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Communications director highlights website redesign, social‑media growth and new district branding
Summary
The district communications director showcased a mobile‑friendly website redesign, higher engagement on social platforms, expanded use of 'Rooms' for family communication, and a proposed brand mark and hashtag, with 'MPPS canteen spirit' favored by respondents.
The North Platte Public Schools communications director briefed the board on Aug. 11 about a new responsive website design, rising social‑media engagement, continued expansion of the district’s messaging platform (Rooms) and early results from a district branding exercise.
Brandon Peterson said the website work focused on mobile responsiveness and a reorganized navigation menu to improve access on phones and tablets. He told trustees about testing that showed the new layout stacked navigation buttons for easier one‑hand tapping on small screens and restored search functionality.
Peterson also presented engagement metrics for social platforms and the district communication tools. He reported combined engagement rates calculated from impressions and interactions: X (formerly Twitter) 9.14%, Facebook 10.12% and Instagram 31.15%. He said Rooms — the district’s messaging platform — averaged 175 staff members active monthly, resulted in 9,768 announcements for the last school year and now has at least one active guardian account for about 91% of students.
"When you look at those numbers, it seems kind of small percentage wise, but ... it's a testament to our families at home and how much they take pride in seeing things that their students are doing," Peterson said.
On branding, Peterson said the communications team surveyed staff, students and community members on logo options and hashtag ideas. He said the top responses favored a modernized interlocking "NP" mark and the hashtag choices narrowed to a top three; the most popular single option was "MPPS canteen spirit," which aligns with the district’s mission statement.
The director said brand assets (logo variations, color palette and wordmarks) are available to staff through Canva, a shared Google folder and the communications page on the website. He also highlighted examples of video and photo work from school visits, STEM coding demonstrations, inclusion work at Adams Middle School and a Bulldog All‑Star staff‑recognition program that produces short social videos.
Board members praised the work and asked that communications showcase examples of students and staff demonstrating the district values (service, pride, collaboration and grit). The communications director said he will continue to make assets available and refine the hashtag and branding collateral with principals and staff.
