NSPRA's Communication Audit Report - Harford County Public ...

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Communication improvements needed ■ No communications training is provided for staff. ■ Parents expect district to reach out to them instead of them coming in to us. Maybe go out on more formal basis to each group instead of waiting for them to come to the district. ■ Lacking in internal protocol to disseminate information to staff. Need a general overall philosophy for external communication as well. ■ Inside Track is basically a swap sheet. Ways Public Information Office can help ■ Individual comments included: • Could do more for employees in morale-boosting. Pride needs to be bolstered. • People want standards and protocols. Web site ■ People responsible for content don’t know how to treat it as printed media. Opportunities for involvement/engagement ■ Lots of opportunities available. PTA Council session has potential for hundreds to get involved, but might get 30 to turn out. Input into decisions ■ Most people gage their level of involvement by whether they get the answer they want. Greatest challenges facing the district ■ Parent involvement. ■ Budget; adequate resources. ■ Elementary redistricting. ■ Elected vs. appointed Board. GROUP: HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS What students like most about the district ■ Individual comments included: • “My small high school.” • “My big high school.” • Everything. • Opportunities at the technical school. • Wide variety of clubs and activities. • The help given to students to help them reach graduation. • Small classes. • Teachers willing to help students. • Good extracurricular activities – sports, community service, clubs. NSPRA Communication Audit 91 Harford County Public Schools
What people need to know ■ HCPS schools are good places to be. ■ Small class sizes at the alternative school give students needed one-on-one with teachers. Best experiences so far ■ Extracurricular activities. ■ Individual comments included: • Going with the science group to Costa Rica – for ecotourism. • Going to the alternative school. “Switching schools to a place that helped me get what I needed – now I make A’s and have a good GPA.” • Student Government – going to Annapolis, Girls State, interviewed for the Page program, leadership and communication development. • Varsity sports. • The band program. • Community service club. • Best Buddies. “Working with these [special ed] kids is very rewarding. Going on trips and things is great.” Recommended improvements ■ More consistency for updating Edline. ■ More support for freshmen and struggling students. ■ Individual comments included: • “I wish that someone had talked to the freshmen about how important your grades are and that sort of thing.” • The students who need help don’t seem to know it until the end of the marking period, when it’s too late. “We have Edline and things to check grades, but teachers don’t always update them.” What they wish they had known before high school ■ Don’t worry about the older students. ■ Join whatever clubs you want. ■ Allow yourself to have opportunities and grow. ■ Don’t wait to get involved in school. How they learn about what’s happening at school ■ E-mails and phone calls from the school (ALERTNOW). ■ Morning announcements on TV, the school’s electronic bulletin board, and slide shows in the cafeteria. ■ Homework 411 – a TV show on Channel 21 (produced by the Community College). ■ Club bulletin boards. ■ Edline calendar. Challenges or improvements for communication ■ More information about activities outside of school, such as summer camps, Girl’s State and other government-related opportunities, internships, and community activities. ■ More information about clubs and meeting times on Edline. NSPRA Communication Audit 92 Harford County Public Schools
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NSPRA’s Communication Audit Repor
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NSPRA Communication Audit 2 Harford
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is to determine whether it is helpi
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Educational public relations progra
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the communication loop, citing a br
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Recommendation 1: Develop a strateg
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However, with changing community ne
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streamline the efficiency of the of
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schools or departments where commun
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current technology has made it easy
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exception of sports. The Harford Sc
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greater community, such as BRAC and
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Recommendation 5: Improve communica
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distributed as well), so that every
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epresentatives (as end users) in de
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Stakeholders could sign-up on the d
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communicator network and to conside
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As HCPS’ flagship publication, th
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school motto and mascot, etc.). At
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“experienced” parents can serve
Page 41 and 42: • Encourage district leaders to b
Page 43 and 44: HCPS to have a clearly delineated p
Page 45 and 46: • Mandatory media training - We r
Page 47 and 48: The current HCPS public web site is
Page 49 and 50: • Provide additional support to s
Page 51 and 52: • Develop guidelines for marketin
Page 53 and 54: enhance the web site with streaming
Page 55 and 56: Conclusion HCPS is a quality school
Page 57 and 58: Logo ■ Needs updating. Best sourc
Page 59 and 60: Current image of the district ■ I
Page 61 and 62: • Curriculum evaluation committee
Page 63 and 64: • They want to help, yet run into
Page 65 and 66: • Have had three principals at th
Page 67 and 68: • “We need to bring our busines
Page 69 and 70: • Need to start over with high sc
Page 71 and 72: Greatest challenges facing the dist
Page 73 and 74: • The benefits sign-up process is
Page 75 and 76: Information timeliness ■ Good; ex
Page 77 and 78: Ways district communicates well ■
Page 79 and 80: Current image of the district ■ F
Page 81 and 82: GROUP: SECONDARY TEACHERS Strengths
Page 83 and 84: • To a large degree, district has
Page 85 and 86: • Principals keep getting more on
Page 87 and 88: Web site ■ In general, the web si
Page 89 and 90: Current image of the district ■ I
Page 91: ■ No “one clear voice” respon
Page 95 and 96: • Construction should happen in t
Page 97 and 98: Greatest challenges facing the dist
Page 99 and 100: • Parents have their own interest
Page 101 and 102: NSPRA Communication Audit 100 Harfo
Page 103 and 104: 8. Do you feel the district does a
Page 105 and 106: Focus Group Questions for Student G
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