District communications and community‑engagement staff presented an annual update Aug. 21 showing higher audience engagement after a newsletter redesign and identified next steps for outreach, digital tools and community events.

The key numbers: since the district switched to Smore for newsletters the organizers said family open rates have generally risen to north of 60 percent (industry average ~40 percent), internal staff newsletter open rates have averaged about 80 percent last year (industry average ~35 percent), and ParentSquare “contactability” — the percent of students with at least one contactable parent — is 99.67 percent (ParentSquare benchmark cited as 97 percent). Communications staff also reported district‑wide social‑media follower increases: about 18 percent average growth on Facebook and triple‑digit growth on Instagram for several schools over the last two years.

What the district says it changed and why it mattered
Staff said they selected Smore after testing for mobile friendliness, multi‑language support (over 130 languages), embedded video and cost effectiveness. Staff reported that average read time increased after the change. They described plans for A/B testing, segmented sends, and a possible weekly “top 5” miss‑list pushed through ParentSquare depending on parent survey results.

ParentSquare and social media details
Communications staff reported 13,210 ParentSquare posts in the prior year, with roughly 3,942 parents (of about 8,200) interacting (liking, commenting, RSVPing, volunteering or donating). The district is near a 50 percent app download rate for ParentSquare (staff said 50 percent is rare) and said ParentSquare representatives told them they had not seen a contactability number as high as CCSD 21’s.

Social‑media strategy
Staff said Facebook reaches the broadest family audience while Instagram has stronger engagement with middle‑school students; Cooper Middle School in particular showed strong Instagram growth. The communications team intends to increase short video content and consistent graphics, work with PTOs for event promotion, expand analytics beyond likes/follows to total reach and interactions, and train staff on Canva to decentralize template usage.

Staffing, awards and next steps
Staff noted four awards from the National School Public Relations Association for district content and cited upcoming survey results that will guide refinements. The communications team asked the board whether to proceed with planned website ADA enhancements, a by‑the‑numbers section for each school, and additional parent/staff trainings in ParentSquare.

Context and clarifying details
- Literacy on the Lawn (July 28) had more than 320 students and families in attendance.
- Back‑to‑school bash (Aug. 7) distributed 519 backpacks, 950 cups of Kona Ice, and staff counted 1,438 people with the handheld counter; staff cautioned the count was likely an undercount.
- ParentSquare statistics cited in presentation: 13,210 posts district‑wide (July 1–June 30), 99.67% contactability, ~3,942 interacting parents.

What’s next
Staff said they will proceed with planned A/B testing, more video content, expanded analytics, ParentSquare ambassador activities, and training for staff and parents; the board asked the presenters to provide additional breakdowns on earned media and direct submissions vs. unsolicited coverage.