introduction

teachers and schools across the country are transforming education by embracing innovation. education leaders are recognizing the power and promise of personalized learning, whereby students receive the instruction they need, when they need it. teachers are blending in-person instruction with technology to differentiate lessons, using real-time data to personalize learning and allow for mastery-based progression, and they are incorporating student choice and agency into instructional decisions. it is not easy, nor simple work, but these innovations are the pathway forward to meeting the needs of all learners. 瑞士vs喀麦隆亚盘赔率 and the learning accelerator have been deeply involved in this work from early on, as blended and personalized learning implementation experts and catalysts. a clear takeaway from our past work is that effective communication is a cornerstone of successful innovation in education. in 2015, the learning accelerator released a step-by-step communication planning guide to assist schools that were embracing blended learning. since then, we have been collecting feedback and tracking what’s most useful. meanwhile, 瑞士vs喀麦隆亚盘赔率 has been in the field, directly helping schools implement personalized learning and capturing best practices. this new communications guide refreshes our earlier work, streamlines the planning process, shares real-world examples, and offers up-to-date resources and artifacts.

the guide clearly lays out the key steps for effective communications planning for those just beginning their journey, as well as practitioners who have been implementing for several years. throughout the guide we have included short profiles of districts that have partnered with 瑞士vs喀麦隆亚盘赔率 and are in various stages of this work. these districts have led the way in communicating their transition to blended and personalized learning. we are grateful to them for sharing their stories and artifacts.

you’ll notice that throughout this document we use both the terms “personalized learning” and “blended learning.” in our work over the past few years, we’ve found districts prefer one or the other depending on their local context. both terms signify a commitment to meeting students’ needs. while our focus is on personalized and blended learning, these recommendations, tools, and resources are relevant for any type of large change management initiative, and for any point in the innovation journey.

successful communications is an ongoing effort, with many small wins as well as big ones, and invariably a few missteps too. we encourage you to use this guide to customize a communications strategy for the unique needs of your district. our hope is that you will share with us and others what works, what doesn’t, and what is missing, so we can all improve our communications practices in support of transforming teaching and learning in our schools.

phase 1: plan & align

creating a culture of communication

whether you are just beginning to embrace innovation in your school, or if you have already begun a personalized or blended learning initiative, taking the time to systematically plan your communications strategy and align it to your student learning goals is absolutely critical.

school districts that develop thoughtful communications plans do more than just push important information out to their stakeholders. these districts build a culture of engagement, transparency, and trust that is critical for innovation both to take hold in the classroom and to be sustainable and scalable across many schools. poor communication can lead to unmanageable expectations, confusion, and opposition to change.

if you are like most districts, you have many different priorities to juggle. there is a real risk that introducing personalized learning will be seen as “just another initiative,” and therefore will be either received with confusion, apathy, or derision. take time to think about all the messages you are sending to your teachers, parents, and community members. how do blended and personalized learning align to and complement these initiatives? how does everything fit together to accomplish your district strategic plan or vision?

keep in mind that your efforts should not be just one-way, from you to your audiences. work to create two-way conversations that build true engagement with your stakeholders.

ask questions about your teachers’ concerns. listen to your staff’s suggestions around implementation. discuss with your community the skills and aptitudes they think necessary for your students. check in frequently about how things are going and if adjustments need to be made (they will!). make your innovation implementation a shared journey of discovery by focusing on engagement.

furthermore, acknowledge and embrace the communications channels in which your district may not be a direct participant. know that these communications channels (teacher-to-teacher, parent-to-parent, schoolto-community) are incredibly powerful and can either support or detract from your goals. support a culture of communication by equipping everyone with the right information and encouraging conversations outside of your direct purview.

what are the benefits of engaged stakeholders?

• l informed audiences
• l reduced resistance/opposition
• l increased resilience when faced with problems/obstacles
• l improved learning results with feedback/iteration
• l early identification of issues of concern

plan first, then tactics

we often see districts that, once they realize they need better communications, immediately jump to brainstorming about tactics (“let’s do a townhall meeting,” “let’s put something out on twitter!”). this type of creative brainstorming is great, but without being clear about the strategy behind the tactics, they are destined to fall short. working through the steps in this guide will help you lay the foundation for your communications efforts to succeed. you need to really understand who your key audiences are, what matters to them, who they trust, and how they like to communicate, before you can come up with a list of actions. remember: plan first, tactics later.

set goals

an important first step in communications planning is to establish clear communications goals that are deeply connected to your district’s decision to innovate and its overall goals for student learning.

when adopting blended and personalized learning, districts often fall into the trap of talking more about the technology than the desired transformation of teaching and learning. computers, tablets and other education technology devices are simply tools that educators can use to enable greater differentiated instruction, data-driven interventions, mastery-based progression and improved student engagement. your communications goals should focus primarily on building understanding and support for blended and personalized learning’s role in achieving your district’s definition of student success.

examples of general blended and personalized learning communications goals:

• ensure stakeholders understand how blended learning provides teachers with tools to personalize learning for students, enabling mastery-based progression and increasing student engagement, growth, and achievement.
• build understanding that innovation is key to preparing students to meet the challenges of today’s global economy and the requirements of responsible citizenship.
• build strong two-way communications channels to ensure effective listening as well as sharing, when communicating about innovation in the classroom.

set targeted communications goals that reflect the unique opportunities or challenges in your school or district. do you have teachers who are resistant to change? community members whose support you need for upcoming funding measures? parents skeptical of technology in the classroom? develop communications goals that target those audiences and underscore your blended and personalized learning programs’ objectives for student learning.

sample goals by target audience

phase 2: foundations

assess resources

assess your district’s communications capacity and identify existing communications resources, as well as gaps in your capabilities and/or expertise.

this process can be as deeply thorough or as high-level as you have time for, but the important step is to know what communications tools and resources you have at your disposal to execute your communications plan.

if you do not have a dedicated communications staff person, identify a staff member (or hire someone) with communications experience to manage communication efforts for your blended and personalized learning initiative. this person should have strong writing and speaking skills, as well as familiarity with your key stakeholders and the communications channels they use. include the communications coordinator on your implementation team and have them be responsible for developing and executing your comprehensive communications strategy. (they may be the person who conducts many of the steps in this guide for you.)

if there are budget constraints on hiring communications experts, explore parent/ community experts who could help address gaps in communication skills. for example:

• is there a local web-design company that would provide pro-bono assistance to improve your website or e-news blasts?
• do you have high-school students who could help prepare content about blended and personalized learning for your social media platforms?

if budget and time allow, consider conducting a formal communications audit, offered by most communications firms or through organizations like the national school public relations association.

work closely with your communications coordinator to determine strategies and a timeline for filling resource gaps so that your communications efforts will be successful.

phase 3: design

stakeholder audiences

at the heart of effective communications is knowing your audience. taking the time to identify and understand your key stakeholders, what they care about, and how best to reach them, is critical to successful communications.

• identify your stakeholder audiences.
  • internal: teachers, students, principals, administrative staff including it directors
  • external: parents, community/local business, media, funders/foundations 
• know your audiences.
  • deploy regular surveys or other tools to better understand your audiences 
  • what are each group’s top issues, concerns, values?
  • what special communications needs might they have? language? access to technology/email?
• identify the best methods to reach your audiences.
  • email, phone-calls, local news, website, social media, meetings, newsletters, opeds, pta meetings, etc.
  • regular surveys can keep track of shifts in these preferences
• build alliances with influential groups to help communicate with key audiences.
  • teachers unions
  • chambers of commerce
  • community development organizations 
  • faith-based organizations

key messengers

although the superintendent is the “official” messenger for the district, identifying and preparing other trusted messengers to deliver key messages about your personalized learning program is essential.

• identify the most trusted messengers for each audience.
  • students are always the best messengers! whenever possible, share students’ voices and stories
  • teachers and principals are good messengers for parents
  • principals and district leaders are good messengers for the community
  • respected community leaders are also strong third-party endorsers/influencers for the broader community

key messages

although the superintendent is the “official” messenger for the district, identifying and preparing other trusted messengers to deliver key messages about your personalized learning program is essential.

• identify the most trusted messengers for each audience. 
  • students are always the best messengers! whenever possible, share students’ voices and stories
  • teachers and principals are good messengers for parents
  • principals and district leaders are good messengers for the community
  • respected community leaders are also strong third-party endorsers/influencers for the broader community

key messages once you have clearly identified your audiences and the best messengers to reach them, you can begin to craft your key messages. what is the information you want to impart to meet your communications goals? what do you want to say that engages your audience and promotes a conversation?

key messages must be customized for each district, but there are specific approaches to messaging about blended and personalized learning that we believe are critical:

• always tie your communications back to your student learning objectives! technology will be part of the story, but whenever possible, stress the benefits to students and teachers first and foremost. 
• keep it simple. define your innovation in an easy to understand, non-jargon, accessible way.
• capture and share the authentic voices of teachers and students in explaining the benefits of blended and personalized learning.
• storytelling. deliver your key messages through visuals, video and vivid language. in your stories, use real-life characters (students and teachers) and a compelling plot to translate your messages into an inspiring story that your audiences will remember and respond to.
• show how personalized learning is not just a “shiny new thing.” decades of research has shown the benefits of personalization and differentiation, but now we can do this work at scale through the integration of technology.
• stress that innovation is a journey, and model the behaviors we want our teachers and students to have (resilience, creativity, grit).

big picture

messages articulating a clear message that captures the core reason behind your blended and personalized learning program is enormously helpful in building understanding and support for your efforts. sometimes called an “elevator pitch,” this big picture, aspirational message should work for all audiences and appeal to the heart as well as the head.

targeted messages

the next level of messages reflect the key reasons why you are implementing personalized learning and explain its benefits. segmenting these messages by audience will ensure the information you are sharing is the most compelling. the sample messages below are tailored for communicating with a general audience, teachers, students, parents, and community members:

target audience: general

• personalized learning means that students get the instruction they need, when they need it.
• personalized learning is most successful at scale when technology is used effectively, classrooms are redesigned, and districts have a clear plan for supporting schools through the transition.
• blended learning is the integration of inperson learning with technology to enable real-time data use, personalized instruction, and mastery-based progression.
• the core four elements of blended learning include small group instruction, integrated digital content, data-driven decisions, student reflection.
• decades of research has shown that differentiated instruction (where teachers observe and understand the differences and similarities among students and use this information to plan instruction) and increased small-group, targeted time with teachers benefits student achievement. blended learning allows these practices at scale, so teachers can reach each child exactly where they are for optimal learning.

target audience: teachers 

• as teachers, you now have powerful tools and strategies to help you differentiate instruction and personalize learning for each student.
• digital content frees up time for small group instruction and provides better data to make instructional decisions. “teaching to the middle” becomes less likely as you can reach every student effectively and efficiently. realtime data and instant feedback on student progress allows you to intervene quickly to ensure a student is mastering a concept. you can also provide pathways for accelerated learning for students who are ready to move on sooner than others.
• in a personalized environment, teachers are designers of their own classrooms, and therefore have the opportunity to innovate, learn new skills, and develop themselves as professionals.
• we are committed to being a personalized learning district. that means we are not only personalizing learning for our students, but also for our staff. we want to make sure your needs as teachers are being met, and therefore will be moving towards providing more personalized professional learning opportunities. • personalized learning is not a new concept - we know you as teachers try to meet the needs of your students every day. what is new is our district’s renewed commitment to personalizing learning at all levels, as well as a focus on making sure you are supported with the most effective resources, strategies, and tools.

target audience: students

• as a student, personalized learning lets you learn at your own pace and move on when you have mastered the subject matter.
• you can take ownership of your learning. with real-time data on your progress and choice in how you learn material, you will build other non-academic skills like resilience, selfmotivation, and self-confidence. 
• you’ll notice that we’ll be spending our class time a little differently. we will still spend time 17 learning together as an entire class, but we will start to spend more time in small groups. this will enable me [teacher] to spend more time with each of you, and will give you a chance to work independently and with each other. i think you’ll enjoy learning this way, and i’m excited to try this with our class!

target audience: parents 

• in a personalized learning setting, children of all abilities and socio-economic levels get the customized support they need and deserve, increasing levels of student engagement and success.
• the student-teacher relationship is one of the most important factors in student success, but teachers too rarely have the time for oneon-one interaction with students. blended and personalized learning enables more one-onone and small group interaction between teachers and students and provides regular feedback to teachers, allowing them to closely monitor your child’s progress.
• with blended learning, students build the types of technical skills that are increasingly necessary for college and career-readiness. learning these skills at school helps address the digital divide.

target audience: community 

• with high-quality blended and personalized learning, students will be less likely to “fall through the cracks” and graduate without key knowledge and skills. teachers will know exactly when each student has mastered educational standards and will be able to intervene early with students who are struggling to reach mastery.
• colleges and corporate leaders are demanding graduates have 21st century skills to succeed in higher education and the global workplace. blended learning helps build skills in using technology, but also in communications, team-building, creativity, and problem-solving.
• personalized learning helps us create well-rounded citizens who are prepared to contribute in the workforce or succeed in higher education. the final step is to customize your messages with relevant statistics, classroom examples or calls to action that are important specifically to your district’s blended or personalized learning program.
  
  

tactics

depending on which stakeholder audience you are trying to reach, embed the appropriate key messages in any and all of the following communications vehicles:

• speeches
• presentations
• community events
• videos
• letters home
• parent conferences
• op-eds • blog posts
• social media posts
• faqs • newsletters
• e-blasts, email
• interviews
• board meetings
• web-copy

tips for two-way communications

be sure to always include an opportunity and mechanism for feedback and discussion. remember, you want to work for increased engagement, not just one-way information flow. remember, ask and listen.

• surveys: add questions to existing surveys of parents, educators and community members or use free or low-cost survey tools easily found on the internet.
• focus groups: plan a segment of existing meetings (e.g. pta or teacher meetings) to ask a few key questions or bring a group or groups of key stakeholders together to ask questions and listen to answers.
• capture conversations: track feedback and follow up with people. 
• use technology to talk and listen: adding a comment box and a sign up for social media feeds and other announcements at the bottom of an e-newsletter or a specific email address on a letter may seem small but they are ways to solicit input and let people know you are listening.
• meet people where they are – literally and figuratively: look for opportunities to talk to people in formal and informal settings – everywhere from pta meetings to the grocery store. and remember that not everyone is at the same place in terms of understanding blended or personalized learning. be ready to provide background information to support your perspective.
• make sure listening is not a one-and-done activity: make the “listening tour” approach a constant in your interactions with key stakeholders. listen to what people are saying and use that feedback to inform your work.

phase 4: reflect & iterate

success metrics & early wins

how you determine if your communications efforts are succeeding depends on what goals you set in your strategy. if parent or community awareness was a goal, consider doing a survey at the beginning of your implementation efforts and again periodically thereafter to gauge effectiveness. similarly, a teacher “listening tour” at the beginning and mid-way points of your implementation efforts can highlight communications successes or problems.

other metrics of success to consider:

• number of positive news stories about your personalized learning initiative in local media
• number of parent/community meetings that showcase blended and personalized learning examples
• number of “stories” with teachers and/or students showing personalized learning in action shared with key audiences and posted on the school/district website
• while harder to quantify, the lack of opposition or expressed concern over your blended or personalized learning initiative is another sign of success additionally, pay attention to and celebrate early signs of communications progress. did one school come up with a really great personalized learning infographic? tweet it out! are more teachers sharing lesson plans and lessons learned across schools? publicly celebrate these teachers in a district newsletter, and keep a running count of how often this sharing occurs. did a principal run a parents’ night with great success? ask her to share out at the next principal all-hands meeting. by keeping a consistent focus on praising communications efforts and sharing effective practices, you show gratitude to those leading this work at different levels and solidify your commitment to being ‘all in’ together.

issue spotting

engaging with your stakeholders is an ongoing effort and it pays to try to spot issues ahead of time that may be of growing concern. implementing blended and personalized learning could cause apprehension for certain audiences and districts should be prepared to help address those fears or misunderstandings.

establish strong two-way communications to help you spot issues and be prepared. listen to worries that bubble up in meetings or community forums. ask teachers and principals what concerns they are hearing from parents, or from teachers and staff. reach out to other districts that are personalizing learning and learn what surprising issues came up for them. use formal surveys and informal conversations to listen for topics that you may need to address sooner, rather than later. consistently reflecting on your communications efforts, trying new things and learning from mistakes (and successes), adds to a strong culture of communication and innovation.

conclusion

effective communication is a cornerstone of successful innovation in education. as we have discovered through our work in blended and personalized learning, schools that take the time to develop a culture of communication and deeply engage with their key stakeholders in order to celebrate their stories are fundamentally more successful in the long-run. readers of this guide may be at the beginning of their journey, or well on their way to personalizing student learning, but it is never too late to build a communications strategy that will help you achieve your learning goals for students.