Event Recap: Creating a Crisis Communications Toolkit

We were thrilled to host a 50 minute webinar by Chorus, Creating a Crisis Communications Toolkit: How Advance Planning Can Safeguard Your School Culture! Below is a recap of the event. To watch the full recording and access slides, join our membership portal!

About Chorus

As a women-owned communications agency in Nashville, Chorus works exclusively with socially impactful organizations. Drawing from their Music City roots, the agency ensures that all members of a team are in harmony, much like a chorus. Co-founders Janel Lacy and Kelli Gauthier bring a wealth of experience—35 years combined—in journalism, government, and political campaigns, primarily serving nonprofits. Previously, Janel headed communications for a large urban school district, while Kelli led communications at a state department of education. Together at Chorus, they’ve helped many Chief Marketing Officers, nonprofits, and advocacy groups in education.

Identifying A Crisis and Your Guiding Principles

First, Janel and Kelli recommended an exercise to lead your leadership and communications team through to identify different types of crises and their level of severity.

Then, they laid out what to consider as guiding principles for responding to crises:

1. Act Quickly
2. Protect Your Credibility
3. Own Mistakes
4. Show Empathy

They walked through case studies and what they have seen go well and not so well.

Creating Crisis Protocols, Templates, and Tools

Janel and Kelli shared the benefits of creating templates in advance to prepare for different types of crises that you’ve identified. They recommended collecting any communications you have sent in response to previous events. Use them as a basis to create a template using the new framework outlined above. 

Next, Kelli and Janel walked through examples of different levels of events, such as a lockdown at school. Using a this matrix, you can plan in advance the communications and messages you should prepare and

Note that media is not an audience and therefore is not in this stakeholder – it is the conduit to a stakeholder. You are speaking through the media to parents or your staff and the general public.

Managing Media

Build relationships ahead of time with local media representatives. Set clear guidelines for who within your school or district will engage with media and how. Remember that media is persistent – it can be more productive to respond to media to help build good will. Preparing a media statement will help you respond if and when you are contacted. Finally, monitor and correct misinformation.

Legal Considerations

Kelli walked through when to consult an attorney. Be aware of privacy laws and whether or not you have an attorney present, document all your processes and communications with timestamps to have a clear timeline of the event.

Post Crisis and Recovery

Kelli and Janel noted the importance of continual communication when any updates occur. Debrief after a crisis to determine what worked and what didn’t but don’t hide after a crisis.

The audience then asked specific questions to clarify and explore Kelli and Janel’s recommendations based on their knowledge and experience. Those questions included:

Before and During a Crisis

Q: Is it possible you have a baseline that you run through before the event, and then let that team know you’re implementing the protocol as it happens?

Q: How do you both move quickly and involve all of the different team members you need?

Q: Is a holding statement appropriate for internal stakeholder when there’s a quickly evolving crisis?

Q: How do you navigate privacy concerns that may be raised by those involved (especially if there is a victim in the situation) versus keeping the school community informed of important events?

Media

Q: Is media outside the [communications crisis] matrix, generally speaking?

Q: How do you develop relationships with media? If I have a crisis that needs to be reported (or I know they will want to report on) who do I call? Do I need to reach out to the startions? Or do they have a tip line?

Post Crisis

Q: If a school has failed to handle a crisis, what are the best steps to repair the trust with parents & the community?

To watch the full recording and access the full slide deck, join our membership portal click here!

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Your One-stop Shop to Share Teacher Appreciation!

For Teacher Appreciation Week, we’ve collected resources and ideas to share the praise you hear about your teachers!

Step 1

Collect quotes you hear from families or other staff members praising teachers and staff. Don’t have a collection? Contact us and we can help you start hearing families’ praise! 

To that end, here are some questions to help you get started: 

First, ask families:

• What has made you feel welcomed at your student’s school this year? 
• Please share the name of a teacher or team member at your child’s school who has made a positive impact on your child this year. What did they do?
• In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, is there a teacher or staff member you would like to recognize with praise? 

Second, ask staff:

• Please give a shoutout by name to a team member who you’ve seen do great work this year! What did they do? 

Last, ask students:

• Share a teacher who has made a difference for you this year. What did they do?

Step 2

Next, use the following resources to share that praise privately or publicly!

Digital flyer

Edit the images below directly in Canva by clicking here.

Social Media Graphic Templates

You can edit the images below directly in Canva by clicking here. Alternatively, right click the images below, save them on your computer, and add text using Preview or your favorite image editor.

We’d love to see what you share! You can follow and tag Possip on social media @PossipIt on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Find us here on LinkedIn!

Digital Newsletter Graphic Templates

You can edit the images below directly in Canva by clicking here. Or, right click the images below, save them on your computer, and add text using Preview or your favorite image editor.

NEXT: Other Teacher Appreciation Ideas

• 10 Ways to Use Possip Praise Quotes During Teacher Appreciation Week
• Develop a System to Effectively Use Possip Praise

Looking for an easy way to hear families love about your teachers? Contact us!

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Closing the Feedback Loop Hack: Possip 360 Scripts

Keep messages to parents clear, positive, and consistent—whether sharing updates, addressing concerns, or celebrating successes. Effective communication is key to boosting student outcomes, as our Possip data confirms. However, analyzing feedback and crafting meaningful responses can be time-consuming tasks that many administrators struggle to find time for. Possip 360 scripts are here to help.

Caroline Carrello, a Possip intern majoring in Human and Organization Development at Vanderbilt University, relays how Possip can help schools and families with Possip 360 Scripts. 

At Possip, we specialize in surveying, collecting data, and providing comprehensive reports. Once we gather the data, our reporting team steps in to customize messages tailored to your needs based on the report insights. Our Pulse 360 service with 360 Scripts does this initial work for you.

What are Possip 360 Scripts?

Possip’s 360 Scripts are a time-saver for schools, carefully developed after each Pulse Check®. Our reporting team tailors the scripts to the feedback gathered through Possip’s Pulse Check. Our scripts assist you in seamlessly communicating the report results to families or staff, whether through newsletters or robocalls. We keep the language in these scripts deliberately simple and anonymized. You can distribute them broadly, making sure that the key trends and insights effectively reach all stakeholders in a respectful and positive manner.

Why are 360 Scripts helpful for leaders?

The beauty of our scripts lies in the reporters who analyze and synthesize the data. They distill the trends in praise and feedback from the Pulse Check into family-friendly language, making it easy for you to share a quick community-facing message. This not only saves time but also ensures that the communication remains clear, concise, and impactful.

Sharing feedback through 360 Scripts can also be a tool used to increase Pulse Check response rates. When you close the feedback loop, you foster engagement and reassure families that their text messages have been read. To learn more about other creative ways to increase parent engagement read this blog post.

What do our partners have to say about 360 Scripts?

Barb Campbell, then the YES Prep Public Schools Director of Family Engagement, shared her experience: “…the amount of time spent on crafting staff notes, family notes, communicating out information. Being the person that distills all that information into a summary… having that done for you, it’s like, you just gave me back an hour of my Sunday morning. It’s very nice to see that in a concise format that can be shared out with stakeholders.”

What do these scripts look like?

Check out this screenshot from one of our demo schools:

Real Life Application: How a Possip Partner Shares Their 360 Scripts

Olentangy High School has harnessed the power of Possip 360 Scripts to seamlessly communicate the valuable feedback they gather with the wider district community. Take a peek at the snapshot below from their family Facebook page, revealing insights garnered from Pulse Checks. For a deeper dive into how they let families know about Possip and how they use the information they gather, explore their website here.

Possip 360 Scripts makes it easier for you to let families know what you heard from the feedback through their Pulse Check – and what school leaders intend to do with the responses. These scripts save school leaders time and help make their messages clearer and more effective. Examples from YES Prep and Olentangy High School show how schools use these scripts to help families feel heard. With Possip and the 360 Scripts, school leaders have a great way to ensure family, staff, and students that their voices matter, leading to a more open and caring school community.

Hear How 4 School Leaders Answer the Question: “What’s your favorite part of the Possip feedback reports?”

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In a Time of AI, How Do You Teach Practical Skills?

As the world changes, so do the skills that students need to learn, right? Well… sort of.  Families often share feedback that the emphasis on new skills and academics leaves their kids without the practical skills they need to get by in life after school.  

Cate Reed, seasoned administrator, current Senior Vice President of Teach For America, and Possip Reporter, identifies ways for students to learn and practice life skills at school. 

Twenty-five years ago, almost every middle or high school student took a home economics course. They learned to cook and sew and use basic tools, equipping them with skills to thrive after graduation.  However, those classes don’t happen as much anymore, and as a result, families report that kids often can’t manage the basics of life beyond the classroom.

We’ve collected a set of ideas to bring practical skills into already packed school schedules, while ensuring kids can have fun at the same time!

Enhance Your Curriculum With Practical Skills

Build Financial Literacy Into Math Classes

Integrate financial literacy education into math or economics classes. Teach students the practical skills of budgeting, saving, investing, debt management, and how to balance their bank accounts. You can find free ideas here. 

Tip: Have students manage a household budget as a long-term project for a semester or have them save up for a fictional vacation. They need to do the research, decide what they’d like to do, then plan their budget and spending. 

Make Gym + PE = Wellness

Offer health and wellness programs to promote physical and mental well-being. 

Tip: Host a 10,000-step challenge, before-school meditation opportunities or have students use a physical activity tracker. Developing these personal practices help students connect how a healthy mind and body support their academic success.

Want more? Join the Possip Membership!

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Three Ways to Support & Strengthen First Year Teachers

As we think about support for first year teachers, let’s think back to our own first year in the profession. For me, the feeling of overwhelm encompasses my season of teaching for the first time. There were so many ups and downs! 

Sarah Besand, a teacher and Possip Reporter, shares three ways to foster and encourage first year teachers.

I remember working in my classroom hours after school and still feeling disorganized when it came to my daily to-do list. I remember helping my students through hard emotions and carrying this home with me. Feeling so depleted, but also extremely proud of the work I was doing. Even as I recall it now, I feel compassion for this young teacher with so much to learn.

If you’re anything like me, I bet your experience was similar. Even with the best of support systems, this profession comes with a huge learning curve. Statistically, so many new teachers will find employment outside the teaching profession within their first 5 years. To meet this challenge, we must not only support our new teachers, but strengthen them as well. Here’s our ideas on how to strengthen new teachers at your school.

Design or Implement a Mentor Program

To continue to strengthen our teachers, a mentor program can be extremely helpful. Mentor programs can vary depending on school needs, but the important part to remember is leading these programs with compassion and empathy as a core tenant.

To do this, think about ways you can design a space that elevates new teachers’ experiences while also allowing mentor teachers to share ideas for them. In my own mentorship program, I remember learning so much from the curated advice my mentor imparted on me. Through this balance of empathy and wisdom, new teachers can find strength by realizing they are not alone. Every teacher has experienced being new in their career, and have tricks of the trade to show for their time invested. 

A monthly cadence typically works well for this. Try setting aside a part of your faculty meeting to allow your mentors and mentees to learn from each other!

To Read More, Join the Possip Membership!

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6 Tips to Address Class Size Concerns

“There are too many kids in that class! How can they learn with a class size that big?”  

“How can my student get the attention they deserve with all those kids?”

But I thought bigger is always better, right? Not exactly. When it comes to class size, most families immediately assume that bigger is definitely not better. This perception can cause families to make decisions about schools and share feedback based on how many kids sit in a classroom on a given day. However, that feedback doesn’t always tell the full story.  

Cate Reed, seasoned administrator, current Senior Vice President of Teach For America, and Possip Reporter, walks through tackle concerns raised from families about class size.

Families often have questions or feedback on the size of the classes their students are in. That is fair, since we can all agree that one on one instruction can be helpful when kids need targeted support.  However, families likely have varying levels of information on how that is determined. Nor do they know the constraints that a school has when creating class size. And, they may not realize some of the advantages that larger classes can offer.  We can all agree that we want as many kids as possible in front of the best teachers out there–within reason!

Below are 6 tips that can help you consider how to get ahead of concerns about class size, and position yourself to also share the opportunities and tradeoffs that come with various class sizes.

 

Listen Actively to Concerns About Class Size

Ensure you understand parents’ root concern – is it about the size of the class or what is happening in the classroom that is the real concern?  Sometimes a family may be experiencing a child struggling with a concept, or a student dispute and automatically assume it is because the teacher cannot devote adequate time to the situation. 

Tip: Asking questions like, “What caused you to bring this to my attention?” may elicit helpful information as you consider what to do next, and potentially help solve the real problem.

Click here to read the full blog with the Possip Membership!

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Possip Spotlight: How YES Prep Leverages Insights in School Decisions

When schools plan big changes, having support from families can make the process much easier. A good way to gain this support can be to ask families for their opinions and truly listen to them before making any school decisions that impact them. Isamar Lopez, Director of Family Engagement at YES Prep Public Schools in Houston, Texas, explains ways YES Prep follows this approach.

Caroline Carrello, a Possip intern majoring in Human and Organization Development at Vanderbilt University, explains how YES Prep uses parent input through Possip data in decision-making.

Isamar recently spoke on our Foundations of a Strong School Climate: Operational Excellence panel. She discussed how to meet parents’ concerns about their children’s basic needs and safety at school. You can read a recap of the event here!

How Possip Helps Inform School Decisions

Isamar shared that YES Prep uses feedback gathered by Possip to guide big decisions. Possip does more than just collect information; it starts important conversations and leads to real changes based on what they learn. Possip helps schools develop a true family-school partnership. YES Prep’s experience with Possip shows that using feedback can lead to tangible improvements in school operations and community satisfaction.

By looking at Pulse Check data and the trends spotted by our reporters, YES Prep makes sure they listen to every worry, compliment, and tip from families. This welcoming method not only lets families speak up but also treats them as important allies in education.

To Uniform or Not?

YES Prep’s choice about school uniforms shows how much the school leaders value using feedback to make changes. When the leadership team was considering bringing back uniforms because of worries about student safety, Isamar and her team used Possip to see what parents thought. With Possip’s help in analyzing the data, they found an important pattern: opinions on uniforms were divided. Many families mentioned that the cost was a major problem. 

Rather than dismiss these concerns, Yes Prep took proactive steps to address them. In a remarkable move, the network decided to cover the cost of uniforms for all 18,000 students—an initiative driven by a deep understanding of the community’s needs. This school decision alleviated financial burdens for families while also reinforcing YES Prep’s commitment to creating a safe and equitable learning environment.

Keep the Data Alive to Make School Decisions

YES Prep’s experience with their uniform policy highlights the need to look deeper than just collecting feedback. As Isamar explains, simply gathering survey data without planning to use it is pointless. She suggests actively using the data, regularly checking survey findings, and looking for ways to get better.

Possip supports school leaders by giving them the tools to listen, learn, and respond. In doing so, Possip helps make positive changes and build better relationships between schools and families. We are grateful to partner with school communities like YES Prep to help elevate voices. We’re thrilled to hear stories of how school leaders put what they hear to use!

Click here review how another school uses Possip for informed decision making.

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