Founding Partner
The Donovan Group
As school and district leaders know all too well, a crisis situation can arise at any moment. Depending on the severity of the situation, how leaders communicate before, during, and after an incident can shape a community’s trust in its local schools for many years to come.
This is why having a thoughtful and proactive communication strategy in place is essential to navigating challenging situations with clarity, transparency, and compassion.
Preparing Before a Crisis
The groundwork for effectively managing a crisis situation occurs long before an incident occurs in the first place. Every school district should have a clear crisis communication plan that outlines key contacts, roles and responsibilities, and communication tiers—including who needs to know what and when. This plan should also include pre-drafted message templates for various types of situations.
It is also important to inform your entire school community about where they will be able to find accurate, up-to-date information if a crisis situation arises. Also, be sure to note that student and staff confidentiality laws may limit the information the district can share at certain times.
Internal training is critical, as well. Designate a primary spokesperson and a backup individual, ensuring both receive proper training in crisis communication. Having a second person up to speed can help prevent any issues if the primary spokesperson happens to be out on the day a crisis happens.
Having confident, prepared voices ready to lead messaging efforts can make all the difference when time is of the essence. This can also help prevent misinformation and false narratives from spreading online and throughout your school community.
Communicating During a Crisis
In the midst of a crisis, organization and speed are critical. Maintain an electronic “key facts” document to capture evolving details in real time. This helps ensure every message sent is accurate and consistent.
Then, communicate early and often—even if your initial update must be brief. A holding statement can acknowledge the situation, communicate that more information is on the way, and reassure the community that the district is aware of the situation and taking action. Sharing a communication timeline can also help manage expectations about when parents, staff, and community members should expect updates.
Remember, internal communication must come first. Teachers and staff, school board members, and administrators should receive information before it is shared publicly—even if it’s just a few minutes in advance.
Accessibility is another priority, and messages should be translated into all languages spoken within the school community. To that end, have a process in place that allows you to quickly get messages translated into the appropriate languages.
Finally, always provide reassurance by informing the community when a threat has ended or the situation is under control. Strong media relations can support this effort, so be sure to maintain open communication with media contacts and direct them to official sources for updates.
Following Up After a Crisis
Once an immediate crisis has ended, your need to communicate may only be starting. Continue to share important updates as needed, and provide resources to support the emotional and mental health of students, staff, and families.
In this way, it is important to recognize the challenges faced by your school community and offer space for healing and recovery. Thoughtful, ongoing communication in the aftermath of a crisis can help a community rebuild trust, support one another, and move forward together.
Joe Donovan is the founding partner of the Donovan Group, an award-winning school district communication, marketing, and public relations firm that focuses exclusively on public education. The Donovan Group provides 24/7 crisis communications services to MASA members free of charge. Learn more at https://www.mnasa.org/crisis-communications-services.
