What do you find surprising about your role in communications?
The thing that I find most surprising is how much joy that communication brings. We get to celebrate so much with our children and their successes and our families. That was an element that I had not consider to the degree that I get to experience it in this role. There are challenging days, but there are a lot of days that just fill me up with goodness.
What are some of the challenges of being in charge of school communications right now?
One of the most challenging aspects of this job is helping people understand how large our district is. We strive to provide context and updates from all six of our feeder zones through our various communication platforms to help with this. Another challenge is overcoming misinformation that circulates from time to time. We work to be transparent in all areas and direct community members to good sources of information.
Are there any new communication tools or resources available to parents and the community to help them stay on top of news and information they need?
We are always looking for ways to make communication more efficient and streamlined for families. We know that everybody has a limited amount of bandwidth, and having too many platforms isn’t consistent. So, we are investigating an app that can help parents streamline some of that school and district information. We anticipate sharing more this fall.
What will your role be in helping keep stakeholders informed about hot topics, such as the upcoming bond?
I work very closely with communicating information about the bond. My role moving forward is, once the bond is called, is to make all voting members of our public understand what their community peers put together as a recommendation. We want our community to be involved. We all feel connected to education. Giving people the information that they want only builds that trust. We want to help people understand complex issues through individual conversation or public presentations.
As the district grows, what challenges do you see for your department in the coming years?
As the district grows, one of the greatest challenges is maintaining that community feel. We pride ourselves on feeling like a small school district, and when you increase enrollment, one of the few ways to continue feeling like a small school district is through relationship building and communication. That means more engagement activities, more opportunities for people to learn about the district and to interact with one another. Our role will be to continue to find ways to bring people together.
