Communications Audit

Overview

We partnered with NSPRA last winter and spring on a comprehensive, independent district-wide communications audit which included:

A review of print and digital materials, tools and tactics
Quantitative research through a district-wide survey open to parents and guardians, employees and community members
Qualitative research through 14 focus groups as well as meeting with the superintendent and Communications Department staff

Key strengths

The Communications Department features a well-qualified staff who bring a wide array of knowledge, skills and abilities to the program
The district successfully implements multiple communications strategies across the organization for internal and external groups
The district demonstrates consistent branding across all channels, with recognizable design, colors and images
Our social media presence is strong, with higher-than-average engagement
With our presence in the state capital, the Communications team assists with government relations activities at a variety of levels and with a range of entities

Key challenges

The district lacks a shared philosophy of the importance of communication and the vital role played by all employees
The district’s current Communication Plan, while including important features, lacks some best- practice components
Insufficient practices and protocols to guide communication by district employees, which leads to confusion and inconsistency
A perception across groups that the district is not interested in, or responsive to, feedback
Families report feeling overwhelmed at times by the use of multiple communication platforms across the district and schools
Communicating and engaging with our growing population of ENL students and families

Recommendations

The auditors have provided seven recommendations to help improve and strengthen the district’s overall communication program. They have suggested an implementation over multiple years, addressing 2-3 recommendations annually.

Promote a district-wide culture of communication
Emphasize customer service to improve responsiveness across campuses and departments
Enhance and refocus the district’s Communications Plan to increase its ability to guide the district’s communication program
Streamline family communication processes across schools, departments and the district
Increase opportunities to share the district’s story and value
Promote and expand opportunities for the Albany community to engage with the district and our schools
Expand methods to effectively reach non-English speakers

2024-25 implementation goals

Led by the Communications Department team and Superintendent Joseph Hochreiter, the district plans to work toward the following implementation goals during the 2024-25 school year:

Successfully onboard and support a new communications specialist for Albany High School and the Athletics Department (Recommendations 1, 5, 7)
Partner with the superintendent, Cabinet and administrators to identify effective internal processes for communicating with all employees (Recommendation 1)
Revise/expand Communications Plan and establish a Communications Guidebook (Recommendations 1, 3, 4)
Provide customer service guidelines for all employees, develop relevant PD opportunities for support staff (Recommendation 2)
Research and evaluate all current digital communication platforms in use district-wide (Recommendation 4)
Focus on additional video content across social media platforms, research new social media platforms, with a particular focus on platforms with high student engagement (Recommendations 5, 6)
Partner with Albany High leadership to offer guided tours of our new and expanding high school campus (Recommendations 5, 6)