URGENT COMMUNICATION

What is an urgent communication situation?

At times, it will be necessary for you, as a school leader, to communicate quickly to parents, families, students, staff, community members and other stakeholders.

Note: If there is an immediate threat to school safety, call the police, restrict building access and call the Superintendent right away, at 641-842-6551 (office) or 641-751-5891 (mobile).

In many situations, there may be no immediate threat to school safety, but there will still be a need for you to collect information and communicate to stakeholders as quickly and accurately as possible. These may include the following issues:

To proceed, take the following steps:

1) Gather all the facts

Start by getting all the facts about the situation. Get dates, times, names and locations. Get the who, what, where, when and how—and write it down. Ask who else knows of this situation and if the police have been contacted. If the police have been contacted, ask for the officer’s name.

Check your facts and try to clarify.

2) Call the Superintendent

Call Superintendent Cassi Pearson at 641-842-6551 (office) or 641-751-5891 (mobile) and explain the situation.

3) Determine who you must reach immediately

Working with the Superintendent, determine who you need to contact within the next 10 minutes, the next half-hour and the next hour. This may include the following:

• Local police
• Parents directly involved
• Staff directly involved
• The school district’s attorney
• School board members

4) Start making calls

The people you need to contact this minute, in the next 10 minutes and in the next half-hour are contacts you will make by phone. Make the calls now and keep a record of with whom you spoke.

Note: It's likely that you, the Superintendent and/or another staff member will divide up these calls based on who is the most appropriate person to make them.

5) Create a 'key facts' document

Create a simple Google Doc that includes basic information about the situation, including times that the event(s) in question occurred. Often, in the haze of an urgent situation, facts get lost. Share the document with the Superintendent and any other key staff.

Use this sheet as a template, if needed.

6) Determine your messages

Working with the Superintendent and based on the information you have, determine the three to five key messages you want to communicate with your parents, staff and other stakeholders. Consider the following points:

• Explain what happened, along with why and when you learned of it.
• Explain the outcome (ideally, that everyone is safe).
• Explain what the school or district is doing to ensure that this situation never happens again.
• Explain that the building is safe and when you will communicate next, if appropriate.

6) Continue communicating with stakeholders

Again, working with the Superintendent, determine the audience(s) you need to reach with your next round of communication. This will likely include some or all of the following:

• All parents in the school
• All staff in the school
• Other parents in the district
• Other staff in the district
• Members of the community
• The news media

In almost all circumstances, this communication will involve an email or letter to families, an email or letter to staff and/or a statement to the media.

Note: All communications should be reviewed and approved by the Superintendent before they are distributed.

7) Follow up with stakeholders as needed

Provide your stakeholders with any updates regarding the situation as necessary.