors are also a potentially easier and more cost-effective option; Lifto recommends Washington-based vendor L2.) This file will give you a wealth of demographic information about all the registered voters in your community, including which elections they’ve turned out for in the past. As Lifto points out, an annotated voter file is an invaluable asset in the initial planning of a school bond—but after the fact, it can also help you determine your campaign’s weak points. Here are a few critical points to consider in your postelection analysis.

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Parent turnout According to Lifto, as you look at your election results, you always want to see parents and guardians overrepresented. This simply means that if, say, 30% of registered voters are parents, you want parents to make up more than 30% of those who actually voted. After all, voting “Yes” should be a no-brainer for people with children, who stand to directly benefit from improved schools. This is probably the easiest thing for a bond campaign to get right—so if parents and guardians are underrepresented, it’s a sign that something’s gone horribly wrong. “Either there was a serious flaw in the planning and/or execution of the campaign or the district’s proposal was significantly out of alignment with the priorities of the parent population,” Lifto writes in School Tax Elections. Before you conduct a future bond or levy campaign, it will be crucial to consult with your community more extensively—especially families—to make sure your proposal reflects their most pressing concerns. Even if parents are overrepresented, though, further examination of this population is in order. What percent of all parents or guardians who are registered voters actually showed up to the polls? You want that percentage to be as high as possible—to “maximize the parent vote,” as Lifto puts it. Isolating your parent data into smaller categories will help you determine how to do this in the future. For example, did some neighborhoods see a stronger parent turnout than others? If so, you might reexamine your campus-by-campus messaging. Was it clear what each neighborhood’s school stood to gain from the bond? Your district’s families are your most natural supporters—so it’s crucial to do everything you can to get them to the ballot box.

Other supporters Throughout your campaign, you should have identified supporters of the bond—people you were confident would vote “Yes.” Compare that list to the actual Election Day data. What percent of those supporters actually made it to the polls? Ideally, this group should also be overrepresented in your final results. If they’re not (or even if they are), break down your data even further to determine any patterns, just as you did with the parent population. Lifto recommends “looking at the gender, age, party affiliation, and geographic location of identified supporters.” If only a few of your supportive older adults

voted, for example, you might consider coordinating a stronger effort to offer rides to the polls next go-round. Whatever you discover, you’ll have an idea of which specific groups to target and monitor better in your future campaigns.

Timing The timing of your election could also be the determining factor in whether your bond passes or fails. “Too many districts make the assumption that all elections are alike. They are not,” Lifto writes. “Each election has a character that is defined by the types of candidates or issues that appear on the ballot alongside the district’s proposal as well as the year and month of the election.” According to data from nonpartisan research organization FairVote, registered voter turnout in the U.S. hovers around 60% for presidential elections and 40% for midterm elections. Turnout in local, odd-year elections is generally even lower—usually less than 27%. So which is better for a school tax election? Well, it depends. “Every state has its own unique laws on when you can run a bond or levy, but when you have options, the general rule is to evaluate the demographics of your community,” says Lifto. “If the majority of your registered voters are progressives or leaning that direction, you want as big a turnout as possible—because progressive voters are more likely to vote ‘Yes’ for a school bond. If the opposite is the case—if the makeup of the school district is very conservative—a smaller turnout is to your advantage.” Based on your community’s demographics, would you have benefitted from a lower or higher overall turnout in your last election? Adjust the timing of your next vote accordingly.

Never fall out of touch. Even if your bond didn’t go the way you planned, now is not the time to fall silent; it’s time to rethink and renew your strategies for community engagement. After all, if you’re only communicating with your constituents when you want something from them, you’re unlikely to ever get enough “Yes” votes to move the needle. So thank your supporters and organizers for their hard work. Keep them updated on what you learn from your postelection analysis and what you plan to do going forward. The more you communicate with your audience, the better chance you’ll have of getting your next bond passed.

A failure is an opportunity not to beat yourself up, but to learn from the experience and prepare your school community to move forward.

Pass

So your referendum passed—congratulations! But a successful vote is just the beginning. Now, it’s time to keep the positive momentum going.

Get started as soon as possible. Kansas’ Blue Valley Schools has a long history of passing bond elections, but their last two votes—held in 2020 and 2023—have been some of their most successful ever. “In 2020, our bond passed with nearly 74% support, and this time it was nearly 71%,” says Deputy Superintendent Kyle Hayden. “Quite honestly, that’s almost unheard of.” Why such incredible success? The Blue Valley team attributes it at least in part to their aggressive bond schedule. “When we passed a bond, many of the people voting for that bond had children in our schools,” explains Dr. Tonya Merrigan, Blue Valley’s superintendent. “We wanted them to be able to see what we were promising them while those kids were still in school.” Projects from the 2020 bond—including three new high school gyms, a high school performing arts space, heightened security measures in all schools, and flexible learning spaces throughout the district—are all wrapping up this summer, just three years after the vote. The most recent bond, passed just a few months ago, is no different. When we spoke in April, Blue Valley was already in the process of hiring their design and construction management teams, and they hope to have all projects—including a brand-new middle school—completed by the summer of 2026. Getting started as soon as possible shows your community that you meant what you promised them—and that you want them to reap the benefits of their investment. Seeing quick progress also makes stakeholders more likely to support your district in the future. “When people see results, they’re going to be positive when it comes to the next referendum,” Hayden says.

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Make your website a hub for information. If you’ve dedicated a page on your site to information about the bond campaign, don’t neglect or delete it once the bond passes. Instead, make that page a hub for all future information about your bond. On Blue Valley’s “Bond 2023” page, you can find detailed information about upcoming projects, broken out by school. Branded PDFs for each campus explain the particular projects for specific schools, as well as those they feed into. This allows families to easily determine exactly how the bond will impact their own children over time. The bond page also offers links to board presentations about the bond, budgetary information, and more. “Being very transparent and making the information readily available—that makes a huge difference,” Hayden says.

“Keep the work that you’re doing front and center. You want the community to be as excited as you are—so talk about it all the time, in whatever ways you can.” But Blue Valley isn’t the only district keeping their bond info easy to find. California’s Long Beach Unified School District has passed three bonds since 2008, for a total of $4.4 billion. On the district’s bond page, you can view details about completed, in-progress, or scheduled projects at each of Long Beach Unified’s 84 schools—including photos or artist renderings, descriptions, construction start dates, and projected completion dates. You can also view upcoming projects by school year in a construction timeline stretching until 2029-30. With just a few clicks, any community member can easily find what the future holds for their campus. Creating or maintaining a page like this shouldn’t be too heavy a lift; after all, you likely had most if not all of this information publicly available already as you campaigned for “Yes” votes. The key now is to keep this page active, informative, and up-to-date. The more information you make available to your community throughout the bond process, the more you’ll build their trust. (For more on building an online presence for your bond campaign, turn to page 26.)

On Long Beach Unified’s bond page, a construction timeline details the district’s upcoming projects.

Provide frequent updates. From the moment your vote is official to the ribbon-cutting of your final project, keep your community as up-to-date as possible on your bond schedule. Bond expert Dr. Don Lifto recommends using YouTube or Facebook Live to provide monthly video updates. “Show people digging the basement at the new middle school, a quick Q&A with the architect, maybe some comments from kids about how excited they are about the new gym,” Lifto says. “If you do that twice a month over a couple of years, that’s 48 opportunities to positively influence public opinion.” Social media isn’t the only way to get the word out about your progress. At Blue Valley, Hayden frequently updates the district’s several board advisory committees at their monthly meetings. “We show them photos of the finished work and remind them of what’s on the horizon,” he explains. “That touches a lot of people. There’s quite a few folks on those committees, and they’re going to talk to their neighbors.” After the fact, those presentations are often linked on Blue Valley’s bond page as well.

The district also highlights bond progress in their quarterly magazine, Blue Valley Today. “That publication doesn’t just go to our families—it goes to our entire community,” says Kaci Brutto, Blue Valley’s director of communications. This ensures that even those without a direct connection to the district stay updated on where their tax dollars are going. As Brutto points out, it’s also important to update the community on the less tangible aspects of bond progress. “We try to communicate when the bonds go to bid, what those rates came in at, who bought the bonds, all that—to make sure that our community has that knowledge of the fiscal side,” she tells us. “Even if those aren’t the shiny new things to talk about, we want to make sure we share that, because we want to be good stewards of taxpayer money.” However you update your community, make sure you’re doing it consistently. “Communication is key,” says Merrigan. “Keep the work that you’re doing front and center. You want the community to be as excited as you are—so talk about it all the time, in whatever ways you can.”

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REFERENDUMS ON THE RISE

STORIES OF SUCCESSFUL SCHOOL TAX ELECTIONS Passing a school bond right now—against a backdrop of political tension and economic anxiety—may seem like a Herculean task. But in 2022 alone, 2,146 American school districts ran bond campaigns, and about 75% of them passed. Despite our current climate, schools are still succeeding—and yours can do the same. Of course, no two districts are exactly alike, so no two bond campaigns will be, either. What works for one campaign may not work for another. But each passed school bond offers us a model for what a strong, thorough campaign can look like. Here, we’re highlighting just three districts that rallied enough support to pass their bonds. Our hope is that you’ll find encouragement in their successes—to keep going, to try out new strategies, and to find success of your own.

security and maintenance, and provide much-needed updates to every school building in the district—all at no additional cost to local taxpayers. “This was the most expensive bond issue we’d ever gone out for,” Gordon explains. “So we did a lot of research, multiple surveys, and some focus groups to figure out: Do we have the community’s support to pass this? Do people feel like the work that we’re proposing is the right type of work for their community?”

Pattonville School District leverages community support. Missouri’s Pattonville School District is fairly small—about 6,000 students total. “Everybody graduates from one high school, and I think that helps us a lot,” says Kelly Gordon, APR, Pattonville’s chief communications officer. “From an alumni perspective, we all went through the same experience. You might go to a different elementary or middle school, but in the end, you graduate as a Pattonville Pirate.” Gordon graduated from Pattonville in 2006, and while this is her first year in her current position, she’s worked with the district’s communications department for the last 12 years. She credits the tremendous support the district enjoys in part to that experience that so many people in the community share. “Our community is very, very supportive,” she says. “They want the district to do well, and they want students to do well.” In April 2022, Pattonville successfully leveraged that strong support into the passage of a $111 million no-tax-rate increase bond issue.

Gauge your community support on the front end. Before Pattonville went out for their 2022 bond, they wanted to make sure it reflected the community’s priorities. After internal feedback from schools on their wants and needs, the Pattonville team proposed a bond that would add classrooms to accommodate growing enrollment, improve

The answer was a resounding “Yes.” After this research, the bond’s predicted pass rate was over 80%. “Having that research and knowing that people are going to be supportive helps,” says Gordon. “If you put all this work into your campaign, but people don’t want it, that work doesn’t matter.”

Let your community do the talking. Having the community’s buy-in from the beginning helped shape the rest of Pattonville’s campaign. For starters, knowing the community was already on their side, they didn’t want to bombard people with too much information. “We wanted people to have the details they needed to make an informed decision—but since we knew that we had a higher level of support, we didn’t want to over-communicate,” she says. “Sometimes that can annoy people, or make them feel like that communication is a waste of taxpayer dollars.” Plus, too much communication could raise awareness among any opposition, causing more naysayers to vote than would have otherwise.

“Knowing that people are going to be supportive helps. If you put all this work into your campaign, but people don’t want it, that work doesn’t matter.” Thanks to the district’s enthusiastic cadre of advocates, Pattonville didn’t have to do much to make word spread. “For the most part, we generally don’t have to jump in and explain a lot. Our community does it for us,” Gordon says. This doesn’t just save the district work—it’s also more effective. SUMMER 2023 /

After all, people trust their friends and family more than official communication from the district or the Vote Yes committee. “It sounds a lot better when a parent says, Yes, we do need that new track or that new gym,” she explains. According to Gordon, this kind of advocacy creates a level of support that transcends shared experiences, reaching people who may not have prior connections to the district. “We have so many people who speak positively about their experience or their child’s experience in the district, and without that, we might not have the same support,” she says. “Knowing that people have had that good experience makes a huge difference.”

Keep engaging your community. When Election Day arrived, Pattonville’s bond passed with 79.4% support, just as predicted. Now, in the summer of 2023, construction projects are getting underway, and Pattonville is working to keep their community updated. “A lot of our internal conversations, especially now that it’s summer, have been about the best ways to reach our families,” Gordon says. “We have three elementary schools and a middle school about to start construction on building additions, so we wrote a letter for those principals to send out to their families, letting them know what to expect.” This isn’t just about proving that the district’s making good on its promises; it’s also about simple logistics. “When they come back to school, we might have some construction that could impact entrance into the building,” Gordon explains. “We want to keep people informed about that as well.” This goes for community members outside school campuses, too. For example, construction may cause the shutdown of a side road near one of the school sites—so Gordon and her team plan to connect with a nearby apartment complex that regularly uses that cut-through to give them a heads-up. “This was a significant investment for the community, so we want people to know that their money is having an impact,” she says. “But we also want to make sure that they’re not inconvenienced—or if they have to be, they know in advance that it’s going to happen.” For Gordon, it all goes back to the importance of engaging the community—the same community that has supported the district every step of this journey.

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Shakopee Public Schools connects their parents. In 2020, Minnesota’s Shakopee Public Schools anticipated that a significant number of their constituents would turn up to vote in their tax election. Because a previous bond was dropping off, the net tax impact would be minimal—and without the 2020 operating levy, Shakopee would be faced with significant budget cuts. But unfortunately, the levy referendum didn’t pass. When Dr. Mike Redmond arrived at Shakopee two years earlier, he was the district’s sixth superintendent in 18 months. The first of those six had ended up in federal prison for fraud and embezzlement of school funds. In a period of just four years, the community had seen the district’s unassigned funds balance go from roughly $16 million to nearly zero. Trust in the district was at an all-time low. But Redmond understood. “That hurt, anger, and resentment was because they love their schools,” he says. “They care deeply about their community, and somebody had robbed them of that and destroyed their trust.” After the 2020 operating levy failed, Redmond made space for the community to ask questions and heal. Then, he and other community leaders went back to the drawing board, developing an ultimately successful strategy for their 2021 levy campaign.

“The parents knew they were making a positive impact. They would talk about how important the operating levy was—not just for the schools, but for the entire community.” Build trust through clear and consistent messaging. Shakopee’s first step after the failed campaign was to help their community sort out the facts and voice their concerns. “We went as far as we possibly could to answer every question the community wanted to ask,” Redmond tells us. It was clear that voters would be unwilling to assist the district financially until they understood what had gone wrong in the past. “They still had a lot of pain and anger,” Redmond says, “and I understood that. People wanted to know: How are you going to manage the money now? The district blew it before.” Soon after the 2020 campaign, the district was asked to make budget cuts—so they did. They wanted to be totally transparent with the community about their finances to help rebuild trust. At the same time, they were honest about the future: Without a new revenue source, budget cuts would not be a one-time thing. That became their campaign message for the upcoming 2021 vote. “Our message was clear: This is a binary choice,” Redmond says. Would the community choose to provide additional operating revenue, or would the district need to make significant budget cuts every two to three years? Being direct and honest about the district’s financial situation was only half the battle. The other half was ensuring that the messaging surrounding the levy remained clear, consistent, and focused. District leaders made themselves constantly available for questions from community members and from staff. “During a referendum campaign, you’ve got to respond to every email before you turn your computer off at night,” Redmond says. They also involved and engaged their teachers: sharing info at welcome back events, explaining the do’s and don’ts for staff members, and showing them where to access reliable resources.

Don’t underestimate parents and families. But maybe the most important thing the district did was support the local Vote Yes committee. “We helped them get established and made sure they had access to first-rate resources,” Redmond explains. The committee, started by three volunteer co-chairs, followed a simple but effective strategy: Connect parents who support the school’s bond with other parents in the community. The way the committee saw it, parents and families have the most to gain from a school bond, so they’d be more willing to act as volunteers. What’s more, parents are best situated to advocate to other parents. Even if their political views are different, they have one very important thing in common: their kids’ education. “They used a spreadsheet from past voter records,” Redmond explains, “and the parents recruited by the three co-chairs actually picked who they’d be responsible for talking to—maybe other parents they knew or who lived by them.” Before long, nearly all of the district’s parents had been personally encouraged to vote “Yes” by someone they knew and trusted. “And then, all of a sudden, I saw people who weren’t even originally part of the formal organization doing the same kind of advocacy,” Redmond says. “They were posting on social media or discussing the bond at soccer games.” When one parent talked to 10 parents, then each of those parents talked to 10 more, the result was hundreds of new advocates promoting the levy. And as more and more people felt empowered to advocate on behalf of the district, a wave of positivity washed over the community. “The message was clear, incredibly important, and coming from fellow parents,” Redmond says. After the turmoil of the previous several years, the community united behind their chance to invest in their kids, collectively deciding to put their faith back in the district. “The parents knew they were making a positive impact,” he says. “They would talk about how important the operating levy was—not just for the schools, but for the entire community.” Their hard work paid off—the referendum passed at an astonishing two-to-one margin. And the families who were so central to that victory felt even more invested in the work of their schools; after all, they’d been a crucial part of the district’s success.

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“We had a stomachache for a couple of weeks,” says Superintendent Dr. David Haglund, “but I was confident it would end up passing—and it did.” Looking at the voting bloc, only 27% of voters had a child in the district, meaning Pleasanton USD’s success was truly a community effort. So how did they get so many people on board? They told a good story.

Good stories are honest.

Pleasanton Unified School District tells a story. When Pleasanton Unified School District in California went out for their 2022 bond, the stakes were high. Their last bond—which had come to a vote in March 2020—had failed in the wake of a mounting global pandemic. In fact, over the previous 25 years, the district had only passed one bond. When votes started coming in on Election Day, it looked like Pleasanton USD was set to continue its streak of failures. But over the next two weeks, as mail-in ballots were counted, the district pulled up from behind and clinched a victory.

“We showed them the rotting beams on the roofs, the cracks in the bricks, the ugly parts. That’s not easy to do, but if you don’t do it, you’ll never convince people of the need.” 42

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Schools are cornerstones of their communities, and as a school leader, it’s natural to want your stakeholders to take pride in their local district. It can be hard to admit when things aren’t exactly going perfectly—but sometimes it’s necessary. “The community here isn’t used to being told they’re not as good as the community down the road,” Haglund explains. “They’re used to thinking of themselves as the better place.” But in reality, Pleasanton USD’s facilities badly needed renovation. “The theater’s back corner was sinking. The basement was flooding,” Haglund tells us. “One of the high school gyms was 50 years old, and the other was 100 years old. They didn’t have heating or air conditioning.” So the district told the truth about their needs. Not only did Haglund and his team give tours of the campuses, but they also held town hall meetings inside the schools and did virtual walking tours for people who couldn’t visit in person. “I think once people actually started touring the facilities and realizing what was really there, some folks were kind of embarrassed,” he says. “We showed them the rotting beams on the roofs, the cracks in the bricks, the ugly parts. That’s not easy to do, but if you don’t do it, you’ll never convince people of the need.”

Good stories build into a broader legacy. Throughout the campaign, Haglund and his team found themselves coming back to the idea of building a legacy. “We constructed a lot of our narrative around that idea,” Haglund says. For example, Bill Butler, one of two parents who spearheaded the local advocacy group, is a former basketball coach. For him, leaving a legacy meant improving that 100-year-old gym. “When it’s 37 degrees outside, it’s 38 degrees in the gym,” explains Haglund. “They have jackets on trying to practice basketball, and that made Bill embarrassed. That wasn’t the image of the community that he wanted to raise his kids in. He knew he couldn’t just sit back. That’s the story he tells.”

Haglund goes on to describe other members of the community who have stories similar to Butler’s, who couldn’t help but want to make a difference for future generations of students. “I don’t know that anybody said: Hey, let’s talk about our legacy,” Haglund explains. “It just rose out of conversations with people in the community and stuck. It was just a natural part of the storytelling.”

As Haglund says, “Storytelling isn’t just about bonds; it’s about the work in general.” It’s this key insight that helped the Pleasanton team garner community support for the 2022 bond. But it wasn’t easy. Passing a bond is hard work, and, according to Haglund, “if you’re going to take on a project that’s hard, then you have to tell a story that will motivate people.”

Good stories appeal to a wide audience. Since fewer than 30% of Pleasanton USD’s voters had children in the district, their bond campaign had to appeal to everyone—even voters who didn’t feel they had much to gain from a new high school auditorium. “One of the pieces of the narrative that I had to create for the community was that these are not just school facilities,” Haglund tells us. “Every single one of these buildings is accessible to the community when school’s not in session. Plus, good school facilities create better property values, which create great resale values.” The reality is that better school facilities benefit everyone. Convincing the community of that fact also meant combatting a growing “us versus them” mentality. Parents and families of older students and alumni weren’t immediately seeing the state of the district as their responsibility. There were also members of the community looking for someone to blame. “They were thinking: We did our part. Now, it’s their turn to take care of the schools,” says Haglund. “So the line I came up with is: None of this is my fault, but it’s all my responsibility.” By inviting the whole community to take collective ownership over the district’s shared legacy, Haglund and his team made sure voters would turn up on Election Day— whether they had students in the district or not.

Make sure your story is heard. Haglund and his team did everything they could to share their message. The district and the advocacy campaign worked together to give presentations throughout the community. “I’d give my talk about need,” Haglund says. “Then, I’d leave the building, and the advocacy campaign chairs would pump everyone up and explain how to volunteer.” The campaign leaders also recruited folks to write letters to the editor about voting “Yes”—which often prompted the newspapers and magazines to contact the district for more info. Pleasanton USD also hired architects to generate mockups of the proposed projects to help their community visualize their potential future. “In a book, the pictures are part of the story,” Haglund explains. “In some cases, they’re even more important than the narrative.” SUMMER 2023 /

FORGING YOUR DISTRICT’S PATH CATHY KEDJIDJIAN, APR

to be the one to throw the process off course, so I dug in, created the surveys, and sent them out. (It might have been Friday after 5 p.m., but they still got out on time!) I love surveys. But before I send a new one out, I remind myself and my leadership colleagues of one important motto: Don’t ask if you won’t act. Are we ready for the results? Even if they’re not at all what we’re expecting, will we share that data back to the community and do something with it?

Cathy Kedjidjian Cathy Kedjidjian, APR, is the executive director of communications and strategic planning for Glenview School District 34 in Illinois. She is also the 2022-23 president of NSPRA. Here, she shares her deep insights into school communications and the strategic planning process.

I’m passionate about strategic planning. It’s part of my title, and it’s ingrained in my professional beliefs and values. So I’m fortunate to have started in Glenview District 34 in August 2018, just as the district was launching their first strategic planning process in many years. When Superintendent Dr. Dane Delli arrived in 2017, Glenview was struggling. Staff morale was waning, leadership transitions were occurring left and right, programs were behind the times, and the buildings were in disrepair—all because there wasn’t a clear path for the district or anyone to guide it. In his first year, Dr. Delli set the stage with the school board to begin strategic planning. And on my first day as director of communications and strategic planning, my first order of business was to develop staff, parent, student, and community surveys. In order to stay on schedule, I needed to send those surveys out by the end of that week. I was not going

In our situation, the point was to act, to use whatever knowledge and insight we could gain to put Glenview District 34 on a forward, upward path. The information I collected from those surveys, from research into our student and staff demographics, and from student achievement data was unbelievably useful in guiding our strategic plan. It was the best education a school leader could possibly gain about their organization and community—in the shortest amount of time. As a cabinet team, we pored over the data to understand the current state of the district. We would use this information to paint a picture for the community and develop a map to our future. At our meetings, as we looked at the data, we had those “aha” moments together. This process cemented our leadership team in common understanding and in deep friendship. We speak the same language, formed from our discussions around our district, and are a stronger team—and better leaders—because of the strategic planning process.

The Value of Input The data we collected was key, but as great as it was, it was only the second-most useful part of our strategic planning. As always, people and relationships were priority number one. More than 40 administrators, teachers, staff, parents, and community members were recruited to form our strategic planning task force. Looking at the data and other input from the community at large, this group guided the development of the final strategic plan. I received a great gift in hearing from and getting to know the most invested and influential stakeholders in our community. To this day, I’m tightly connected with them. Involved parents are my go-to for insider information when I need it, like when chaos breaks out in a Facebook parent group or on Nextdoor. In fact, most of the time, I don’t have to ask them what’s going on—they come to me. And of course, there are our passionate teachers. I can walk into their classrooms and SUMMER 2023 /

Old Design

New Design

know that I’m going to get not only great pictures, but also great hugs. And, because we worked together to develop our vision for the district’s future, when I need them for a project that clarifies that vision, they are eager to help.

After all the research and community input it took to develop a plan that reflected the community’s wishes and vision for the district, we needed to reflect that vision back to them in everything we did—including our brand. We heard the words “aspire,” “explore,” “discover,” and “connect” throughout hallways, in classrooms, and on playgrounds, but we didn’t see them—or really feel them—in our brand.

Through half a dozen meetings over five months, our team had deep conversations, shared information with the community, and got input from them in return. Then, we came back to process, reflect, and have deep conversations about the feedback we had gained. In early 2019, our strategic planning team presented our final plan to the Board of Education, and the board approved it. Afterward, everything in the district felt different almost immediately. The new plan’s vision, values, and goals resonated—but especially its mission:

Empower all learners to: • Aspire to reach their highest potential • Explore their passions and interests • Discover their pathway to success • Connect with each other, the community, and the world

Strategic Plan to Rebrand With a clear vision for our path forward, we needed to make sure everything in our branding aligned with our new strategic plan before it went into effect. For example, our old Glenview District 34 logo didn’t fit into our new vision.

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A strong brand is more than a logo. It’s a relationship, a reflection of each stakeholder. When a community sees their input reflected in their brand, it builds connections and trust. So our new strategic plan led immediately to a rebrand; the two are completely intertwined in Glenview District 34. Our official launch of the plan and the rebrand to the community would be on the last day of school in June 2019. Leading up to that, we had a thorough rebranding process in the spring with a great deal of input (more surveys!) from staff, students, parents, and the community. During this process, we built excitement about the new brand and our new logo. When it was time to unveil the logo, we kept it directly tied to the strategic plan. We chose to share the revamped branding with staff first during our all-district meeting, which we call our closing institute day. It was the last day of the school year for staff, so it was a big event. The plan and the mission—Aspire. Explore. Discover. Connect.—were already becoming familiar to staff. As a lead-up to the institute day, we asked them all to submit what they aspired to do in the next school year—for themselves,

for their students, and for each other. As an incentive, every person who submitted their aspiration would receive swag branded with our new, yet-to-be-seen logo. We tweeted out every submission we received, and when closing institute day finally came, we projected our Twitter feed with our one-day hashtag #AspireD34 on a big screen. As people entered the meeting, they saw their aspirations and those of their colleagues. After Dr. Delli and our board president gave brief, uplifting speeches, we showed a video featuring students and staff proudly repeating our new mission statement: Aspire. Explore. Discover. Connect. This was interwoven with the story of our strategic plan, explaining the comprehensive community engagement process used to develop it and outlining its components. At the end of the video was the big reveal: our brand-new logo. The “oohs” and “ahhs” from our more than 700 staff members as soon as the new logo hit the screen were music to my ears.

Photos courtesy of Glenview School District 34

The swag was a huge hit as well—so successful that our teachers asked if there was a way to buy extra items. Thus our new online store D34Swag.com was born! While our schools each have their own mascots, logos, and individual cultures, everyone truly feels connected to the district as a whole—even students, who typically only have deep connections with their own schools. Last fall, we had a booth at the Glenview Farmers Market with a districtbranded tablecloth. A Lyon Elementary School student walked by, saw the new district logo, and excitedly said to his mom, ”That’s my school!” We wear and share our brand with great pride throughout our buildings, online, and everywhere outside of school. Even our pets can be spotted wearing D34 swag. That’s why we are recognized and welcomed wherever we go throughout the community. That recognition and respect is helpful as we work, like all districts nationwide, to recruit essential staff like substitutes and teaching assistants.

The Path to Referendum Success Our new strategic plan also gave clear direction that we needed to address our facility deficiencies and gaps in programming. In the plan’s goal area titled “Student Success and Well-Being,” a strategy directed us to “provide opportunities for the earliest learners to establish a strong academic and social-emotional foundation.” Another strategy, under the plan’s “Resource Stewardship” goal, said we must “address aging facilities and deferred maintenance to provide safe, clean, and well-maintained facilities.”

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Remember, this was a strategic plan developed and directed by our community—so it was no surprise that we had incredible support for the referendum we then passed on March 17, 2020. This allowed construction that would make space for full-day kindergarten, as well as renovations in all our buildings that will impact the academic and social-emotional experiences of every student for generations to come. We shared the progress of our referendum construction with our community—in branded communication, of course. At ribbon-cuttings at the start of last school year, many members of our strategic planning task force— who, no surprise, also got involved in the referendum task force and the Vote Yes citizens group—were part of the celebration. They have been on this path with us every step of the way.

The Road Ahead Our current strategic plan runs through the 2023-24 school year, so we launch our next strategic planning process in the fall of 2023. We can’t yet know our direction; the process determines the path, after all. However, we do know that Glenview District 34 is facing the same big issues that all districts are grappling with. We’re working to support the mental health and well-being of our staff, students, and families. We’re trying to address the local impact of nationwide teacher and support staff shortages. We’re attempting to increase civil discourse and find common ground throughout our communities, particularly when discussing diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our next strategic plan will provide a framework for us to skillfully navigate these issues in a way that is best for our students and their success as they move through and beyond our school system.

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The planning process, of course, will include surveys, data review, and community engagement sessions—and plenty of “aha” moments as well. But we are certain that staff, students, families, and other stakeholders will generously share their perspectives because they trust us. Last time around, we asked, we acted, and our community saw and felt the results. Now we have an opportunity to strengthen that trust, bringing in new faces and perspectives—new friends who will join us on our path forward.

WORKING IN TANDEM THE WHY, WHAT, AND HOW OF COLLABORATING BETTER WITH BOARD MEMBERS

Of all the factors influencing your work, the most unpredictable is your school board. No other part of your job has the potential to change so drastically—and so quickly—with such intense effects on your day-to-day work. Research shows that when superintendents and school boards don’t have strong, positive relationships, student outcomes are worse. And that’s not all—antagonistically split school boards often weaken a bond referendum’s chances of passing. For Dr. Steve Joel, this all means that superintendent-board relations are “mission critical.” Having served 37 years as a superintendent, Joel now works as a consultant for executive leaders in education—particularly on the topics of boards and governance. More than once, he’s seen what happens when board relations go awry. “When a board and a superintendent aren’t in sync, the school district’s not going to be in sync,” he says. “And it isn’t going to take long before that trickles down to the classroom.” So it’s clear that successful schools require collaborative boards—but how do you create that culture? We’ve learned it all comes down to strong relationships and clear procedures.

Build strong relationships. Strong personal relationships are absolutely critical to every aspect of your work with your board—but building those relationships takes time. It starts when new members are first onboarded and continues long after.

Start off on the right foot. As anyone who’s experienced turnover on their board can tell you, new board members can radically transform the landscape of your work. That’s why, according to Joel, it’s crucial to start off on the right foot as you bring new members on board. “Working with your board chair, you really have to develop a good, robust onboarding process,” he says. But what should that onboarding entail? Clarify everyone’s roles. In Virginia’s Portsmouth Public Schools, Superintendent Dr. Elie Bracy III and Board Chair Dr. Cardell Patillo Jr. have built a model board culture— and they attribute it at least in part to a clear delineation of responsibilities. “The main topic that’s covered in the orientation with our new board members is making sure that they understand their roles,” says Patillo. “The superintendent is in charge of the day-to-day activities of the school division. Board members are in charge of policy and governance.” Establishing this simple boundary in the beginning helps avoid power struggles between the board and superintendent. It also keeps work efficient and effective on both halves of the equation. Have one-on-one conversations with new board members. “Every new board member has a platform— their specific areas of concern or interest,” says Bracy. “Taking that extra step with board members individually to talk with them about their specific interests helps me get to know them and them get to know me.” A one-on-one conversation also gives you a chance to tell your new board members what the district is already doing to address their existing concerns. Familiarize them with your processes. For your board members to be successful, they’ll need to understand how your board currently operates, but learning all these policies and procedures can be overwhelming. You and your board president should plan one to two full days for formal onboarding sessions—going over your handbook, explaining procedures, and laying ground rules—but consider giving new members chances to observe your board in action as well. At Portsmouth, Patillo invites newly 50

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elected members to board meetings before they’re even sworn in. “They don’t get to vote, but they get to see the procedure of the board meeting and how it normally flows,” he explains. Provide mentorship opportunities. Joel recommends assigning each rookie a “board buddy”—a tenured board member who can help show them the ropes. This also builds an ongoing relationship the new board member can lean on. “For at least the first two or three months, board buddies can call after board meetings to check in and answer any questions the new board member might have,” Joel says.

Stay connected. The work of maintaining relationships is ongoing. “You have to spend time with individual board members, sometimes outside of meetings where you can truly get to know them,” says Joel. That’s why it’s important to keep having one-onone conversations—not just during onboarding, but for the duration of each member’s time on the board. These regular check-ins can help resolve conflicts before they even begin. “Very often, in these one-on-ones, you can get a better idea of why a particular board member might be feeling alienated,” Joel says. “Then, you can figure out what to do to help them become successful.” Not every check-in needs to be a long, drawn-out conversation, either. “You could create a culture of a 10-minute phone call, just to hear a board member’s concerns,” says Joel. What matters is finding a regular, consistent way to connect and sticking with it. The benefits of building these relationships can’t be overstated. For one, it will help you learn to anticipate each board member’s concerns and moves—which will make your meetings that much more efficient and conflict-free. At Portsmouth, Bracy and his executive team “have been working with the board for so long that [they] know who’s going to ask what questions,” he says. This allows them to “get ahead” of those questions as they prepare their presentations. But perhaps most importantly, developing close bonds with board members will allow you to see one another as people first and foremost. “We try to know each other’s lives—how many children we all have, what they’re involved in,” says Patillo. “With the superintendent, I realize that he’s more

than just a superintendent. He’s also a husband, a father, a grandfather. So I have a genuine concern for him as a person—and that filters into the boardroom.”

Establish strong policies and procedures. Unfortunately, strong relationships alone aren’t enough. You also need established norms and protocols—guide rails that will keep your collaborative work on track. “You need to decide: How do you make decisions? How do you create an agenda? How do you handle conflict between the board and the superintendent? How do you deal with critics in the community?” says Joel. “Answering those questions can help you address the challenges that are coming.”

How do you keep one another informed? Of all the norms we’ll discuss, this is perhaps the most important one to get right because it feeds into all the others. Strong two-way communication between the board and the superintendent will keep you all up-to-date on whatever problems arise—and minimize interpersonal conflict.

First, it’s important for you and your board to establish that you will communicate about everything. “If something happens, good or bad, you need to make sure that the board is aware,” says Bracy. “They’re going to find out, so just go ahead and share that information.” As Joel puts it, “The goal of the superintendent is to never let your board be surprised.” This can’t just be a commitment on your part, however; it needs to be an established process that goes both ways. At Portsmouth, “it’s reciprocal,” says Bracy. “If Dr. Patillo hears something before I do, he lets me know.” Of course, when you have several board members, lines of communication can get messy. That’s where your relationship with your board president or chair becomes pivotal. “The partnership Dr. Patillo and I have as board chair and superintendent is key,” Bracy tells us. When board members have questions, concerns, or other news, they let Patillo know; then he contacts Bracy. “We don’t say anything to the media or the public until we’ve checked with the superintendent,” says Patillo. “And even then, we lean on our communications to respond to the community and to the press—so we’re always sending out the same message and ensuring continuity between the board and the superintendent.” You should also keep up regular communication with your board members even when there’s no urgent news to share. Bracy and Patillo, for example, have at least one short conversation every single day. When he was superintendent at Nebraska’s Lincoln Public Schools (LPS), Joel relied on a weekly Friday update via email. “The first half went over what happened during the previous week, and the second half went over what board members could expect the next week,” he explains. Of course, all of this becomes easier when you have strong relationships with board members, but it’s also a positive cycle. The more you communicate, the stronger and more trusting those relationships will become.

How do you resolve internal conflict? It’s no secret that internal conflict can be one of the thorniest issues facing superintendents and boards these days. Even in the best situations, school boards are made up of people—and when people get together, tension is bound to arise. So how do you deal with it?

At LPS, Joel and his board’s first rule for handling conflict was always to discuss it—preferably outside of the public board meeting. “If you have a problem with me as superintendent, you have to let me know,” he explains. “And as an admin team, we can’t get upset with a board member without talking to them.” It’s also crucial to allow board members to communicate and explain their opinions, even if you vehemently disagree with them. In meetings at Portsmouth, “we allow everyone to speak their opinions,” says Patillo. “The public deserves to hear their thoughts and concerns.” Plus, setting a standard for showing respect to all opinions builds trust among board members, and between the board and the superintendent. “Again, it’s knowing the interests and the dynamics of your board, making sure everyone’s opinion feels appreciated,” says Patilllo. “We’ve created a culture of teamwork—so we can agree to disagree, but not to be disagreeable.” Of course, it becomes much easier to respect the opinions of others when you commit to giving them the benefit of the doubt. At Portsmouth, whatever differences of opinion arise, Patillo believes all board members have one thing in common. “We all want the same thing, and that’s a highquality education for our kids,” he says.

How do you deal with external conflict? Even if you and your board are in total alignment, you’ll more than likely face criticism from the outside. As we’ve seen from news reports across the country, many public board meetings have become outlets for belligerent complaints. Is this avoidable? And if so, can better protocols help you ratchet down the tension? As superintendent at LPS in the aftermath of pandemic closures, Joel faced this very problem. “We were getting 40 or 50 people showing up at board meetings, upset about masking and health standards,” he says. If each of those people took up to five minutes speaking, LPS was looking at three or four hours of public comments before they could even get down to the business at hand. What’s more, some of the commenters didn’t even live in the area. “A lot of people just wanted to be in the fight, and they didn’t have any association with Lincoln Public Schools,” he says. Neither the LPS executive team nor the board wanted to shut down public comment completely—but they needed some way to rein in the chaos. So they implemented a new 52

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procedure. At the beginning of each board meeting, they reserved one hour for public comment and allowed each speaker three minutes instead of five. Anyone who didn’t get to speak during this hour would get another chance in a second hourlong session at the end of the meeting. “That worked well, because people weren’t as energized at 9 o’clock as they were at 6,” Joel explains. “And by going to three minutes, we were actually able to listen to more speakers.”

“We’ve created a culture of teamwork—so we can agree to disagree, but not to be disagreeable.” Both Portsmouth and LPS have also established protocols for how to interact with the public at board meetings—or rather, how not to interact. At Portsmouth, “we listen to public comments, but we don’t respond,” says Patillo. “That way we don’t have a contentious back-and-forth between the public and the school board.” LPS followed a similar strategy, but with an important addendum. “We didn’t interact with the public at all unless they spoke mistruths,” Joel says. If someone from the public spread misinformation as part of their public comment, administrators in the audience could correct it. “That kept a bunch of people from coming to the meeting—but even more importantly, now those who did come had a focus on accuracy, not what they read on social media,” he says. Another way to keep dissenters at bay? Keep your community as informed as possible. At Portsmouth, Bracy hired the district’s first communications director, and according to Patillo, current comms director Lauren Nolasco is “the best in the nation.” “She keeps a lot of the heat down on major issues,” Patillo tells us. “Good external communication makes the community feel at peace. When she puts out a message about an issue, it often prevents the public from having to come to the meeting to talk about it, because they already have the information they need.”

Start now. It may be that right now, your board relations are going fine. Maybe you’re not facing the problems that are plaguing other districts around the country. Even if that’s the case, next year, your board could very well look completely different—and it’s more difficult to implement new protocols in an already rocky climate. “It’s awfully hard for a superintendent to incorporate these things five years in because they’ve all of a sudden got some disruptive voices on the board,” Joel says. Now is the time to start building the relationships and protocols that will keep your board on track tomorrow. As Joel advises, it’s not enough just to talk about all these strategies. The greatest playbook in the world won’t do you any good if you don’t actually use it. “You have to practice these things,” he says. “You can’t just

develop it, feel good about it, and put it on a shelf. You’ve got to work on it.” And doing so, he argues, is paramount. “Education is the backbone of democracy, and we have to get this right,” he says. “Put a foundation in place that can stand the test of time and keep you focused on what’s most important: the education of our children.”

AVOIDING THE FIREWORKS A SUPERINTENDENT AND BOARD PRESIDENT SHARE HOW THEY KEEP BOARD MEETINGS PRODUCTIVE AND DRAMA-FREE. As we witness school board meetings across the country becoming hotbeds of controversy and political strife, it’s hard not to wonder if any district is immune. In the midst of national staff shortages and growing competition for enrollment, this kind of chaos can sully a school district’s reputation and trust within the community. And if it’s bad for your school brand, it’s bad for your students. Now, maybe more than ever, it’s vital to build and maintain strong relationships with the members of your school board, especially the president or chair. For more insight on the matter, we turn to Iowa’s MMCRU Community Schools, which is actually two districts combined:

Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn School District and RemsenUnion Community Schools. Answering to two school boards, Superintendent Dan Barkel has learned firsthand about the value of trust and transparency with board presidents. To get a better sense of this crucial working dynamic—and to learn how to keep the peace at board meetings—we spoke with Barkel and Jason Loutsch, current president of the Remsen-Union school board. Loutsch, a full-time farmer, was elected to the position in 2019. Barkel has been superintendent of MMCRU since 2018.

me get a feel for what the community is thinking. That insight is crucial for me at MMCRU, because we have two communities here, and they sometimes have differing viewpoints on certain issues. My board presidents really give me that context.

ke l J as

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The board presidents also play a crucial role in helping me project a calm, peaceful image for our school board—one that shows we can work together to get things done. During the pandemic, it became really clear to me that in order to progress as a school system, we need to have board meetings that are as placid and productive as possible. It’s important that we try to keep fires burning low or put them out quickly. We can’t afford to be at odds with one another, because if we separate from each other, these districts will eventually get swallowed up by larger ones and cease to exist.

Fortunately, our board members really love our schools, and they want us to continue. They want us to thrive and prosper. But in order to ensure that, I have to have good leadership from the board presidents, leadership that moves our schools forward so that parents, students, and community members have a lot of trust in what we’re doing.

why is a board president’s Q Dan, role in the operations of a district so important?

DB: Because I serve the school boards of two adjacent districts, when we have a board meeting, there are actually two boards meeting. We meet jointly because we all have a stake in all of our kids. So it’s really important that our boards work together and that both understand what’s going on in all our schools. The work of our board presidents is key and really important in our situation. When I came here, I started having a board presidents’ meeting prior to our monthly board meeting. In these meetings, the three of us basically go through the agenda and discuss what we’ll be covering that month. As the superintendent, I try to provide a little background on any issues that may come up, and my board presidents help

how do you view the Q Jason, relationship between the superintendent and school board?

JL: When I first joined the school board, I wasn’t planning on ever becoming president. That’s just how the cards fell. And it is a big change from just sitting on the board. Now I run the meetings, call the motions, keep things in order. And if any of my board members have concerns, which they all do from time to time, I’m responsible for bringing those to Dan. I also try to always let our board members know what’s going on. I don’t want them coming to our meetings surprised by a topic or issue that comes up.

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So first of all, we have to have respect for each other. And we have to show that we have our schools’ best interests at heart and not just our own self interests. We have to be genuine and work to engender trust. I know I’m not perfect. We’ve had some issues with trust here in the past, and you can’t fix those things overnight. You’re always going to have those things when you’re dealing with human beings. But your track record has to reflect that you can be a trustworthy person. You just need to be consistent, real, and honest.

As board president, I’m also the first person people call when they don’t like something— but that’s my job. The board is tasked with overseeing the district, and Dan is the one in charge of our day-to-day operations. So when there is a problem, that’s where I start. I go to the superintendent, and we talk about how to address it.

is MMCRU’s approach Q What to productive, drama-free board meetings?

JL: I think it reflects well on us and the job we’re doing that we don’t have any of those problems you see districts having on the news. Our administration stays on top of things, and we try not to give people a reason to complain. But I’ll also listen to anybody, whatever issue they may have. That doesn’t necessarily mean I think they’re right, but I will listen to people when they come to me. DB: We need to position ourselves with such a high level of trust and excellence that we attract people to our organization and to our schools. Parents need to feel good about our district and feel like there’s a lot of good things going on here, like their kids need to be part of that. So for me, this is a business motivation. The least we can do is keep our board meetings civil. A district not too far from us is having fireworks at their board meetings to the point where they’ve got people watching just to see what will happen. We don’t want that. We want to be as boring as paint drying on a wall. The business of school doesn’t need more bumps in the road than it already has. Avoiding the fireworks is key. A lot of times you hear things like “the superintendent’s relationship with the board went sideways.” And I’m not saying that I haven’t had moments where I’ve maybe been “sideways” with some board members as well, because let’s face it: With all the issues we’re facing nowadays, there are going to be disagreements. Even though we’re in a small town, we don’t all have the same views on everything.

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is a major issue Q Enrollment for many districts. How are you working together to address declining student numbers?

DB: I spent most of my career in private schools, so I’m definitely sensitive to enrollment. I know how it affects funding and how important it is for us to maintain and grow our numbers. We’re small and rural, and we have private schools in one of our districts, so we’re scrapping and fighting for every student we can get. That’s another reason why we have to promote ourselves and our image, not only in terms of how we run our schools, but also in terms of how we run our board meetings. I once read somewhere that to be successful in business, you have to be aware of everything, so that’s how I am. We can’t afford to be at each other’s throats. If we are, then people will start walking away from our district, and we won’t be in business anymore. There are also certain factors that are outside of our control. In a rural Iowa community like ours, declining enrollment in public schools is related to how farming works. New farming equipment and technology mean you need fewer and fewer people working on a farm than you used to— and that’s only going to continue to change with an increased use of artificial intelligence. That means fewer and fewer students in our schools.

So business and industry are key to growing communities like ours. That means we have to be aggressive in developing our towns to meet this change. We can’t count on farming to grow our enrollment anymore. We need to count on industries that support farming instead. As a district, we work with economic development efforts in our communities to attract more businesses and industry to the area. We also have an incredible industrial technology program in our schools, and that helps drive industry in our community. Honestly, if we don’t grow industry, we won’t grow either.

JL: We have two big school districts to the east and west of us, so we have to grow our town if we want kids to stay. We need people wanting to move here. Getting businesses in our town is probably the best way to grow our enrollment. I’ve lived in this town all my life, and I basically live on the same farm I grew up on. So I want to see it grow and thrive. A big part of this is creating jobs that will make our kids want to stay and raise families here. For years, we were all told in school that you need to go to a fouryear college to be successful, but I think that mentality is changing, and we need it to change. As Dan mentioned, our districts have focused on industrial technology and teaching trades and skills that will hopefully help our kids get the kind of jobs that will keep them in our community.

can superintendents and Q How boards work together to run a successful bond campaign?

A DB:

The Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn district (MMC) passed a $20 million bond in March of 2021 to finance a new elementary school and an attached daycare facility. This will also fund a complete remodel of MMCRU’s high school. Superintendents and school boards are critical to getting projects like this off of the ground.

I helped by assessing our needs and envisioning what would be necessary to meet the goal of improving our facilities. Then the MMC board had to lend their support and approval to get the measure on the ballot in front of voters, as well as help garner public support for the bond proposal. Keep in mind that in the state of Iowa, a 60% supermajority is required to pass a school bond, and since it was a three-question proposal, a fair amount of campaigning had to take place in order to get it passed. Fortunately, the school board at MMC is made up of five at-large members who all represent various social groups within the district’s population. Getting their support— and harnessing their personal contacts—was vital in forming a network of support to help get out the vote on Election Day, which made it possible for the measure to pass. We are very pleased that so much progress has been made on the building project, and we expect a total completion date in the spring of 2024. The future of the MMCRU Royals looks very bright.

THE SCIENCE OF FEEDBACK THREE TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE EMPLOYEE COACHING

One of your major roles as a superintendent is to serve as your district’s chief culture officer— and often the chief of instruction, too. In both cases, there is a common denominator to success: the ability to give meaningful, quality feedback. After all, without it, improvement and growth can rarely happen. But when it comes to actually giving effective feedback to employees—not just students— school leaders usually receive very little training. At some point in your pedagogical career, you probably learned about the idea of the “feedback sandwich,” where you position a constructive criticism in between two compliments. While this may have been the beginning of your education on giving effective feedback, it shouldn’t be the end. For the past decade, studies have shown that not all feedback is productive; in fact, some feedback can actually be counterproductive by almost every metric. With this knowledge, it’s probably no surprise that many managers dread giving feedback, even if it’s only slightly negative. But research shows that people actually crave constructive feedback and wish they received it more often. According to a survey from Joblist, 33.4% of employees report a desire for more feedback from their managers. Take it from Harry Kramer of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management: “Good managers know that feedback is a gift to their employees.” Getting feedback right is critical, both for your district’s overall organizational health and for your relationships with your employees. And while giving effective feedback is an art to be honed over time, there are plenty of sciencebased tips that can help you get there.

Tip #1: Root your feedback in trust.

Just because employees generally wish they got more feedback doesn’t mean they enjoy receiving it in the moment. As an experienced manager, it’s probably no surprise to you that negative feedback is nearly impossible for most employees to accept. According to research published in the scientific journal Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, “People have been shown to cope with negative feedback by disputing it, lowering their goals, reducing commitment, misremembering or reinterpreting the feedback to be more positive, and engaging in selfesteem repair, none of which are likely to motivate efforts to do a better job next time.” Of course, this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t give constructive feedback—it just means that you have to do it the right way. How do you get past people’s natural inclination to dismiss negative feedback? The answer is trust. According to writer Mark McMillon, most people tune out feedback they don’t feel they deserve, but this is less often the case when they receive feedback from someone they trust. While you can’t develop trust overnight, rooting your feedback in a relationship of trust allows you to avoid potential dismissal of your perspective and offers your employee the opportunity to grow. As you work to build a trusting relationship with an employee, you can’t begin with criticism. According to Jenna Rhodes, a school administrator and neuroscience expert from Georgia’s Crisp County Schools, the first conversation you have with an employee shouldn’t be related to feedback at all. “They have to understand you as a person and an administrator,” Rhodes says. “They have to know that while you have standards that apply to all teachers, your feedback is just to help them grow.” In rooting yourself in trust, you’re also opening the door for feedback to become a two-way conversation. After all, honest feedback from employees is vital to understanding how the rest of your organization perceives you. Of course, your employees are likely to have feedback about aspects of their jobs beyond you, too. Take it from Business Weekly: “Smart leaders know that a strong company culture and good workplace relationships are founded on open, honest input from everyone in the organization.”

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Dr. Matthew X. Joseph is the director of hiring, evaluation, and supervision at Brockton Public Schools in Massachusetts. For him, teaching others how to better give feedback is more than a vocation—it’s a passion. Part of Joseph’s job is helping principals and other administrators learn to give stronger critiques to the educators they’re coaching—in other words, giving feedback on giving feedback.

The higher up in your district you are, the more important it becomes to stay in touch with the staff who are doing the day-to-day work. Understanding this perspective is critical if you want to build a culture of trust and continuous improvement that permeates your district at all levels.

Tip #2: Be quick and clear.

As an educator, you may remember that a positive or negative consequence is most meaningful to children when it happens as close to the inciting event as possible. As it turns out, adults are pretty much the same. In general, you want to give your feedback pretty quickly—within no more than a week of an incident. But consistency matters, too. According to a 2022 Gallup poll, employees who have received meaningful feedback within the past week are almost four times more likely to be engaged than other employees. In fact, many organizations engage in something called “continuous feedback,” where regular feedback cycles, sometimes as often as weekly, negate the need to hold sporadic check-ins. Committing to quick feedback also makes you more likely to address a specific moment or situation, rather than vaguely remarking on a long-term observation. When you are bothered by something that you’ve observed in an employee, you are particularly susceptible to a phenomenon called “confirmation bias,” where you only notice incidents that validate your opinion. Focusing instead on a particular instance makes your feedback less likely to be skewed by any preexisting opinions, which will also help your employees understand your perspective. 60

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In his experience as a coach, Joseph has seen school leaders struggle most in two major areas: not being specific enough and not making it clear how the recipient can best improve. Many administrators, he says, worry about how their feedback will be received and therefore draw the conversation out to make it feel less negative. What happens, though, is that the recipient leaves the conversation with only a watered-down understanding of what needs to change. “You want someone to walk away knowing exactly what you want them to improve upon,” Joseph explains, “and that means distilling your feedback into just a few sentences that are easy to understand.” Being clear also means not being afraid to have difficult conversations. According to Rhodes, this is the single biggest challenge of giving feedback. “No one wants to make anyone feel uncomfortable,” she says, “so we end up coming up with ways to get around it. Then, both the administrator and the teacher leave the conversation feeling uncertain because the administrator wasn’t direct enough.”

Tip #3: Focus on the future.

When most people think of feedback, they imagine onedirectional conversations, but recent research tells us that effective feedback should actually be much different. In a Harvard Business Review survey of nearly 4,000 employees, people were more likely to rate their managers highly on their ability to give honest feedback if they also rated their managers as careful listeners. Think back to our earlier discussions about trust—giving your employee an opportunity to feel heard makes them less likely to perceive your negative feedback as unwarranted or off-base. You may also be able to get further insights into the challenges your employee is facing, and thus have a clearer understanding of how to support them going forward. If your employees feel understood, they are also more likely to check back in with you as they work to address whatever constructive feedback you’ve given them. Feedback should

be rooted in the hope of continuous improvement, but this won’t be the case without a relationship of both trust and mutual understanding. Being a leader who listens—and therefore understands—is an authentic way to open the door to the trust you need for honest feedback to land (see Tip #1). When giving feedback, the last thing you want is for the other person to walk away from the conversation feeling hopeless or unsure about how to move forward. To avoid this, let your employee know that now that you’ve discussed the problem at hand, you are ready for your relationship to move on. The employee needs to know that you’re more concerned with what they do with your feedback in the future than whatever happened in the past. In building this mindset for growth, it’s also important to focus on an employee’s actions rather than who they are as a person. “We all know it’s a lot harder to change yourself than it is to change the way you approach a task,” Joseph explains. “You want to help your employee understand that they are valued as a person, and that value is separate from their

Feedback should be rooted in the hope of continuous improvement, but this won’t be the case without a relationship of both trust and mutual understanding.

work as an employee.” To you, this may seem like a given— but according to the 2022 Gallup State of the Workplace survey, only 21% of employees feel that their managers care about their opinions and recognize their work. With this in mind, you should make it clear to your employee that while you may have specific, constructive feedback for them, you recognize and appreciate their value in your organization. Whatever the content of your conversation, be sure to end on a positive note. Praise your employee on something you’ve noticed they do well, or express your excitement at whatever steps they’ve committed to for the future. Regardless, you want them to leave the room knowing that their work is valued and that whatever is going on right now, things are looking up.

School Shoutout Cody-Kilgore’s Circle C Market How one rural Nebraska district is serving their community and giving students hands-on learning experiences If you’re ever driving through Nebraska’s sprawling Sandhills, you’ll come across something very special in the small village of Cody. Just off Highway 20 is a sign inviting you to shop at “Nebraska’s Only Straw Bale Supermarket!” But Circle C Market’s building isn’t the only thing that makes it unique—it’s actually a fully stocked grocery store run by the students of Cody-Kilgore Unified Schools (CKUS). It’s also the only grocery store serving residents of the large rural district.

As food insecurity becomes a growing problem nationwide, the story of Circle C Market illustrates how the deep, necessary relationship between a community and its schools can be leveraged to make lasting change.

A Community in Need Cody-Kilgore Unified Schools is a remote district in a massive county. Cherry County, Nebraska, is so large— encompassing nearly 6,000 square miles—that it takes up more land than the entire state of Connecticut. The people of Cody and Kilgore have a deep connection with that land, too. Many of the district’s families have been farming and operating ranches there for generations. But Cody and Kilgore together have a population of fewer than 250 people—and around 160 of them are students. So living and learning in the area presents a unique set of challenges, especially when it comes to finding jobs and resources. On top of all that, the school district itself serves a whopping 553 square miles of Cherry County, which includes three area codes. That means long commutes for many of the district’s families and staff. Sadly, the district’s sole grocery store closed in 1995, forcing residents to drive long distances for food and other household goods. “Some of our kids travel over an hour to get here from their ranches,” says Secondary Administrative Assistant Carrie Ford, who helps run the store outside of school hours. “One of the things that parents were always saying was: If I’m going to enroll my kids in Cody-Kilgore, I need to be able to get groceries when we come to town.” It became clear that CKUS needed a solution—one that would benefit the district and the entire community. And so the Circle C Market was born.

A Community Response Circle C Market was the brainchild of Cody-Kilgore teachers Stacey Adamson and Tracee Ford, who started the planning process in 2008. To kick things off, they assembled a team of student volunteers who dubbed themselves the GRIT Committee—short for “Growing, Revitalizing, Investment, and Teamwork.” These students helped spread enthusiasm around town about a student-operated store—one that

would simultaneously serve the community and help teach students business practices and skills. And when the Circle C planning team discovered that a USDA Rural Development grant could help pay for the project, a town board member was so impressed with the idea that they helped write the application. After securing the USDA grant and additional funding from independent organizations, there were still more hoops to jump through before construction could begin. First and foremost, they needed a location. Fortunately, there was an unused plot of land in Cody not far from the high school— but procuring it wouldn’t be so easy. The land was owned by the Nebraska Game and Parks Department. So what did the GRIT Committee do? “The kids had to go five-and-a-half hours to Lincoln to give a presentation pleading their case for the store,” Carrie Ford says. Their efforts were a success, and the students were granted a 99-year lease for the land. And student involvement didn’t stop there. The GRIT Committee played a part in everything from helping craft the business plan to building the actual store. Because straw is plentiful in the Nebraska Sandhills, the team decided to build the market in the energy-efficient “straw bale” technique, using donated straw for insulation. Students and other community volunteers broke down 1,300-pound straw bales into smaller square bales and placed them within the building’s frame. There’s even a viewing window inside the store where you can get a peek at the straw in its walls. After a few hiccups, Circle C Market eventually found a supplier willing to travel to the area and stock its shelves. It also formed a partnership with a grocery store in nearby Valentine, Nebraska, to keep fruits and vegetables in stock. And the unique market doesn’t just sell the basics, either. It actually looks much more like a Trader Joe’s than a typical grocery store, with shelves full of thoughtfully curated products and home goods, often chosen by the student workers themselves. “We have a really good selection to help our community out,” says teacher and store manager SUMMER 2023 /

Liz Ravenscroft. The store even sells locally crafted fruit and wine vinegar made at another of Cody’s straw bale businesses. Now the 3,500-square-foot market and “entrepreneurial learning laboratory” has been a staple of the CodyKilgore community for a decade, providing residents with a wide selection of food choices and students with unique, hands-on learning experiences.

More Than a Store From the beginning, Circle C Market has been all about the students—and, for the most part, they’re the ones keeping the store up and running. Student workers do everything: ordering products and supplies, managing inventory, stocking shelves, working cash registers, maintaining clean facilities, and even using bookkeeping software. “This teaches them so much more than just working in a grocery store, like how to work with others and how to handle the business side of things,” Ravenscroft says. “The goal is to grow more future business people.” During the school year, students earn grades for their work, and they get paid hourly for working after school and on weekends. In the summertime, students have the opportunity to be paid for even more hours. “The kids run the store during the summer, too,” Carrie Ford tells us. “We only default to adults if all our kids are absolutely busy.” Some even work as “student managers,” but overall operations are managed by Ravenscroft, who also serves as the district’s business, accounting, and entrepreneurship teacher. “Part of the agreement with the district is that the business teacher is always the manager of the store,” she tells SchoolCEO. “My main classroom is actually at the market, and it’s set up like an official classroom. But there are also work-based learning classes where students come down to the store for an hour at a time and learn various skills.”

The impact on the district’s students is multifaceted—they’re getting the opportunity to work and earn money in a rural area, to have hands-on learning experiences, and to support their community while growing as people. “The store has a good impact on the community, especially the students,” Kate says. “It teaches us a lot of social skills, like how to talk to people and communicate better.” The market also helps the district in more ways than one. “The big challenge of being in a rural community is getting our kids to come back,” says Ravenscroft. “But ranchers need their books kept, too. So learning in the store can help students with many different things, even if they want to come back and start their own businesses. We’re always trying to see where we can make this even better and help even more kids.” Because of this student-centered endeavor, area residents no longer live in a food desert, and they’re also able to support their local schools by shopping at the store. “There’s a lot of community support here that really understands the need on both levels,” Ravenscroft explains. Customers can even round up their purchases to the nearest dollar to contribute to annual scholarships for high school seniors who have worked at the market. When customers enter Circle C Market, they see big, bold orange letters painted on the far wall that read: “It’s more than a store. It’s our future!” In so many ways, this statement rings true. What started as an idea between two dedicated teachers has become an inspiring reminder that no community is too small for big ideas. No school district is too far out of the way to give its students the opportunity to grow their futures. “Not only is Circle C Market important for the kids,” says Ravenscroft, “it’s important for the community, and for everyone to see what we’re doing here. You’ve got to come visit our store.”

Kate, a Cody-Kilgore student who will be a junior in the fall, just began training as an office assistant at the market. She approached Ravenscroft because she wanted to learn the software it takes to run a business. “I’ve always been interested in doing things like Quickbooks for a career, maybe being an accountant,” Kate tells us. “And I live 40 miles away, so I get to come over for sports and then come to work, too.” Photos courtesy of Cody-Kilgore Unified Schools 64

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