What a True Communication Culture Looks Like

TL; DR:

Prospect Heights SD 23 built a district communication system that families and staff actually read, by doing less, more intentionally. Their model (survey your community, set a structure, maintain it through summer) applies regardless of district size. Watch the full conversation to see how they did it.

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Christopher Alms runs communications for Prospect Heights School District 23 in Illinois. His district surveys families and staff, publishes newsletters on a consistent cadence—which they maintain through the summer—and writes a plan that gets updated every year. How did they get to this level of organization? In a recent Smore webinar, Christopher walked through how it works and why it took a surprising amount of discipline to get there.

[WEBINAR CLIP: Christopher Alms on the moment his district realized they needed a formal communication plan, not just more communication]

Do less. Do it better.

When Prospect Heights surveyed families and staff, the feedback they received surprised them. Families said they were overwhelmed, and not just by the district. Church, library, high school, district: the noise was coming from everywhere. Staff said the same thing. When every message feels equally important, nothing does.

That data gave the district permission to pull back. So, they shifted their strategy. The superintendent started to send a monthly newsletter to families. Principals shifted to biweekly newsletters. Staff got the “411” (four buildings, one district, one mission) every other Friday. In summer, the 411 consolidates to monthly. With a narrower set of channels and messages, now their communications actually get read.

[WEBINAR CLIP: Christopher Alms on the decision to consolidate channels and why the data made it possible]

Structure is a signal

Once the messages stood out and showed their importance, the district also improved the structure of each newsletter. Families with children in multiple buildings see the same newsletter format across every principal. That consistency signals to families: this is from us, you can trust it. Important dates come first. The table of contents tells a family where to look.

Clear subheadings and logical flow also deliver WCAG accessibility compliance as a built-in benefit, which means one structural decision serves both your readers and your compliance requirements.

Keep showing up in summer

Prospect Heights communicates throughout the summer. The superintendent’s newsletter continues monthly. The 411 consolidates but doesn’t stop. Now families know what to expect, even when their kids are on break. With this consistent cadence that predictably shows up, the district builds trust that carries well into September, even before school starts.

Summer communication is lighter by design. Chris recommends curating what goes out (families have less attention to spare when school is out), sharing community moments, and showing up where families are: parades, block parties, library events. The goal is to give people something to talk about so the relationship stays warm before it shifts into some of the harder subjects during the school year.

[WEBINAR CLIP: Christopher Alms on summer communication strategy and why showing up in July matters for September]

The three-lane framework

The webinar presents a 3-lane framework for district communication: 

1. Inform (logistics) 
2. Engage (relationship)
3. Connect (trust)

Survey data helps you find out where each of those lanes are actually landing. For example, if your structure is solid, it makes Inform work well enough to merge into the rest. A consistent summer cadence builds Connect over time, newsletter by newsletter.

Watch the full conversation, including how Chris handles it when a principal drifts from the cadence, and what he’d do differently if he were starting over.

Watch the webinar on demand