Effective school communication is the cornerstone of a strong, connected school community. It's the thread that connects teachers, staff, students, and parents, ensuring everyone’s on the same page and working together to help every student reach their full potential.

But what happens when that thread is weak or broken altogether?

When communication fails to reach its intended audience or when messages are unclear, inconsistent, or just plain inconvenient, the consequences can trickle throughout the entire school:

• Families feel bombarded with too many emails.
• You struggle to reach families who don't speak English at home.
• Staff spend hours sending manual notifications and reminders.
• Your school's leaders and teachers lack the tools for easy parent communication.

And when there's no sign of effective communication in your school, the outcomes can be even worse:

• Declining parent involvement: When your parents feel out of the loop and aren't involved in their child's education, it can lead to lower academic performance and a weaker school community.
   
• Overwhelmed teachers: Inefficient communication strategies create extra work for your teachers, stealing valuable time away from instruction and student support.
   
• Strained school-home relationships: Poorly branded emails, missed messages, and delayed notifications can create frustration and distrust between families and your school.

Sometimes, the limitations are crystal clear, but others may not even know they have a problem or just may be unaware of what they could achieve with better school-to-home communications.

The School Communications Audit: Identifying Areas for Improvement

Don't let poor communication hold you back! The first step in improving your school's communication is knowing the effectiveness of your current tools, strategies, and communication plan. A quick self-evaluation will highlight potential blind spots and help you identify areas for improvement in your school's communication tools.

When an emergency arises, how confident are you that you can reach every family within minutes?

• Can parents set their own contact preferences for receiving important information via different communication channels, like mobile apps, email, text, or voice calls?

How easy is it to send targeted messages to specific groups of parents?

• Can you quickly filter by grade level, classroom, sports team, or club?
• Can you easily communicate with parents who have students in multiple grades or activities?

Do your communication tools help you save time or create MORE work throughout the school year? 

• Can you schedule recurring messages, like weekly newsletters or monthly reminders?

How do you handle communication with families who speak different languages?

• Does your system offer translation features?
• Can you send messages in each family's preferred language?

Do your teachers have the tools they need for sharing information and effectively communicating with students and parents?

• Can teachers easily send messages to individual students or the entire class?
• Can parents contact teachers directly through your communication system?

But that’s JUST a starting point…Ready to take your school communications to the next level?

This quick quiz will help you pinpoint your school's strengths and weaknesses so you can make informed decisions about the best communication tools for your school and the strategies that will best serve your community. Invest a few minutes now and take the full quiz to uncover:

• Hidden weaknesses in your current communication system.
• Time-saving opportunities you might be missing.
• Strategies to boost family engagement through better communication.

By taking a critical and honest look at your current communication tools and strategies, you can identify areas for improvement and make sure that every message reaches its intended audience loud and clear.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Connor has spent the last decade within the field of marketing and communications, working with independent schools and colleges throughout New England. As Finalsite’s Senior Content Marketing Manager, Connor plans and executes marketing strategies and digital content across the web. A former photojournalist, he has a passion for digital media, storytelling, coffee, and creating content that connects.