School communications: Why leaders have a big, new priority

Community engagement is becoming as much of a priority as crisis communications for school leaders designing outreach strategies to build trust and transparency.

It’s an evolution from the COVID-19 era when schools essentially worked around the clock to provide the most up-to-date information on the pandemic’s disruptions, according to the latest “Profile of a School Communicator” report from the National School Public Relations Association.

“Today, schools continue to manage crises, but they are also strengthening and expanding their efforts to build strong, lasting relationships with families and communities,” said Barbara M. Hunter, executive director of NSPRA.

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“While community engagement has always been a core part of school communication, we’re seeing it rise as a top priority, reinforcing the shift from reacting to emergencies to proactively fostering trust.”

Community engagement is becoming a more important aspect of school communications because of changing federal policy on immigration enforcement, school choice, gender identity and diversity, Hunter added.

4 school communications shifts

Here are key findings from the “Profile of a School Communicator” report:

1. Urgency in crisis communications is easing: The share of school communications leaders ranking crisis communications as a primary focus has declined from 69% in 2020 to 57% in 2024.
2. Community relations gains prominence: Community engagement has landed among communicators’ top five responsibilities in 2022 and 2024.
3. Communications teams are expanding: The percentage of one-person communication offices dropped to the lowest level since 2011. The percentage of teams with eight or more staff members has reached its highest level in the same timeframe.
4. Engagement barriers remain: 83% of school communicators cite message overload as the biggest challenge in engaging families. Other obstacles include families’ lack of interest and insufficient staffing. Nearly one in five school communicators identifies families’ lack of trust in district communications as a barrier to engagement.