School PR response to the H1N1 Crisis

Earlier this month, the Greater Fort Worth Chapter of PRSA kicked off 2010 with a program that featured the Fort Worth ISD's Communications Department and their presentation H1N1: Six Days in May and Beyond.

The presentation was in essence the school district's communications/PR response to the H1N1/Swine Flu outbreak that hit our area and the controversy they had to tackle. Below is the video the team presented:

What struck me about that District's response was that it had to be an integrated effort by all areas in order to be successful. This was no time for silos and worrying about stepping on toes. The administration, operations, campuses, technology, transportation, etc. in addition to the communications efforts all had to coordinate and cooperate. From a PR stand-point, they wanted to position the District as doing the right thing for kids. FWISD Senior Communications Officer, Barbara Griffith, pointed out that the actions and decisions were made in a way to show that the district was "going to protect our children."

Communications Carry-out:

• Plan, plan, plan - "We thought we had a crisis plan...you can never plan enough," said Griffith.
  
• Trust your communication channels - Think through response mechanism and all of its forms, i.e. dedicated web presence for issue, phone tree, phone hot-line for Q&A, in-house video options, press conferences and media relations, social media tools, etc. 
• Be flexible - They were shooting at a moving target during the crisis because of internal/external influences such as national, state, and local health agencies mandates. During their meetings, no idea was a bad idea.
  
• Pay attention to media needs - Think of things from the media's perspective and plan (or adapt) accordingly.
• A united front - This was a huge team effort and exemplified the "Ft. Worth way."
  

From my perspective as school PR professional, I believe the overall operationally integrated effort and approach for continued learning, and a swift return to normal through the H1N1 crisis by the Ft. Worth ISD last year was highly commendable and impressive. Were their decisions popular? Not for everyone inside and outside the organization. But then, that's the line schools districts and leaders have to walk in times of fear in order to meet the needs, trust and expectations of our communities.

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Note: This post was delayed in anticipation of the video presentation being uploaded to the FWISD YouTube channel. Special thanks to Barbara Griffith, Clint Bond, and Scott Juvette and their communications/PR team.