Back-to-School PR: What Do You Want People to Know About Your School by June?

Schools have a lot to communicate. A new school year brings administrative announcements, events, new programs, parent updates, board meetings and more.

Before it all begins, there’s one question worth asking:

What do you want people to know about your school by June?

Think beyond the next announcement or event. What are the two or three things you want your key audiences to understand about your school by the end of the academic year?

Maybe you want to be known as a place that prepares students exceptionally well for what comes next. An independent school may want prospective families to understand what makes the student experience different. A public district may want residents to better understand the breadth of opportunities available to students.

Whatever the answer is, it gives you a framework for deciding which stories deserve attention throughout the year.

Find the Proof

If you want to be known as a school that prepares students for what comes next, saying it repeatedly isn’t as effective as showing the proof already happening within your walls.

Perhaps it’s an unusual classroom project. A partnership with a local organization. A student applying something they learned in class to solve a real-world problem. A graduate doing something impressive with the foundation the school provided.

If community involvement matters, find the people and programs demonstrating it. If supporting students as individuals is important, look for examples that show what that actually means. If innovation is a priority, show people what’s happening in classrooms that they may not expect.

The same thinking can apply to events. A great event may be worth a social post. If it also reinforces something important you want people to understand about the school, look for opportunities to tell that story beyond the event itself.

The Same Story Doesn’t Sound the Same to Everyone

Schools communicate with a wide range of audiences. Students, parents, faculty and staff, prospective families, alumni, donors, taxpayers, community members and local employers may all care about different things.

Take a new career and technical education program.

Parents may want to know what opportunities it creates for their children. Students need to understand why they should participate. Local employers may see a chance to get involved. For a public district, the program could demonstrate how its schools are responding to workforce needs. For an independent school, it might help a prospective family understand something distinctive about the education being offered.

And sometimes, the audience extends beyond the people already connected to your school. When considering whether a story has broader potential, ask:

Why would someone with no connection to our school care about this?

In the case of that career and technical education program, there may be a broader media story about changing attitudes toward college, careers and the skilled trades. A program responding to a challenge many schools are facing may also create an opportunity for an educator to offer expertise on the issue.

It’s one program, but it’s more than one story.

Your Experts May Already Be in the Classroom

Think about the issues being discussed in education right now: literacy, college admissions, student mental health and well-being, workforce preparation, AI and rapidly evolving technology. Chances are, there are people inside your school who have valuable perspectives on many of these issues.

Start identifying those people.

An educator who has spent the past year working with AI can talk about where it has helped in the classroom and where it hasn’t. An early childhood educator may have useful perspective on kindergarten readiness. A college counselor sees changes in admissions alongside students and families.

Look for opportunities throughout the year to put that expertise to work, whether through your own content, community conversations or outside media.

These perspectives can help shape your school’s reputation, both within your community and beyond it.

Think Ahead

Before the school year really gets underway, take a moment to decide what you want people to understand about your school by June.

Then pay attention to the people, programs and moments throughout the year that prove it.