A Few (More) Words On... Issuing School Statements - Three (points), to be exact)
Some thoughts after hearing some excellent questions I struggled to answer
Hi everyone -
I re-entered the world of discussion about issuing school statements this week. After doing a webinar on creating guidelines for issuing school statements for the MarComm Society (thank you to Friend of TOOS Brendan Schneider of SchneiderB Media ), I was left thinking about the q&a. People had good questions. My answers were less good.
We’re in a complicated time and people have strong feelings. They all seem to end up coming at the Communications Department. Polarization produces a lot of zero-sum points of view, which is in direct conflict with a communications strategy that aspires to be inclusive and promote human connection. I remain frustrated that many heads still don’t seem to fully appreciate the strategic nature of the director of communications role and aren’t accessing the best and highest use of this function Because it can be transformative.
So I thought for my short end of the month post, I’d add a few addendums to my previous post on creating guidelines on issuing school statements.
I do want to reiterate - the more school leaders can see these communications as extensions of a constituent communications strategy and not as one-off, crisis mitigation responses, the better able you’ll be able to take a breath, put everything in perspective and not feel crushed under the weight of “what does everyone want from me, anyway?”
To have a little fun with it, I took the essence of the MarComm participants’ good questions, stirred in a few others I’ve heard recently and reframed them as if they were posing them to an advice column. Enjoy “Dear Julie.”
Letter One
Dear Julie:
As director of communications, I created a set of guidelines for publishing school responses to current events. I put a lot of time and thought into it and I referenced the mission and our core values. As a communications professional, I think it establishes reasonable guardrails so we can connect with our community without having to respond every time there is a new headline.
My head of school has ignored them and has done whatever he wants. The last time he took it upon himself to send out an all-parent email in response to a news event, he pissed a lot of people off and then he came to the senior team meeting and we heard all these complaints. I felt like a loser in front of my colleagues and I had no idea how to respond because if he had just followed the guidelines, it never would have happened.
Help!
Comms Conundrum
Dear Comms Conundrum:
Grrrr. I can totally understand why you are frustrated. Heads can be stubborn and are used to being the boss. Sometimes when I was a head, I would not always take the advice of my senior team members and sometimes that…didn’t work out so well. Whoopsie doodle! Seriously, please forgive me.
Sometimes it’s hard to sit back and wait rather than give into the urge to do something, even if you know intellectually it might be a bad idea. A lot of heads like to be in the driver’s seat and it can become a habit to strap on your firefighting gear even when that smoke is coming not from a burning building but the tail end of a simple barbeque,
None of that helps YOU, though.
What I would suggest is, as irritating as it is, you give the guidelines another pass but this time bring the head of school in to participate. He could write the charge for a committee or task force. You could ask the senior team to act as a task force to do another pass and have the head of school be a task force member.
Once you’ve established a process and a context, it might feel safer and more productive to discuss what has not gone well in the past when sending out a response to a current event and what might be a more effective way to connect with your community. Hopefully with the head at the table you can collaborate on guidelines that are more functional for your environment.
And if that’s a dead end - we learn to accept things we can’t control, right? 🙂
Letter Two
Dear Julie:
The chair of the board has told the head she had no tolerance for any school responses to national or international events. She sees it as outside the school’s mission. She really liked it when her son’s college, Williams, sent out a letter this fall saying the college established such a policy. My head is exhausted and ready to agree. I am concerned this leaves us no room to maneuver. The board chair is also a current parent and I’m worried if we establish this policy, she’s going to really put all school comms under a microscope and if something comes out she thinks violates the policy, I’m going to get yelled at.
HELP!
Pushed into a Corner in Communications
Dear Pushed:
If you’re a TOOS reader, you know you’ve come to a sympathetic ear. While I can see that this policy can work and be relevant for a college or university, I think they are both harder to enact for small tighter knit communities like ours that include parents as vital constituents. But of course, it depends on your mission and values.
As the director of communications, you feel pushed into a corner, yet you can’t push back at the board chair. It’s just not appropriate. However, you can make the case to your very tired head of school that you would love to think about a more nuanced approach.
While trying to make everyone happy is a fruitless excercise, perhaps the head of school can engage the board chair in a discussion and find out what is behind her position. Did she have a bad interaction stemming from a past statement and she doesn’t want to repeat that? Is it an academic principle for her? If the head can get past the board chair’s position and discuss the root of her concerns, there’s a good chance you can create guidelines that can address both her concerns for the school getting “too” political and your concern that you are missing opportunities to connect with your community - and set some guidelines for creating these responses so the head doesn’t feel so exhausted.
Letter Three
Dear Julie:
Our school’s mission is related to social justice. Many community members feel strongly that because our values are so aligned with certain political viewpoints that as a school, we should make public statements that support political causes when world or national events occur. And there is a subset of this group that feels that “the other” party is frankly, immoral, a threat to American democracy and that the party and its leaders should be called out as such when appropriate. Given a mission that explicitly states our commitment to educating students who will create a more just and equitable world, I often have trouble arguing. But doubling down on politics just doesn’t feel right for a school.
Help!
Wanting to Be on the Right Side of History but Worried
Dear Worried:
First, I’m going to pass along a (somewhat edited) piece of advice I received from a dear mentor a few weeks ago - you can’t personally take on the emotional weight of… America. Democracy is the ultimate group project and you can’t do the other guy’s homework in order that we all get an A.
I also want to point out that you could flip the script on your question with many schools in specific niches, so this question isn’t only about schools with a social justice mission, although that’s the example we have here. If you’re a Catholic school, for example, there are certainly political positions that align.
This is a really tough one. Political beliefs have become a shorthand for personal morality. I know what it’s like to feel the personal is political. One of my early memories is of my dad burning a flare on the front lawn the night Richard Nixon resigned. He actually went into the emergency kit in our VW Bug, took out the flare, and victoriously planted it on the front lawn. Honestly, I’m not even sure how he came up with the idea, but the whole street came out and most of them voted for Nixon. But in his professional life, he was on the other side of the bargaining table from union representation and let me tell you, he had many unflattering observations about that crowd. So while he would have always voted to support labor rights, in his day to day, he could see a whole other side.
So I think in reality, people are still pretty complicated and multilayered. They do contain multitudes. I have heard a number of stories this year about school leaders being prepared to hear one political viewpoint from an unhappy family, only to hear the exact opposite. Remember, my number one rule of administration is People Lead Complicated Lives. So whatever your mission, don’t assume that just because you don’t hear certain opinions that they aren’t out there.
The purpose of politics, governing and education are all distinct and quite different. Activism certainly has a role in our institutions and in your institution, I would imagine quite a prominent one. That is something to be nurtured and supported. The world needs activists and becoming activists can teach kids many important lessons in integrity and courage. And we all need a world that is a more just and equitable place.
But even the purpose of an education with a social justice mission is not identical to the purpose of social justice activism. Schools are places for curiosity, exploration, growth, boundary testing, experimentation, respecting and understanding differences. Why would you choose to limit yourself? Institutionally, politically affiliating feels stifling; it feels like a dead-end. Celebrating your values and mission feels joyful and expansive. There is a case to be made that the more people you can reach, the more impact your school has in the world. It’s the case for hearts and minds.
So I would advocate you stand loud and proud behind your mission and values in your statements and responses. But I would also say that this could be a moment for leadership.
If I were in your shoes, I’d be reluctant to open this can of worms to really deconstruct those lines around politics, activism and education. It sounds messy and emotional. But it also sounds as if the worms are already crawling out of the can and maybe it’s time for leadership to figure out how to have these conversations where the school’s mission and values and the experience of the students is at the center. And grapple with that question - how do we advance our mission and values in their highest form as we move through these highly charged, polarized times?
On a much less lofty note, here’s a link about the IRS regulations around non-profits and political campaigns which also might be another component to such a conversation:
IRS regulations for charities and churches relating to political campaigns
I want to thank all the people I’ve spoken to through workshops this winter for their candid comments. I know it’s tough to navigate and I know you’re tired and worried about this election year. But you’re a talented and committed bunch and your leadership will speak volumes.
I’m seeing a pattern here! Heads and director of comms - you can be such strong, effective partners. Do it. You can make each other better and you can move your school forward.
I’m cheering for you all!
Julie
At Stony Creek Strategy, we can help you with creating guidelines around issuing statements or do a workshop for the senior team or board on communications in a time of polarization. Feel free to reach out when you need us.