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Sometimes the hardest part of the research phase is knowing where to start. This brief overview provides a framework for research by breaking it into three basic steps:
Begin by gathering and analyzing the information specific to the school system. This could include enrollment, student poverty, tax base growth/decline, school climate survey results, analytics for current communication tools, state school report cards, school ratings by local news media and specialized websites, etc.
As appropriate to your purpose for doing research, determine all communication, public relations, marketing, and engagement activities currently happening in your district. Include ongoing communication activities and tactics, such as how you manage website content, newsletters, social media, parent and staff emergency notifications, news releases, crisis communication, etc.
Include the efforts of staff members to build relationships with internal and external stakeholders: parent conferences, open house programs, advisory groups, business partnerships, news media relations, and participation in community organizations.
This compilation will provide an accurate picture of how communication is currently integrated into your district and school operations. What additional information is readily available? Following are free sources of information to round out your internal data.
What you need to know will guide the tools you will use to gather the data. Today there are so many options for gathering information on an ongoing basis, as well as in preparation for a specific initiative. Following are just a few strategies to consider.
These are just a few ways to gather additional data and there are many ways to go about each one as well as a wealth of partners available to assist you.