Antlers Public Schools (APS) will honor its role as an integral part of the community by fulfilling its commitment to transparency and communication with all stakeholders to build the necessary support required for the district to achieve excellence in student and staff achievement.

Objective:

· Maintain clear and consistent communication with the public to promote positive and collaborative relationships with all stakeholders.

Strategies:

· Utilize local media sources to encourage increased involvement in meetings, and planning committees to allow more community input in decision-making. Comment by Jerry C. Stout: Which media sources?

· Develop strong relationships with community business leaders.

· Use all methods of communication tools to increase the frequency and availability of information sharing with all stakeholders.

Each of the above strategies will begin to be implemented with each new school year and continue throughout. They will be implemented by administrators, staff leaders, and school committee members.

Needs Assessment:

· Access to school web pages, booster and PTO social media pages, The Antlers American newspaper, and local radio stations to engage the public.

· Designated school representatives to attend local community meetings to build partnerships and highlight district achievements.

· An established system for how to whom to report any information that can and should be shared to the public to streamline the communication process and ensure continuity of the district’s intended message.

Evaluation

:

The elements of this goal will be evaluated each year by conducting a beginning of year survey from all stakeholders to establish a baseline of their current level of communication both to and from the district. An end-of-year survey will also be distributed to ensure increased communication occurred. It will also be monitored by tracking the number of community partnerships made and community meetings attended by representatives of the district. Keeping track of the number of articles and radio spots that highlighted the district will make certain growth is occurring in that area. Web page engagement will also be monitored to guarantee increased web traffic and post engagement. We will ensure there is a designated social media representative in place in which all school news, announcements, etc. are sent, so the process is simple, efficient, and non-repetitive.

Goal II:

· Antlers Public Schools will create a joint staff and community Advocacy Committee to strategically assess the needs of our students and families to advance our mission of maximizing student success.

Objective:

· Identify and provide appropriate educational and community supports to aid in providing an inclusive, equitable, safe, learning environment for all.

Strategies:

· Survey the staff, student body, caregivers, and community to identify needs and set goals.

· Build partnerships with local service organizations to assist in finding resources for students and families.

· Provide caregivers with training on basic educational rights and how to properly advocate for the needs of their students.

· Send an Advocacy Committee member to local and state advocacy days to represent the district’s needs and to stay up to date on legislative policies affecting education.

Each of these strategies will be implemented at the beginning of each school year and continued throughout the year. The representative for advocacy days will be expected to attend the February Education Conference events at the state capitol.

Needs Assessment:

· Surveys in print and digital formats for staff, students, community, and caregivers

· School law attorney/educator

· Staff and community volunteers

· Designated representative for community and state advocacy meetings

Evaluation

:

This goal will be evaluated on an annual basis and modified as required to fit the needs of ever-changing student and community needs. We will assess the goals set by the Advocacy Committee and measure their success through student data such as attendance, discipline issues, and feedback from teachers, caregivers, and community partners. We will monitor advocacy representation by showing participatory growth in local and state events that promote public education. Teachers and students will be polled twice a year to gain feedback on improvements that could be made in the areas of safety, inclusion, and equity. That feedback will be used to guide adjustments in future goals.

Goal III:

Antlers Public Schools will strengthen existing media partnerships as well as create new media partnerships to highlight student and staff success stories and increase support for the district.

Objective:

· Use media relationships to enhance positive district reputation

Strategies:

· Establish media contacts for various types of reporting purposes (sports, human interest, etc.)

· Create an active and engaging social media presence to share and celebrate student and staff success in real-time.

· Increase written press by printing more positive articles in the local newspaper

· Create an interesting digital and print newsletter and stakeholder distribution list

· Send positive stories to radio, print, and television outlets regularly so that the district is continuously building a positive media presence.

Needs Assessment:

· Designated district media spokesperson

· Public relations team to assist in gathering and documenting positive stories within the district

· Social media team responsible for live-streaming notable moments and regularly posting student and staff success stories.

Each of the above strategies will be implemented with each new school year and continue throughout the year. They will be implemented by administrators, staff leaders, and school committee members. These committees will have a variety of representatives, such as parents, teachers, local business owners, religious leaders, legislators, alumni, and students

Evaluation

:

This goal can be evaluated simply by tracking the increase in positive APS stories appearing in the media. We will track community engagement with these posts by analyzing web page and social media traffic. Surveys to all stakeholders regarding their perception of Antlers Public Schools’ media presence will also be done at a pre-determined time frame throughout the year.

Crisis Management:

It is crucial to have a communication plan in place during a crisis. Our Crisis Management Plan works to streamline communication within the district, the media, and the public. In the event of an emergency or controversial issue, our goal is to inform all stakeholders in a timely and efficient manner. Events that stakeholders may be alerted to include but are not limited to, fires, bomb threats, weather-related emergencies, intruders, danger present on campus, or any other situation that might demand a public response. Strategies to meet the objective of the plan will be carried out as follows:

· One designated spokesperson for media

· Spokesperson will provide timely and accurate information to the media as appropriate

· Create written materials including fact sheets and letters for distribution in case of emergencies

· Provide training to all staff in managing crisis situations and communications

Reflection Statements:

The development of this SCR Plan promotes the success of all students by setting goals that allow us to achieve positive student outcomes and maximize student growth. By attending to individual student needs as well as the needs of staff and other stakeholders, we are creating the best environment for progress to occur.

To build a shared commitment to the plan, it will be communicated to staff, parents, students, and community members in a variety of methods. Internal stakeholders can obtain information through direct communication from the administration, internal e-mails, and various staff meetings. External stakeholders will need to have the information presented by a variety of methods. These methods may include social media, school web pages, local newspapers, radio spots, newsletters, and email lists.

Implementation of this plan will happen in the following steps:

1) Survey and evaluate needs

2) Gather input and support from internal and external stakeholders

3) Set goals

4) Regularly communicate goals and progress to stakeholders

5) Monitor, evaluate, and revise as needed

Community members will be involved in the implementation of this plan in many ways. In addition to feedback from external stakeholders, we will need community surveys to establish and analyze qualitative and quantitative data. Community support will be a necessity for creating a successful, shared vision, generating buy-in, and allowing for the implementation of many elements of the plan.

The plan will be monitored continuously, and any practices deemed ineffective will be modified or discontinued. Elements of the plan that are working well will continue to be implemented, all other areas will be improved upon until deemed successful. Evaluation measures are built into the plan to allow APS the ability to track website and social media analytics, monitor data, study stakeholder feedback. The plan will be revised as needed, but the annual review will also allow for any revisions necessary.