Community Engagement
Strategic Planning Team Recommendations
In This Document:
1. Strategic Planning Team Objective
2. Community Engagement Scope Definition
3. Process and Team
4. Analysis and Conclusions
5. Recommendations and Next Steps
Strategic Planning Team Objectives
Prescott School District Objective:
Achieve “District of Choice” status in ways that are meaningful to the district’s diverse stakeholders
Community Engagement Team Objective:
Formulate a strategy to improve communication and engagement. With the goal being to increase the level
of community awareness, engagement, and involvement as measured by:
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Awareness
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Satisfaction
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Participation
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Attendance
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PCR/Community Education participation
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Website hits and use
5/16/11; pg 1
Community Engagement Definition
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Community engagement is the participation of members of a community assessing, planning,
implementing, and evaluating solutions to problems that affect them.
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Community engagement involves interpersonal trust, communication, and collaboration.
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Such engagement, or participation, should focus on, and result from, the needs, expectations, and
desires of a community's members.
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Community is not solely defined by geographic boundaries and may include residents, users,
community organizations and institutions, neighborhood associations, businesses and workers,
cultural communities, advocacy groups, students and youth.
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Community engagement is when organizations and individuals build ongoing, permanent
relationships for the purpose of applying a collective vision for the benefit of a community.
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Effective community engagement consists of strategic communications and relationship-building.
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Research and Listening are the foundation for success.
Process and Team
Process:
The Team used a combination of monthly meetings, individual research assignments, and small-group
working sessions to accomplish the following:
1. District SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats)
2. Recommendation development
3. Report draft and revision
Sources of information relied on by the Team included Prescott community research data, best practices
from similarly-sized school districts, and best practices from the disciplines of public relations, marketing, and
communications.
Team Members
Mandy Matzek, Donna Boatman, Lisa Johnson, Lisa Jenkover, Phil Helgeson, Kristen Gray, Mark Huber,
Penny Peterson, Tasha Kinney, and Veronica Ford.
5/16/11; pg 2
Analysis and Conclusions
Analysis
The Team conducted a thorough SWOT analysis as it pertains to PSD community engagement
(See Appendix A). The analysis included:
Strengths: What are the district’s current assets in terms of community engagement?
Weaknesses: What community engagement assets or capabilities do we lack?
Opportunities: What could we do to capitalize on our strengths and make a better future?
Threats: What could happen around us that could make things worse in the future?
Conclusions
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Improving Public Relations Capabilities is Essential.
What is School Public Relations?
"Educational public relations is a planned and systematic management function to help improve the
programs and services of an educational organization. It relies on a comprehensive two-way
communications process involving both internal and external publics, with a goal of stimulating a
better understanding of the role, objectives, accomplishments and needs of the organization.
Educational public relations programs assist in interpreting public attitudes, identify and help shape
policies and procedures in the public interest, and carry on involvement and information activities
which earn public understanding and support."
-The NSPRA (National School Public Relations Association) professional definition.
Why are relations with the public important for Community Engagement?
This is the media age - school communication needs have increased dramatically and become more complex.
A school district needs print, electronic and face-to-face communications.
Education is under attack - from taxpayers, business groups and others. A school district needs to proactively
publicize the positive news about student/staff achievement and programs, it must develop a coordinated
proactive, rather than reactive, approach that anticipates problems before they develop. If there is no
positive communication from the school district, the critics' voices are the only ones that will be heard.
The scope of successful school public relations has expanded greatly – its focus is not just on managing a
bad incident, to some degree its’ key focus is on building those long term relationships to build informed
support and solid community relationships. This will help as the District goes through change (and serve as a
foundation if bad things happen).
If the District does not immediately improve public relations it will affect the efforts of other Committees,
Levy Cap Over-ride and the future of the “District of Choice” status.
5/16/11; pg 3
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Sustained, Proactive Relationship-Building is Needed.
The second aspect of Community Engagement is relationship building. Good relationships grow when people
consider each other as partners and not see them in terms of money, property or anything else that they
themselves are obsessed with. It takes time and energy and transparency for people to realize the value of
each other. Relationships grow and change over time.
A successful Community Engagement focus is not just about talking “at” people, but building a long-term
relationship – one with an inviting culture where two-way communication focuses on honest feedback, and
then acting on that feedback. This is an integral element of relationship-building communication’s program.
It must clearly demonstrate commitment to involving stakeholders as true partners, via transparency and
trust.
It is critical to note the time must be put in to have a relationship. When a School District has an upcoming
bond issue referendum or needs to build due to enrollment (etc) and therefore has an increased need for the
school district to tell ‘its story.’ This is not the time to build a relationship.
A short-term communications plan is not the substitute for taking the time to build relationships with the
community. Relationship building is a long-term commitment that the School Board, Superintendent,
Administration and every Teacher/Aide must make to assure that the community is engaged for the
‘assessing, planning, implementing, and evaluating’ of solutions to problems that affect everyone.
While the District cannot build a relationship overnight and positively affect the immediate needs of the
District. It also cannot delay to change the fact that relationship building must start immediately to maintain
a “District of Choice” status long term.
Recommendations
Create a Community Engagement Steering Committee
What it is: A volunteer board with oversight and recommending authority
Why it’s needed: PSD needs guidance and expertise in public relations and communication, from
strategy to execution (including adopting Board Communication Policy)
Funding: Tapping into the expertise of the community helps the district fill a key competency gap
with no financial outlay
Timing: Immediately
5/16/11; pg 4
Develop a District Communications/Public Relations Strategy and Plan
What it is: A master document that guides day-to-day execution of communication and outreach
Why it’s needed: A cohesive approach helps the district get more value and leverage out of its
current assets (website, newsletter, programs, etc)
Funding: As this is a key deliverable of the Steering Committee, there is no financial outlay
Timing: Immediately
Hire a District Communications Coordinator
What it is: A position responsible for day-to-day execution of the District Communications/PR Plan
Why it’s needed: Current staff lacks both the bandwidth and the background to execute
Funding: A professional position would be funded through grant money or district budget -an unpaid
internship would require no capital outlay. This could be a part-time or internship position depending
on background/experience of individual.
Timing: As soon as development of Communication/PR Plan initial steps has begun.
Make Community Engagement part of performance
What it is: A set of performance objectives woven into the evaluations of key administrators &
staff
Why it’s needed: What gets measured, gets done
Funding: As this work will be done jointly by the board, administrators, and staff, no financial outlay
is necessary
Timing: Completion to coincide with the negotiation of new employee contracts
Conclusion
Adopting these recommendations is the first step the Board/District must implement to take credit for what
they do correctly, to clearly communicate the efforts of other Committees, to focus the messaging and to be
a better partner with the community in which is exists.
These recommendations are the first actions needed to be able to address other concerns. This Committee
believes that a Communications Plan will include further research, focus groups and engagement with the
audiences (such as adult residents without children in school) that we need to understand, listen to and
engage more effectively.
***
5/16/11; pg 5
Appendix A. Complete SWOT Analysis
Strengths
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The use of current communication tools including city and county
newspapers (monthly Supt Corner article), PSD website, Distric
Newsletters (to all residents), School newsletters (to student
families), and email communication for Malone parents
Current School Groups :
o Malone Parent Committee
o New C.A.R.E. (PTO) group
The community has many Groups and Associations from churches
(PACA) to the Chamber, Lions, Knights of Columbus, SnowBees,
Sportsman. There are youth groups such as Scouts, 4H, etc.
Two current District entities that are engaged within the
community today are Prescott Community Rec (PCR) and
Community Ed.
School Board planning meetings & trying new thought processes
Recent Board Initiated Survey
o Communities Favorable Impression of School (uncovered in
survey)
S.T.E.P.
Local Cable TV medium
Weaknesses
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Opportunities
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There are able bodies not involved that can become active.
Put the building blocks in place to build strong PTO. This means
administrators are evaluated on growth/interaction of this entity.
Putting a communications and public relations plan in place with
increase emphasis and clarify purpose/goals.
o Determine committee/focus
o Create Plan and key messages
o Conduct training for all staff/board
o Add to performance plans of staff
o Proactive/ New events like: Schedule community
relations programming, Realtor orientations,
breakfasts with Chambers of Commerce or clergy,
and American Education Week open houses,
o Further improve website, email, social networking
communications
Work with local newspaper to build circulation via students, article
submission, and acknowledgement by teachers and principals that
this is the place to find out about issues (starting in Kindergarten.)
IDEA: Offer 3 mos free to Kindergartner families.
Create Email Database for all (Perhaps work with City to create City
wide db which District has access to and can call out
parents/students as they move through system). This would
contain opt-in/out capabilities and allow users to select the type of
information they receive via email). The city could also use for
other alert or news information. Or, perhaps this could be built
with Newspaper.
This is not a School Board issue, -every employee, student, parent,
grandparent, & homeowner is tied to the District’s success. All
Don’t have relationships built now/already
Size/location of Prescott (citizens not as loyal to city
since they work and use services in other towns)
Only a small % of citizens are currently involved/attend
Newspaper has financial issues and low circulation
Lack of communication plan
PCR is small
Communicate poorly to those without kids
Cable TV is small and hard to use w no easily known
schedule
Lack of Email Database (only Malone uses emails) with
few options for communications choices
Student Engagement
Small PTO/PTA
Partnership with city is ‘updates’ not action
Retired groups not engaged
Gap between Lifers and Newbie’s
City Planning is maintenance focused, not as ‘growth’
focused
We can’t identify the opinion leaders
Threats
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Economic Downtime
School budget misunderstandings
Short-term plan overcrowds relationships
If the Communications/PR Plan is not created we will
not be able to better control and spread needed
messages. We will ‘blow’ the opportunities given us.
Newspaper (Journal) goes out of business
Those that oppose board can sway others
Divided attention between Harold and Journal
PR disaster at school (shooting, act of God)
5/16/11; pg 6
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must understand this which will lead to more involvement and
understanding and the opportunity here is the understanding that
this is a large group!
Cable TV – ask for more accessible and easy to find schedule to
increase usage
Relationship building w/boosters, churches, etc.
o Also with groups like the Chamber and City and Pride in
Prescott group. Should include Foundation and Freedom Park
as well.
Student Involvement
Create a support group for ‘Parents of Recent Prescott Grads.” (to
help with the transition and keep them involved/informed in ways
they care about)
Target the ‘hot spots’ where opinion leaders are
Building Accountability (Long and Short Term) for PSD
5/16/11; pg 7