Here is a common community engagement trap facing school districts today.  You collect data. You measure sentiment. You track opinions. And then you wonder why your “well-communicated” decisions still generate fierce opposition and failed levy campaigns. The problem isn't your data. It's that numbers tell you what stakeholders do , but conversations reveal why they do it . The Limits of One-Way Communication School districts excel at communication. You send newsletters, maint

School communicators face a troubling paradox. They’re communicating more than ever—through websites, social media, apps, newsletters, and automated alerts—yet 33% cite community perception and trust as a top challenge. Nearly one in five believe families' distrust of district communications actively blocks engagement. Meanwhile, 83% of communicators identify message overload as the biggest barrier to reaching families. Could it be that more communication isn't closing the tr

If you're a school communicator spinning plates—and struggling—you probably won't get another plate. But if you're successfully spinning 12 plates, you're seen as competent and just keep getting new ones. This observation from a school communicator in the 2024 NSPRA Member Profile Survey captures a painful reality: 75% of school communicators say work-related stress has impacted their job satisfaction in the past year. The data reveals a perfect storm: ●     34% cite limited

Why a Blended Engagement Strategy Matters School districts have made great strides in communication over the past decade. Improved websites, active social media presence, mobile apps, regular newsletters, town hall meetings, and strategic stakeholder communications demonstrate genuine commitment to keeping communities informed and connected. These investments are valuable and essential. They maintain regular contact with families, celebrate student achievements, ensure timely

School districts are facing a perfect school safety & wellness storm: exploding legal settlements, mass teacher exodus, and student wellness crises. Two affordable, evidence-based solutions can calm the storm before it hits. Legal Settlements Legal settlements for safety-related incidents in K-12 schools have exploded dramatically in the last decade. United Educators reported 54 settlements exceeding $2.5 million in 2024 alone—and 118 total settlements over $250,000. This rep

Addressing the Problem Through Every Lens At a time when school safety and student well-being are paramount concerns, educational leaders need insightful, actionable intelligence—comprehensive, multi-perspective data that reveals the complete picture of their school environment. The Grandview Group's School Safety and Well-being Survey delivers a 360-degree view of your school environment through the eyes of those who matter most: Students , Staff , and Parents . Three Perspe

Should Your School Have a Happiness Course? As K12 educators confront rising rates of anxiety and depression among students, particularly in high schools across America, many school stakeholders have questioned whether traditional academic curricula are sufficient to prepare students for life's challenges, or if something crucial is missing. More specifically, is there anything that can or should be done to help students be happier? Is Portrait of a Graduate (POG) the Answer?

Storytelling—one of humanity's oldest forms of engagement—remains vastly underutilized as a community engagement strategy for school districts.  As educational leaders, you can utilize two distinct storytelling strategies to take community engagement to another level.  The strategies can be used independently or together. 1. Storytelling for Sense-Making This approach serves as a systematic methodology for gathering and analyzing your community's lived experiences. By impleme

Imagine being able to travel into the future and see your school district in the year 2030. That's exactly what the West Clermont School District  in Ohio did when they built a Time Machine to take them there. Traveling Through Time via the RoadMap Report At the heart of West Clermont's time-traveling adventure is their RoadMap Report , an aspirational vision brought to life, showcasing what their 2030 Strategic Plan could produce by showing what their students and the school

Few things get a community’s attention more than a school shooting or threats of violence in our schools.

In today's educational landscape, ensuring the safety and well-being of students is paramount. While many schools diligently conduct facility inspections and review security policies, there's an often-overlooked goldmine of information: The students themselves. Gathering feedback, sentiments, and stories directly from students about their experiences and perceptions of safety can provide invaluable insights that traditional assessments might miss. Why Student Feedback Matters

High school graduate profiles, more popularly known as Portrait of a Graduate (or POG) , have become the “hot new thing” in the world of education. These aspirational vision statements articulating the durable skills and competencies students should master before high school graduation are being advocated by states and developed by school districts nationwide to better prepare students for their futures. PARENTS: If you’re not sure whether your school district has jumped on t

The World Economic Forum has predicted that by 2025, 85 million jobs may be displaced by an AI-powered shift in labor from humans to machines. Even if it takes until 2030 before that happens–and don’t bet against it–we are going to see a seismic shift in the workplace. There may be a silver lining to this cloud, however. The WEF estimates that 97 million new labor roles will emerge. These jobs of the future will require people to think differently about their education, skill

According to a 2023 Gallup survey, 51 percent of U.S. teenagers spend at least four hours per day on social media. The percentage actually rises from 4.1 hours per day for 13-year-olds to 5.8 hours for 17-year-olds. (Girls, on average, spend nearly an hour more per day on social media than do boys.) Now, consider this. Based on a study done by the Organisation for Economic, Co-operation and Development (OECD), the average school day for U.S. students is 6.64 hours with total

PK12 education is a special kind of big business. In the fall of 2021, there were 49.4 million students enrolled in our public schools and 5.5 million enrolled in private schools. Another 3.1 million kids are home schooled each year. Total expenditures in public-education only were $703 billion in 2021, or about $14,295 per student. Even for smaller school districts, running a school is a special kind of business.   The success of any business depends on customers. Who are th

Your school district’s stakeholders are individuals that have (or should have) a vested interest in your schools . They belong to stakeholder subgroups, with each subgroup sharing certain demographic, identity, and behavioral characteristics that shape their  vested interest . Stakeholders include: Students Parents & Guardians Certified Staff (Teachers, Counselors, etc.) Non-certified Support Staff Administrators Community Partners (Social Service Agencies, Local Businesses,

I recently asked a gathering of school board association executives “Who are your customers?” It’s a simple question with a counterintuitive answer. The two most common answers from this group were: Our kids (students) The parents of our kids These answers make sense if you consider that the service you are delivering is to the people that pay for it through taxes, bonds, and levies. But if you look at a school district as a developer of products for a rapidly changing market