1. Strategic Communications Plan
Constantly refining our message to better engage our community
in ways that support increased student achievement.
Office of Public Relations and Marketing
2013-2014 School Year
KCPS Communications Plan 2013-2014
Page 1 of 13
2. 1.0 Introduction – Owning our message
“The Kansas City Public Schools exists to graduate students that are college, career and workforce ready.
This is accomplished through ever increasing student achievement.”
The message above clearly articulates a clear objective for KCPS. It is a message that is simple to express
and easily understood. To achieve effective internal and external communications, KCPS must better build
its voice around that message, focusing every public relations and marketing effort in both demonstrative
and subtle ways that directly support that outcome.
During the 2012-2013 school year, the Office of Public Relations and Marketing focused on re-tuning KCPS
communications to become more strategic. For the 2013-2014 school year, those efforts will continue with
an increased emphasis on communicating through the most-frequently used mediums of our respective
audiences with messages tailored specifically to their viewpoints. The foundation of those communications
will be core messages that support increased student achievement and that garner support for strategic
objectives.
KCPS will implement this strategy successfully, leading to increased engagement with those most able to
support the work of graduating students that are college, career and workforce ready.
1.1 Our audiences
KCPS has a variety of audiences and constituents. Each of these groups must receive timely, important,
and accurate communications, as well as be able to freely and directly share their thoughts with the
organization.
o Students – Our primary customers, students must know and understand why
school is important, what they gain from participating, what choices are available, and how they are
impacted by their interaction with schools and staff.
o Staff members and administrators - Great organizations shine from the inside
out. Well-informed employees are able to share important information and act as the face of your
organization. Employees must know and understand how their work aligns with the central mission of
KCPS, how they are impacted by administrative changes, what benefits are available to them, and how
to connect with important internal resources.
o Parents and guardians – As caregivers and the primary support for students,
parents must have a strong understanding of what their student is learning and what they gain by
attending KCPS. Parents must also understand how they can support learning. As taxpayers, they
must understand how their resources are being used to support education. This group includes the
DAC, SACs, and parent groups.
o General community members/organizations – This group includes churches,
clubs, neighborhood associations, subsection community groups (ex. NAACP, COHO, City Union
Mission, retirees), and citizens at-large. This group needs a working understanding of KCPS’ goals and
objectives, how taxpayer resources are used, and how they can contribute to the support of education.
o Business interests – While not directly involved in schools, this group brings
third-party resources and expertise that supports education. This group must be kept “in the loop” on
KCPS happenings and achievements.
o Civic leaders – This group includes elected officials and aides. This group must
be kept “in the loop” on KCPS happenings and achievements.
KCPS Communications Plan 2013-2014
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3. 2.0 Communications Objectives
The KCPS Strategic Communications Plan is based on four strategic communications objectives:
o Communicate and support student achievement – Clearly communicate how every activity and
outcome is directly tied to raising the overall level of student achievement while noting how that
relates to reaccreditation.
o Encourage community and staff engagement in supporting strategic outcomes – Through
clear communication, garner and build support among our constituencies for taking actions that
support increased student achievement, as well as demonstrating how their support and
engagement leads to effective outcomes.
o Enable effective two-way communication with our community partners– Increase the use of
current tools and direct communications to not only solicit input, but encourage expanding dialogue
and the exchange of ideas that support increased student achievement.
o Aggressively take advantage of every opportunity to communicate at a grassroots level -
Build and execute a “living plan” that continually places KCPS directly in position to directly
communicate with stakeholders on their terms.
2.1 Communications Tools to Support Key Objectives
KCPS has a variety of communications tools at its disposal to support the objectives described above.
These tools include:
o The Public Relations & Marketing Team. The team contains the expertise and
capacity to execute communications activities and advance KCPS communications objectives.
o Employee team members and administrators. Great organizations shine from
the inside out. Employees are the most knowledgeable source of information
o Internet-based communications. District and school web sites, electronic
newsletters, social media, original video programming, and links to third-party content.
o Traditional communications. Automated phone messages, flyers and community
events.
o Strategic partnerships. Working closely with groups such as the District Advisory
Committee, LINC, and other organizations with existing relationships to instruction and student support
provide avenues to speak directly to community partners.
o Advertising. This includes both free and paid print, radio, and display style
placements.
Note: The use of media is not identified as a primary means of support due to its
unpredictable views of KCPS.
KCPS Communications Plan 2013-2014
Page 3 of 13
4. 3.0 Communicate and support student achievement
The primary mission of the office is to communicate how every activity and outcome is directly tied to
raising the overall level of student achievement.
o Consistent and clear messaging – Clearly communicate how every activity and objective directly
aligns with meeting an accreditation standard or how it directly benefits student achievement.
o Place the message where users obtain their information – Use existing communications tools
and partnerships to keep our message visible
KCPS Communications Plan 2013-2014
Page 4 of 13
Project Action Steps Tentative
timeline
Estimated
cost
Re-launch of
quarterly family
e-newsletter
Use our multi-media presence to highlight the performance
and activities of one KCPS school per week. The
information would be published on Monday of each week,
with an overview Monday, 20-second video Wed., and
event of the week.
August 2013 xxxx
xxxx xxxxxx October 2013 xxx
Launch of
KCPS-TV
Sxxxxx
In progress
Staff time and
miscellaneous
printing costs.
Daily “This is
KCPS”
achievement
postings on
social media
xxxxxx Mid-September
2013
Staff time and
miscellaneous
printing costs.
Increased use
of honor rolls
Encourage schools to compile and share honor rolls to be
published on KCPS and school websites Launch at end
of first
academic
quarter 2012
Staff time and
miscellaneous
printing costs.
5. 4.0 Creating community and staff engagement in the
Transformation Plan
The focus of this goal is to shape all branding and messaging to directly connect to student achievement.
Another primary goal is to use these efforts to create an education roadmap, an easy-to-grasp blueprint for
community partners to understand how the work of KCPS “guides” a student to a bright future.
o Place greater emphasis on how students succeed daily – To achieve this, KCPS must reduce
the use of education jargon and create easy to obtain video, electronic, and print methods to share
this message.
o Develop and share district “grade cards” – These quarterly summaries will contain updates
regarding the prediction of school grade levels performance on upcoming tests and trends
regarding student proficiency
o Compare our student successes in a meaningful way – Not just how our students are doing,
but how it relates to the big picture
o Convey daily success stories– Use social media to promote “success of the day”
o Display our academic progress graphically– Convey the current path to improvement for the
district using a graphic representation
KCPS Communications Plan 2013-2014
Page 5 of 13
Project Action Steps Tentative
timeline
Estimated
cost
Campaign – “Together
We Can Do this in
2014”
Define what Transformation means through a
combination of advertisements, videos, and open
house events that involve people in the effort.
10/1/2012 $5,000 for
printing; staff
time for online
maintenance.
Online Transformation
checklist
Develop an easy-to-digest graphic that shows what
plan items have been completed, what work needs to
be accomplished. Include an area that touts major
achievements.
8/1/2012 Minimal; will
use existing
resources
Banners touting
school and student
successes
Create banners to place at each school touting the
success of the transformation plan or a general
message of student achievement. Banners may be
signable as to reinforce teamwork needed to reach
goal.
10/1/2012
$2,500 for
banners
Transformation
Fridays
One Friday monthly, all students and staff are
encouraged to wear blue shirts as a sign of unity. For
one hour, BOE administrators community interests
will volunteer in a KCPS classroom. School take
actions that reflect the plan or that are aligned with
the plan.
Launch:
Mid-Sept. 2012
Provide t-shirt
design that
staff can
purchase.
6. 5.0 Supporting community and staff engagement
through proactive, regular communications
For KCPS to reclaim its message, it is imperative that the organization move proactively and creatively to
tell its story both to employees and its community partners. That story must be targeted to create personal
ownership and pride; it must become “their story,” not “our story.”
o Work inside out – Take control of our positive stories by releasing them initially through our
communications mediums
o Enhance strategic partnerships – Allow greater collaboration on KCPS communications
mediums, creating ownership and personal investment among constituents
o Consistent emphasis on achievement, not programs – Every communication directly and
emphatically ties to student achievement
o Honor our top performers – Devise methods to regularly highlight staff and students that exceed
clearly-defined expectations
KCPS Communications Plan 2013-2014
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7. 6.0 Enabling two-way communication with constituents
Everyone has an opinion, thought, or bright idea. A successful KCPS strategic communications effort must
embrace commentary from its constituents and effectively exploit opportunities to turn those thoughts into
tangible action.
o Employ grassroots communications – To achieve this, KCPS must reduce the use of education
jargon and create easy to obtain video, electronic, and print methods to share this message.
o Employ data and research– Use qualitative and quantative methods to measure the effectiveness
of communication
o Effectively publicize outcomes created as a result of input – Assist our constituents in
understanding how they influence KCPS efforts
o Rapid-response and quality customer service– KCPS must respond to constituents in a timely
manner to encourage consistent two-way communication
KCPS Communications Plan 2013-2014
Page 7 of 13
Project Action Steps Tentative
timeline
Estimated
cost
Re-launch of
external
newsletter
Work directly with the District Advisory Committee to re-
launch the KCPS external newsletter as a collaborative
effort with our parents. Will contain useful information from
both parties, with KCPS containing the overall approval.
Sept. 2012
Staff time.
Monthly
recognition
programs
Will launch monthly recognition programs for staff and
students. The “Scholar Superstars” and “Employee of the
Month” programs will include recognition before the school
board, a certificate, and notations in all district
communications mediums with regular circulation.
In progress $150 for
plaques to list
winners
On The Scene
with Green
Every other month, the Superintendent will host community
coffees with Q&A for patrons. Will stream events via
kcpublicschools.org
In progress $300 for
refreshments
Mobile web
alerts
Use a mobile web app to provide timely yet relevant
updates regarding student achievement activities and
events.
Launch: July 1,
2012.
Cost absorbed
by IT.
New employee
intranet
This website within a website will contain information of use
only to KCPS employees, including access to important
documents and employee-centric items such a message
boards and a calendar. The site will be located within
www.kcpublicschools.org.
Launch: July 1,
2012
Staff time and
maintenance.
8. KCPS Communications Plan 2013-2014
Page 8 of 13
Project Action Steps Tentative
timeline
Estimated
cost
Employee
message board
on KCPS
intranet
Each month, the superintendent will respond to questions
collected through KCPS communications mediums, then
respond in a short 10-minute video to be posted on the
district web site and using social media.
January 2013
N/a
Parent
Information
Line
Replace 418-NEWS with an interactive line where
complaints and input are funnelled, then redistributed.
September
2012
Staff time, with
reduction on
switchboard
relief
Twitter feed
with Message
Cube
Twitter feed would display on website with questions
received through Message Cube. Responses would have to
be real-time.
Mid-Sept. 2012 $250
Web-based
message board
for external
users.
This board will enable users to post questions and insight
within a moderated environment.
Dec. 2012.
Staff time.
9. 7.0 Strategic points of emphasis
The Office of Public Relations and Marketing is undertaking the following projects during the 2012-2013
school year to support the KCPS’ communications objectives.
KCPS Communications Plan 2013-2014
Page 9 of 13
Priority Strategic Project Tentative
timeline
Estimated
cost
High Back to School, Back to Health – A one-day event to
distribute backpacks filled with school supplies and a
personal hygiene kit to all K-6 students.
August 2012 $200,000
Medium State of the Schools speech – Superintendent’s annual
address to the community regarding the progress of KCPS
and support of Transformation Plan.
Oct.. 2012 Less than
$2,000
Medium Enrollment 2013-2014 support – Work with Student
Support and Community Services to release the enrolment
applications/processes for the upcoming school year.
Support includes advertising, publications using
communications mediums, campaign consisting of media
visits and creation of flyers, etc.
Late January to
early February
2013
$2,500 to
$3,000
Medium Maintenance of web presence for KCPS and schools –
Work with departments and schools to ensure maximum
use of KCPS web capabilities and adherence to standards.
Ongoing N/A
High Importance of RSIT – Publish information about activities
related to review of progress toward accreditation, including
meetings and information presented.
Ongoing N/A
10. 8.0 General communications procedures
All district-level internal and external communications efforts must include participation by the Office of
Public Relations and Marketing. All protocol for KCPS communications are documented in the DBS
procedures. A full accounting of the procedures may be viewed in Appendix A.
8.1 Listing of DBS procedures
o Donations – The procedure to be used when accepting a donation on behalf of
KCPS.
o Social networking – The procedure that defines how social media may be used
by representatives of KCPS.
o KCPS Logo – The procedure that defines how the approved KCPS logo may be
used.
o Mascot and school logos - The procedure that defines how the approved KCPS
logo may be used.
o Flyer and printed materials review – The procedure that defines the proper
submission and dissemination of flyer and submitted graphic materials.
o Contact with elected officials – The procedure that defines how representatives
of KCPS may interact with elected officials.
o Internet sponsorships and advertising – The procedure that defines how
advertising may be used on KCPS internet and print platforms.
o SLIP Procedure - The procedure that creates and defines the use of the School
Leadership Information Packet (SLIP).
o Web-based advertising and sponsorships - The procedure that defines the
conditions under which web-based advertising or sponsorships may be used.
KCPS Communications Plan 2013-2014
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11. 9.0 Crisis communications procedures
All district-level internal and external communications efforts must include participation by the Office of
Public Relations and Marketing. Two primary areas of emphasis within this philosophy are crisis/emergency
notifications and media access.
9.1 General protocol
A crisis or emergency is only declared by the Superintendent of Schools or his/her designee. All
emergency notifications must be approved primarily by the Chief Communications Officer or, in a
secondary nature, by the Manager of Public Relations.
o Primary responsibility – In the event of an emergency, an employee’s primary
responsibility is to protect the well-being of students and staff. When possible, staff members must
contact their imemdate supervisor. When that is not possible, the staff member must contact local
emergency responders first, then KCPS Security.
o Immediate postings - The notification, document, or announcement of the
procedure, will be made on the KCMSD web site and social media outlets.
9.2 Crisis/emergency/time-sensitive notifications
As a general rule, the following procedure will be used when important notifications must be made.
o Immediate postings - The notification, document, or announcement of the
procedure, will be made on the KCPS web site and social media outlets.
o Automated phone messaging system – When an event calls for a short-time
and immediate notification, the SchoolReach automated phone message system will be used. The
Superintendent of his/her designee must approve the message and use of the system prior to the
notification.
o Letters to parents – When a school- or district-wide emergency or emergency
notification is required, a letter will be drafted by the Office of Public Relations and Marketing and
distributed to schools via e-mail. A copy of this notice will also be placed on the KCPS web site.
o Use of the School Leadership Information Packet (SLIP) and employee
newsletter – When a notification is greater than two days from date of the decision to make the
notification, a notice will be placed in the SLIP and employee newsletter, where applicable. SLIP
notifications (including letters for parents) must be sent home with students when requested.
o Paid advertisements and public service announcements – These
communications will be used as time and financial means permit.
9.3 Media access protocols
A cornerstone of KCPS strategic communications is to ensure the accurate and timely release of
information to the community. Per district administrative policy and procedures, the Office of Public
Relations and Marketing works directly with KCPS departments and staff to ensure that standard is met.
o Authorized spokespersons – Per district administrative policy, only three people
may speak primarily on behalf of KCPS – the President of the Board of Directors, Superintendent of
Schools, and the Chief Communications Officer.
o Points of contact – All media inquiries regarding KCPS must be immediately
referred to the Office of Public Relations and Marketing. KCPS employees are not permitted to initiate
contact with the media on behalf of KCPS.
KCPS Communications Plan 2013-2014
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