Crisis Planning - Communication

Communication Strategies

What are the Key Points in Public Relations?

Before a crisis occurs, focus on school safety planning in parent newsletters. Create a school safety task force that involves the community, parents, students and teachers. When a crisis occurs, it is important to:

• Mobilize quickly.

• Involve top administrators who go to the scene.

• Show concern to all.

• Share information.

How Can We Manage the Media?

• Establish positive relationships with local media.

• Select and train a media spokesperson for each building or district.

• Write a media policy that clarifies what the media will and will not be allowed to do.

• The policy should be a cooperative one that sets limits such as no roaming halls or filming grieving students.

• Avoid refusing to cooperate with the media and be prepared to use your authority to ban them from campus if it becomes necessary. The excessive numbers of media personnel sent to Jonesboro, Arkansas, for instance, necessitated banning the media from school grounds.

• Recognize that you can utilize the media to dispense important information regarding community assistance.

• Emphasize preparatory actions taken by your district and the support being provided to staff and students.

• Grant reasonable interview requests.

• Clarify media procedures to all school staff.

• Designate a certain room to receive media representatives. The central office may be the best location.

• Central office personnel may need to manage media requests so that the building principal can attend to other duties.

• Provide a written statement supporting and clarifying verbal statements.

• Obtain parent permission prior to releasing any student photographs.

• Prior to releasing student's name to media, notify his/her family.

How Can Schools Improve Their Internal Communication Systems?

Have necessary equipment on hand: private phone line, portable or cellular phones, fax machines, computers, bullhorns and two-way radios.
Modernize intercoms so that each classroom can communicate with the office and vice versa.
Communicate with portable buildings, playgrounds via outside speakers.
Have clear emergency signal that is understood by everyone. Clarify, simplify and rehearse the emergency signal.

But What if I Don't Have an Intercom or a Phone in My Classroom?

Each teacher should designate a responsible student and train him/her how to get assistance in an emergency. The teacher has his/her name on a key ring in red and in blue. If there is a medical emergency, the teacher tears off the red tag that has the teacher's name on it and sends it with the responsible student for help. The blue tag means behavioral or safety emergency that requires administrative assistance. This process should be rehearsed.

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