Communicating Change to Your Community of Stakeholders

Communicating Change to Your Community of Stakeholders

Introduction:

When I first started my career in education, there is one day that stands out to me that I will

never forget. I was a substitute teacher for an urban school district that was experiencing

conflict between the labor union and the district. As a result, there were several “sick-outs” in

which teachers at selected schools would all call in sick on the same day, thus forcing the

closure of the school for that day. One day, my assigned school was closed. I reported to work

before I received word of the closure and was surprised when many students later showed up.

Why? Because their families had not received the communication that school was closed. At

that time, school closures in our area communicated via radio and the local television station.

These families did not have either, so they sent their students to school and went off to work.

For me, this highlighted the importance of multiple forms communication. If the families of these

students did not know that school was closed, what other information were they missing out on?

This last year has highlighted the importance of communication, especially in the field of

education. We have seen educational institutions and programs pivot to virtual platforms,

institute blended learning models, make changes to athletic programs, distribute technology

tools for faculty, staff and students, all in the blink of an eye. These swift changes required

effectively communication, delivered via a number of modalities including email, letters, video

recording, social media and virtual synchronous platforms to name a few.

One common complaint that has been heard, regardless of the educational setting, is

communication was not effective. Understandably many leaders were not prepared for a

pandemic, but even more so it highlighted that many were not proficient in using the various

communication tools available to them.

Instructions:

In this assignment, you will deliver a presentation on how you would communicate to and with

stakeholders in your educational community (K-12 schools), during a time of swift change (e.g.

pandemic related changes, closures due to inclement weather or facilities issues, changes to an

athletic program). You are encouraged to draw upon what you have learned about using

communication tools and your own experiences and observations related to communicating

changes in education/ educational programs over the last year. In this presentation you will

present to the viewer regarding how you would communicate such changes, showcasing the

tools you would use, to include discussions of how, when and why you have selected these

tools. You are welcome to use props and examples, as needed. It is also important to address

how your selected tools will facilitate opportunities for two-way communication with your

stakeholders.

1. Your presentation should reflect the level of professionalism expected of an

educational leader. Data and props should be used, as relevant to the topic.

2. You may use Prezi, Powerpoint, Google Slides, or any similar tool for your

presentation.