The 5 Questions that Every School Communications Team Should Be Asking Right Now

There’s no shortage of things we could be focusing on right now in school communications.

✅ New platforms.
✅ New expectations.
✅ New requests coming from every direction.

It’s not that we’re out of ideas … If anything, it’s the opposite. In the Pinterest-ing world we live in, we have great ideas being posted everywhere, every day, to which some of us feel the need to compare ourselves, outdo last year’s ideas and projects, and continue to move forward using giant leaps instead of small steps.

The challenge (as it has been for me) is figuring out what actually matters … and moving forward in the best way we know how.

When things feel busy or stretched (hello, May!), a lot of experience with stress and burnout has helped me come up with a few simple questions to ask myself; not to solve everything, but to refocus and remember the why of our work.

I’ll keep it brief, because … it’s May(hem). But here are the five questions I ask to bring my feet back to the ground when chaos starts to take over.

1. Are we clear?

Not just accurate. Clear.

Are the words we’re writing able to be understood by all families the first time. If they have to re-read it, they won’t. If they have to interpret it, there’s a solid chance their interpretation might not match your intent. Being thoughtful and intentional about clarity and making all messaging as easy to follow as possible can avoid some chaos on the other side.

2. Are we consistent?

Do people get the same message no matter where they interact with your district?

• Website
• Social media
• School or classroom communication

When things don’t quite line up, even in small ways, it can create hesitation or frustration, especially for parents who are experiencing May-hem as well.

Consistency doesn’t mean everything sounds the same. It just means it all points in the same direction, and our audience is able to trust and rely on the information they receive, no matter where it’s from.

3. Are we accessible?

If you’ve read any of my blogs lately, you know that this one is high on my priority list. It’s getting a lot of attention — even with the pushing back of the compliance deadline.

But beyond requirements and timelines, I think it helps to think about accessibility in a simpler way.

Can people actually use the information we’re putting out, and are we reaching them in the ways that work for them?

• Can they read it easily (see question 1)?
• Can they find what they need quickly?
• Can they access it on the device they’re using?

When we improve accessibility, we’re not just checking a box. We’re making communication better for everyone. Keep moving forward with this one.

4. Are we being proactive or reactive?

It’s really easy to fall into a pattern of reactivity: responding to questions and confusion … and frankly just responding to situations as they happen. To be fair, sometimes, that’s just the nature of our job; we can’t predict every day. But …

The districts that avoid chaos and are most connected and aligned with their communities are usually the ones that communicate before people have to ask. This isn’t because they’re able to predict the future (although once you’ve been through your share of Mays, that gets easier, too). It’s because they’ve built habits around not just clarity, but anticipation. They’ve gone through the scenarios ahead of time, made plans for reactivity where necessary, but been proactive in ensuring the messaging doesn’t lead to any of those worst-case scenarios to begin with.

Sometimes, the best messages are the ones that prevent the chaos before it starts.

5. Are we building trust, or just sending information?

This is the one I come back to the most.

For a long time, the goal of school communications was pretty straightforward: get the information out. Send the email. Post the update. Share timely announcements.

Of course these things still matter, but school communications have become so much more connected to our districts’ overarching experiences that “sending the message” doesn’t mean what it used to.

It’s because every interaction shapes perception. The tone of the message; how quickly we respond; whether the information feels clear or confusing; whether families feel their voices are being heard or they feel discarded; all of these tiny moments in each message add up over time, and they hold power in influencing how people feel about our districts.

Okay, I get that might not be the way to make you feel more calm through all of this, but if you take a minute to let that sink in … it might actually settle the storm. And it’s the bigger opportunity that is in front of us. If we slow down (take a minute to read for tone and clarity and impact) to speed up, we’re no longer just information distributors; we’re helping shape trust, connection, and confidence, which can only help in those moments of chaos down the road.

Managing the Mayhem

None of these questions are new. And none of them are complicated. But when things get busy, they’re easy to lose sight of.

Coming back to them has a way of simplifying the work we do every day; not making it smaller or taking away any of our responsibilities … just making it a little more focused.

Now get back to work … because the work you do is making a difference.