Public schools must rethink how they communicate their value and priorities to their communities as they confront the headwinds of a fragmented media habit and political division, a new guide for district leaders says.
What works best: Highlighting partnerships between schools, families, and communities; and emphasizing that strong public schools are an investment in the country’s future, says the guide, which AASA, the School Superintendents Association, will share with its members this week.
“Success in this fragmented, fraught political climate requires all school leaders, educators, parents, and community advocates to rethink how we talk about public education in America so we can stay focused on common ground and common goals, instead of being distracted and divided by culture wars and political hot-button issues,” the guide says.
AASA created the resource as it launches its “Public Education Promise” campaign, through which working groups of superintendents and experts will develop resources to help districts with priorities like designing student-centered learning and nurturing students’ skills in areas like problem-solving and digital literacy.
In partnership with Gotham Research and ROKK Solutions, firms that specialize in communications research and public affairs, the organization over five months conducted surveys and focus groups of parents, educators, administrators, and school board members. They sought to identify messages districts can use to explain their work without inadvertently using language their communities may see as political or partisan.
The challenges are significant. Terms that once seemed ideologically neutral, like “social-emotional learning,” are caught up in political debates. Public schools face declining enrollment and increasing competition from private school choice programs, like state-administered tax-credit scholarship programs.
Amid the growth of social media and generative AI platforms, schools face an uptick in misinformation that threatens to fracture their communities. District leaders have had to correct false information about everything from local bond issues to viral rumors about litter boxes in school restrooms.
Emphasizing student success and community partnerships
As districts develop new strategies, like apprenticeships and career pathways, to keep up with changing workforce needs, they must intentional about how they communicate that work, said David Law, superintendent of the Minnetonka, Minn., district and the president of AASA.
“Nobody wants the car that they had in 1991 or the cell phone they had in 1991, but they understand the education they had in 1991, and they don’t quite get [what schools are doing] today,” he said. “We have an obligation to say, ‘Here’s what we are doing, and here’s why.’”
In a nationally representative survey of 1,000 parents conducted by the research groups in the last week of June, 57% of respondents agreed that “success after K-12 education comes down to whether children are prepared for adult life,” and 63% said reading comprehension and life skills are the most important skills for schools to teach. Seventy-nine percent of respondents agreed that public schools are “extremely valuable” for children.
The focus groups—with participants from a variety of racial, ethnic, and political backgrounds in rural, urban, and suburban communities—said schools should share what makes learning engaging and motivating, rather than focusing on rigor. Schools should also explain how they prepare students for a variety of postsecondary paths, rather than focusing narrowly on college, the panels said.
“The pressure is beyond, ‘how smart are you?’ We want our [children] to be adaptable in different settings, have different experiences, and life skills,” a Republican parent from Rhode Island said.
“It’s not about memorizing history dates or math equations,” a Democratic parent from Oregon said. “School has to be so much more than that. It is about learning resilience, problem-solving, and teamwork. It’s all about providing youth with tools to prepare for the real world and not about memorizing.”
Public schools should stress a sense of belonging where all students, including those with disabilities, feel supported, the researchers found. Language about “belonging,” “respect,” and “freedom of expression” resonated with focus groups more than terms like “inclusivity” or “ideology,” the guide says.
Leaders should strive for visibility and approachability
Schools should also highlight efforts to partner with parents, families, and communities, focus groups said. And messages should focus on the success of each child, rather than broader concepts like the economy.
“Parents’ perceptions are highly dependent on whether or not they believe public schools have evolved for better or worse, since they attended school,” researchers found.
The report made specific recommendations for superintendents:
- Because many focus group participants said they are not familiar with their district’s leader, superintendents should prioritize frequent communication in a variety of venues, including online and face-to-face. District leaders should aim for visibility and approachability.
- Superintendents should work to establish themselves as “trusted messengers” who can share successes and explain new programs and strategies.
- Discussions should center on children and what’s best for their futures.
- Districts should describe success in a variety of ways, beyond merely focusing on standardized test scores.
It’s important for leaders to open more lines of communication between parents and schools, to build trust, and to use language that cuts through the noise, said David Schuler, AASA’s executive director.
“Sometimes we like to use education-ese, acronyms, and multiple-syllable words that applied in our graduate studies,” he said. “We need to be able to communicate in ways that those who are absorbing the information can internalize it.”
