C. J. Huff: How I get what I want and help the poor people of Joplin

During the same week that Joplin R-8 Superintendent C. J. Huff has been gearing up his public relations machine to push for funding for his Project Hope and a health center at Joplin High School, he had an article published telling others how they, too, can control the message in their school districts and mold public opinion to get whatever they want.

In this article, published on the Learning First website, and National School Public Relations Association blog, Huff explains his secrets and inspires other school officials that if they work hard and follow his prescription, they, too, can become like C. J. Huff:

Each day professional educators across our country walk into our schools with the noble purpose to educate and grow our next generation of leaders, employees, neighbors, and families. And with each passing day our noble purpose – the reason we do what we do – becomes muddled as we find ourselves fighting perceptions that don't really reflect reality. But as a school board member reminded me once, perception is reality. So the question that must be answered is, “How do we change perception?”
What’s Working...What’s Not?


As you read this article, from coast to coast, school districts will be pushing the send button on thousands of press releases. Spelling bee champions will be recognized, teachers of the year announced, scores from last night’s ballgame celebrated, a big decision by a school board shared, the kindergarten penny drive that raised funds to help the local humane society – the list goes on. We will permeate cyberspace with the good news of our schools. We will tweet, post, click send, like, repost, resend again with the hope that someone... anyone... will pick up on a story and that it will go viral in a good way. And we wait. Then wait some more. We tell great stories, but few are there to listen.
But as a school board member reminded me once, perception is reality. So the question that must be answered is, “How do we change perception?”

When looking at this idea of what advocacy should look like in school systems across the country, think about your own district. The process of advocacy is not unlike the work we already do on a daily basis to educate our community on the vision of our school district. Effective school districts take an inside-out approach to help dispel rumors, gain buy-in for new initiatives, or to communicate upcoming challenges. In my view, advocacy efforts are no different than public relations efforts. It’s about building trust through communication and establishing relationships in an effort to become a credible voice in the community.

Staff: Ground Troops for Advocacy

So let’s start with the inside work as it relates to advocacy. At Joplin Schools, we are blessed to have nearly 1,200 employees. Our employees represent a diverse group of educators with many different circles of influence in our community. They are our ground troops in this war that has been waged on our public schools. They are in the best position to defend the integrity of our collective work on behalf of children, as well as tell the real story of what is happening in our schools. Our employees are in Sunday school on Sunday mornings, coffee shops on Saturdays, and throughout the week they serve on boards and committees, are at ballgames with other parents, and participate in a myriad of clubs and organizations within our community. They are our ambassadors of good will, and their credible voices within their circles of influence are a powerful force.
Our employees are in Sunday school on Sunday mornings, coffee shops on Saturdays, and throughout the week they serve on boards and committees, are at ballgames with other parents, and participate in a myriad of clubs and organizations within our community. They are our ambassadors of good will, and their credible voices within their circles of influence are a powerful force.

A high quality communications plan starting with advocacy from within can help remediate, in a big way, some of the damage caused by those issues that surface from time to time out of our control. Additionally, a well-educated workforce that has a deep understanding of our challenges or successes and can articulate those messages clearly is more effective than any Facebook post.

Beyond email communication there are a number of strategies that school administrators can employ to help get the word out. In my view, personal contact and face-to-face communication is the most effective way to build those trusting relationships needed to grow internal advocacy efforts. It's about the dialogue.

Superintendent’s Breakfast

Last year, as a part of our internal communication plan, we started having a monthly “Superintendent’s Breakfast.” Once a month at 7 a.m., we have a breakfast with a representative of each building and department in the district. Once everyone has had a chance to fill their plates, we sit around a table and visit for 15 minutes or so. At the appropriate time, I give an update of what is happening in the district, dispel rumors, and answer questions. Then we go around the table, giving everyone an opportunity to tell a little about themselves and share a celebration from their building or department.

You would have to experience it yourself, but I can tell you, the dynamic is amazing. When teachers hear the bus driver talking about his passion for the children on his bus and some of the special things he does to encourage and support their education, then hear from a colleague from across the district talk about how excited she is about the results she is seeing in her kids because of a new program she is piloting, the atmosphere is electric.

I finish each of these events by challenging them to go back to their building and share their experience from the breakfast and tell the story of the work that is happening across the district. And guess what... they do!

By the end of the year, I've had a personal conversation in a relaxed setting with around 200 different employees. The point being, our internal staff members are our ambassadors of good will. Their credible voices within their circles of influence are a powerful force. They need stories to tell, and we have to find creative ways to help them tell the stories of their work and the work of the many fine educators in our system. Educating our internal ambassadors is job one. Through their circles of influence they make job two, educating our external ambassadors, possible.
Educating our internal ambassadors is job one. Through their circles of influence they make job two, educating our external ambassadors, possible.

Externally, the work is a little more difficult. As you look outside of the organization, the importance of building relationships and trust in the community takes time. For superintendents and other leaders, those relationships are built one at a time. And the dynamics of every community are different.

When I became an Assistant Principal in Bolivar, Missouri, my grandma sent me a handwritten note with the following quote, “A wise man takes in the lay of the land before he puts his hand to the plow.” I believe this to be true as it applies to leadership and change. Unfortunately, the ever-changing political landscape and 24/7 news cycle we now live in often does not provide the time needed to take in the lay of the land. Today we have to be quick to respond and react while providing necessary leadership and resources to meet the needs of teachers and children in the classroom.

As I see it, one of the problems as it relates to the political landscape is our inability to have a credible voice at the state and national level. Now bear with me a moment as I explain. We are educators, employees within a system that has been deemed broken by some. When you think about the idea of having a credible voice, there is no question we have some level of influence over those who “get it.” But for those politicians who are at the far left and far right of the political spectrum, we are often viewed as being self-serving. In essence, we are protecting the institution of public education and protecting our livelihood. But when they hear from people within their own circles of influence, whether it be a donor or the neighbor next door, it has an impact. The question is how do you create that kind of influence?

I’d like to challenge you to think about public schools over the last few decades. As a student growing up in K-12 public schools, I don’t remember a single volunteer being in my classroom. Not one. Now we had birthday, Valentine’s Day, and Christmas parties where parents came and helped, but on a day-to-day basis, no one besides the class saw the work of the teacher in the classroom.

Develop External Ambassadors

Just like the effort discussed earlier related to educating our internal ambassadors, we need to create a network of external ambassadors as well. It’s about expanding our advocacy network by educating them and helping tell the story of our schools for us. And I’m not just talking about parents. Businesses, faith-based organizations, and human service agencies are all players in our community that can be advocates on behalf of our schools.
Can your community tell the story of your children for you?

School districts attempt to do this in a number of ways. Strategic planning efforts are used by some school districts to engage and educate the community. Some have active foundations that encourage community support through philanthropy. Others yet utilize the successes of their athletic and/or co-curricular programs to muster support of the schools. But have you thought about whether or not your communities are fully engaged in the collective efforts of your educators? Do they know what goes on in your schools on a daily basis? Do they understand the challenges of your teachers? Do they know the honest answer about the well-being of the children in your community? Can your community tell the story of your children for you?

Bright Futures Initiative

Advocacy on behalf of our external ambassadors takes a much deeper understanding of our work, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. In Joplin, we have done a number of things to tackle this challenge. In April 2010, we began the Bright Futures Initiative, which brought a broad cross-section of our community together to have a deep conversation about kids. What started as a means to meet any child’s basic need within 24 hours to improve graduation rates has turned into a robust relationship with the community. Our doors are open and the collaborative work is intentional.

At the building level, we have Bright Futures Councils that consist of a cross-section of community members, parents, administrators, teachers, and sometimes students. At the district level, we have a Bright Futures Advisory Board that resembles a similar cross-section that helps us to address district-wide challenges through leveraging the resources of time, talent, and treasure to meet the needs of our children.

One of my favorite projects as a part of this effort is the Bright Futures Leadership Academy. In essence, a diverse group of community members that consists of everyone from university presidents and bankers to homemakers and pastors come together for six three-hour sessions to garner a deep understanding of our school system.

During our time with them, they are trained in Ruby Payne’s Framework for Understanding Poverty and Eric Jensen’s work around brain development and the impact of poverty. They hear from principals and board members, and they spend time with juvenile officers and judges. Two of the more impactful experiences for this group include a bus tour hosted by a police officer who takes them through some of the more down-trodden parts of our community and a focus group of past and potential dropouts. They see where our kids come from and they get to hear the stories from the mouths of those kids. We host this event twice per year touching approximately 50 new external ambassadors.
Two of the more impactful experiences for this group include a bus tour hosted by a police officer who takes them through some of the more down-trodden parts of our community and a focus group of past and potential dropouts. They see where our kids come from and they get to hear the stories from the mouths of those kids. We host this event twice per year touching approximately 50 new external ambassadors.

Sometimes I think we forget that we are the lead educators in every community in this nation. Nobody can educate better than we do. Advocacy is about broadening our education efforts outside of the four walls of the classroom. Knowledge is power and the people we touch can use that knowledge to tell the story of the good work of our public schools for us.

It’s this simple. Public perception is not going to change until public opinion changes. Public opinion is not going to change until we tell the real story, the story that matters, the story that clearly illustrates our reality as well as our noble purpose as professional educators. The story comes first.
The story comes first. We have to get to the heart before we can get to the head.

We have to touch the heart before we can touch the head. Through grassroots efforts that start inside and then move outside, we can turn up the volume. Our collective voices can be heard, and together we can notch progress in the “Win for Kids” column in this battle to build greater support for public education. And, one last question, if we do not do it, who will?

- See more at: http://www.learningfirst.org/turning-volume-advocacy-action#sthash.577Bbci3.dpuf