Event Information

Sharpen Your Crisis Communications When the Unexpected Hits

A program of the NSPRA Academy

Crisis communication is one of the most consequential disciplines in school public relations. The best time to let students, staff and families know what to do in an emergency is before it happens. And when a crisis occurs, these stakeholders and others expect transparency and timely information. Districts that respond effectively in a crisis create a powerful connection. But districts that mishandle crises can severely damage trust and social capital in their community.

Academy Facilitator: Rick Kaufman, APR

At the end of the three-session NSPRA Crisis Communications Academy, participants will be able to:

• Establish effective crisis response structures and teams while developing processes to more effectively communicate with internal and external stakeholders during and after a crisis.
• Identify the elements critical to managing an incident, from providing expert counsel to leaders to tailoring communication strategies and taming the social media beast.
• Understand the pattern of a crisis to help communicators anticipate issues to effectively respond.
• Create a crisis communications plan for your school district.
• Apply practical crisis communication principles to a relevant crisis.

REGISTRATION IS LIMITED TO 30 PARTICIPANTS

Module 1: Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024 (12 - 1:30 p.m. ET, Virtual): Laying the Foundation for Solid Crisis Communications

The module will focus on pre-crisis planning elements, the importance and purpose of crisis communications and the first three of six fundamentals of an effective crisis communication plan, including the team and its roles, activation criteria and protocols and communication platforms.

Module 2: Thursday, March 21, 2024 (12 - 1:30 p.m. ET, Virtual): Crafting the Right Responses

The module covers the last three fundamentals of an effective crisis communication plan, including communicating during a crisis, response statements and key messages and why communication after a crisis is critical to the recovery process.

Module 3: Thursday, April 25, 2024 (12 - 1:30 p.m. ET, Virtual): Transforming Your Learning into Action

Participants will engage in a table-top scenario requiring decision-making and deploying crisis response strategies and messages. We’ll wrap with a “hotwash,” an important step in analyzing the team’s crisis response as a critical learning exercise.