Almost daily we hear comments about getting "back to the basics" in teaching. But how about getting "back to the basics" in communicating to our customers about our schools.
We know so much about our district and our schools that we want to communicate everything to everybody all of the time. While that's an admirable goal, in a world as busy as ours, it's hardly realistic. To remain in reality, here are five basic questions we can ask ourselves.
If we define our customers as "those people paying the bill," we can consider our answers most carefully.
Parents want to know about the everyday occurrences in schools. Other taxpayers may want to know how their money is being spent. Everyone may want to know how our schools compare with other schools. They may want to know what and how our children are learning. While they may not want to know about problems, the probably want to know that we are doing something to overcome problems if and when we have them.
Our methods of feedback, whether focus groups, key communicators, surveys or simply talking with our customers should keep us aware of what our customers want to know.
While our customers may not want to know about costs, they need to know when we need additional funding for construction, remodeling, hiring new people or increasing salaries. They need to know that we have problems and what we are doing to overcome those problems. They need to know about our successes. They need to know that we are doing a good job of education for the community and how we are doing that job.
Perhaps we should create a five-point continuum on which we can put all information. At one end of the continuum, near the number five, we place information that everyone needs to know. On the other end of the continuum near the number one, we place specialized information about which only a few people would be interested. If not on paper, such a continuum needs to exist in our thinking as we consider each piece of information we seek to share. This rating system will help us to decide with whom we will communicate what information.
Research tells us that person to person is the most effective way to communicate material for persuasion. For reinforcement, the best communication may be one or more parts of the mass media. Past feedback should give us some indication of what will work best for any given piece of information. If we don't know the answer to the question, probably we should be seeking current feedback to see how we are presently communicating.
Every profession has its own set of jargon. Educators are no different. We have MEAP tests, ACT tests, media centers and a whole host of other names and terms, which make sense only if you are dealing with them everyday. We need to always question whether our targeted customer will understand the language we are using. If not, we need to simplify or explain words, acronyms or terms if we expect understanding to take place. With apologies to cows, consider this:
"I've never seen a purple ACT,
I hope I never see one.
But one thing sure that I can say,
I'd rather see than be one."
See what I mean about jargon? How many people in your community really know what ACT stands for?
The process of helping people to understand what we are doing in education today is vital if we are to maintain and gain support from our customers. Good communication has never been more necessary in helping people to understand the needs and hopes of public education. It's a job not only for public relations professionals, but for everyone in the educational community.
We can and must communicate our activities, hopes, problems, solutions and successes as education moves forward. Using a "back to the basics" approach will help us to communicate more efficiently and more effectively.
Permission to reprint all or parts of this article is granted providing credit is given as follows: "Reprinted with permission of Richard A. Egli, APR, , www.egliassociates.com"
Dick Egli, MA, APR, is a long-time Michigan administrator and public relations director. He currently writes, speaks and consults with schools in Michigan and across the country. To reach him, choose from any of our contact options.
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