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Communications director reports larger audience reach, awards and survey results; board discusses newsletter frequency and platforms
Summary
Communications director Chad Kafka reported on channels, survey results and social-media metrics. The district earned three WISPRA awards of excellence, ran a survey with about 298 parent responses, and will consider changes to newsletter frequency and digital tools.
The district communications director presented an annual update to the board on March 19 covering outreach channels, a recent parent survey, social media metrics and plans for the coming year.
Highlights and survey findings Chad Kafka told the board the communications team received three WISPRA awards of excellence this year and outlined the channels the district uses: building bulletins, a biweekly district newsletter, a staff newsletter, the Franklin Focal Point mailer (moving from two–three editions to four per year) and the opening-doors one‑pager in the city newsletter. He said the communications strategy is tied to the district’s coherence plan.
Kafka said the department ran a parent communications survey that drew about 298 responses and included questions about frequency and formats. Most respondents said smartphone is the primary device for reading district communications. When asked about electronic-newsletter frequency, responses clustered around the district’s current cadence (six digital messages per month) and slightly lower frequencies, suggesting the board should consider whether and how to adjust distribution. Parents also reported the building bulletin and school-messenger notifications as primary sources of timely information.
Social-media and platform discussion Kafka reviewed social metrics (top posts included construction updates, homecoming and elementary grad walks) and said Instagram and Facebook reach different audiences — students skew Instagram, parents skew Facebook. He said the district started posting on LinkedIn this year and is exploring communications platforms with features such as live translation and teacher-parent two-way tools.
Board questions and next steps Board members asked about duplication between printed pieces (Focal Point and opening doors), mailing lists for the Franklin Neighbors magazine and greater use of video and classroom-level platforms. Kafka said staff will scan or archive community magazine features on the district site, discuss calendar consistency with building secretaries, and explore one unified parent communication app. He also flagged that the contract with the current website vendor will be reviewed next year.
Ending The board thanked Kafka for the update. Members said communications have improved and asked staff to return with recommendations on newsletter frequency and options for a centralized district communication platform.
