Situation
Brody PR has been the public relations agency for the 7,000 student Culver City Unified School District (CCUSD) for seven years. Initially hired to promote the district’s arts education programming, the opening of the refurbished landmark Robert Frost high school auditorium, and to generally improve communication with families, Brody PR's role expanded to handle all district communications due to the lack of a full-time public information officer.
Approach
We work closely with the superintendent, school board, and principals. While managing crises is essential in any school community, we focus on sharing positive stories about the district's achievements among the families, within the community and with the media. This includes reporting on student outcomes, awards, and initiatives, as well as featuring and schoolwide initiatives such as the student-initiated Green New Deal, free transit program for all students in partnership with Culver City Bus and LA Metro (the first district to do so, preceding LAUSD), and reopening of the refurbished Robert Frost Auditorium, a historic landmark on the CCHS campus and a treasured community asset. We created a weekly newsletter, “Culver Pride,” featuring a “The School Board Corner” column to increase transparency and trust, and help the public understand what the school board does.
We built the campaign to reflect: diversity, positivity, simplicity, urgency, trust, and shared responsibility.
Results
District communication has improved significantly through consistent and transparent efforts. We've successfully navigated numerous challenges requiring delicate crisis communications management. This includes several significant leadership changes, the pandemic, highly contentious school board meetings and community protests, and multiple crises. Key achievements include passing Measure K and Measure E, which increased the district's financial stability, and partnering with Culver City Bus on the free student transit program to increase student participation and ensure renewal of the program.
