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hold their hands and
lead them to their
classrooms. That image
was priceless. The
planning and teacher
cooperation had turned a
bad situation into a
community engagement
win. I could not have
been more proud of our
staff, our students and
our community.
The Next Month
The repairs to the
HVAC system took
almost a full month.
During that time, new
narratives began to emerge. I was able to witness
our teachers working together and learning about the
differences at various grade levels. Though it was
inconvenient to be displaced, the narrative
demanded that everyone cooperate. Our community
remained supportive. The IASA communications
director again created a statement to be announced
prior to our return back to the building. The
statement again was released simultaneously to
everyone involved
including media.
When the time
came, our high
school students
did not want the
“little Vikings” to
leave.
My favorite
part of our
situation involved
the Saturday we
moved everyone
back. Our PTO
and fire
department had
coordinated an effort that brought in more than 40
trucks and trailers and volunteers from our
community. We had planned an eight-hour day, but
the move was completed in 50 minutes. In addition,
during the entire displacement, our administrative
team did not receive one negative e-mail or
communication. Not one!
Takeaways
When I was recently approached to share our
story in an article, I began to reflect on the situation
we had experienced. I thought about how our
situation was so minor in relation to tragedy that has
been experienced in other districts. I also came to
realize that there are takeaways from every situation
we face. Sharing our successes and failures help all
of us to move forward. I recognized that in moments
of stress, we tend to react rather than take the time to
game plan how we communicate. In this instance, I
firmly believe that our strategic communication
created a narrative that led us to a meaningful
outcome that everyone can be proud of. If I had to
give advice associated it would be the following:
Be humble and
willing to ask for
help when needed
Involve the IASA
from the beginning
when statements
need to be created
Communicate
honestly,
consistently and
intentionally
Utilize narrative
and images to craft
messages and
perception
Realize that amazing things can happen when
nobody cares who gets the credit
Looking back, I’m proud of the resiliency that we
exhibited as a leadership team and staff. I’m thankful
for the willingness of our community and students to
choose to make the best of a tough situation. Most
importantly, I’m thankful that our youngest students
had the opportunity to experience first hand how
communities can come together to create amazing
outcomes.
Lessons learned
Be humble and willing to ask for help when needed
Involve the IASA from the beginning when statements
need to be created
Communicate honestly, consistently and intentionally
Utilize narrative and images to craft messages and
perception
Realize that amazing things can happen when nobody
cares who gets the credit