School Communication that Works: A Patron-focused Approach to Delivering Your Message

by Kenneth S. DeSieghardt

Overview

The foundation of successful school district/community relationships is communication that focuses on what most interests average residents – no matter what you, as a school district leader, believe they should be interested in. Communicate in their language, at their level of interest, and at their pace, and you and your patrons will soon be headed in the same direction more often than not.

Based on more than 20 years of research data, and filled with real-life examples and specific recommendations, School Communication that Works explains what your patrons really care about (and wish you’d talk more about), what they are only somewhat interested in, and what makes them tune you out.

Highlights of the book:

• An easy-to-follow organizing principle (The Patron Information Pyramid™) that sorts school communication topics into three categories – Essential, Important, and As-Needed.
• Case studies that show the findings in action, drawn from more than 20 years of research with school districts of all shapes, sizes and levels of wealth.
• Information targeted to special communications situations, such as Hot Topics and Crisis Communications, all focused on how patrons would like their school districts to communicate
• A summary of Key Points at the end of each chapter, providing an “at a glance” review of the information shared.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781475805840
Publisher:	R&L Education
Publication date:	09/13/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	146
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Ken DeSieghardt is the CEO and partner of Patron Insight, Inc. (www.patroninsight.com), a company that has been helping school districts large, small and in between, better understand how to effectively communicate with their patrons since 1992. Ken is a graduate of The University of Kansas, and he received his research training from The Burke Institute.

Table of Contents

School Communication that Works
Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction
Chapter 1 – The 80/20 rule
Chapter 2 – Patron-speak versus district-speak: A primer
Chapter 3 – The Patron Information Pyramid
Chapter 4 – The Top Tier of the Pyramid: Essential Information
Chapter 5 – Essential Information: Value for the tax dollars spent
Chapter 6 – Essential Information: Quality of school facilities
Chapter 7 – Essential Information: Quality of teachers
Chapter 8 – Essential Information: Quality of education
Chapter 9 – Essential Information: Preparation of students for the future
Chapter 10 – Essential Information: Ongoing communication between the district and patrons
Chapter 11 – The Middle Tier of the Pyramid: Important Information
Chapter 12 – Important Information: Performance of principals
Chapter 13 – Important Information: Student safety
Chapter 14 – Important Information: Class sizes
Chapter 15 – Important Information: Technology available to students in the classroom
Chapter 16 – Important Information: District promises made and fulfilled
Chapter 17 – Important Information: Spending balance
Chapter 18 – The Bottom Tier of the Pyramid: As-Needed Information
Chapter 19 – As-Needed Information: Extracurricular activities
Chapter 20 – As-Needed Information: Courtesy and responsiveness of staff members (in schools or in the Central Office)
Chapter 21 – As-Needed Information: Performance of the Superintendent and the Board of Education
Chapter 22 – Special situations: Handling hot topics
Chapter 23 – Special situations: What patrons say they want and need in a crisis
Chapter 24 – Making your school communications program work
Chapter 25 – Some final thoughts

Editorial Reviews

Ken DeSieghardt knows public relations and knows schools. This book contains great insight and practical advice on communicating effectively with school district patrons. It’s a must-read for anyone involved in strengthening school/community relations.

Dr. Carter D. Ward

Implementing major change in school districts is never easy. Ken DeSieghardt not only assisted the school district in securing valuable community feedback, but more importantly, in developing a means of communicating our school district messages to the community. In his book, Ken shares his vast knowledge of successfully working with the public on a variety of difficult issues. I found Ken’s assistance to be invaluable in solving problems.

Dr. Lane Plugge

Ken DeSieghardt is an essential partner in any public relations project. From helping you build the conceptual framework and establishing research parameters, through analysis and interpretation of the data, his expertise and insights are unmatched.

Dr. John Heim

Ken DeSieghardt knows the territory, and he is clear about how to help us really link with our stakeholders. Doing less is malpractice — doing too much is just noise.

Scott Robison

This book will make you call a 'time out' on your communication effort. Most of today’s books tout the latest tech innovation to improve your program. But, even great tech advances won’t help you the way this book will, because it gets to the core of great school communication. It focuses on messages that will be understood and appreciated by your audiences. It is based on more than 20 years of research in school communities, and Ken DeSieghardt’s advice will increase the clout of your communication messages. It will help convince your communities to support and maintain their schools — a goal that is needed more than ever, as we navigate our way through new waves of competition and criticism in our school communities.

Rich Bagin