Crisis Communications Plan
The Kiamichi Tech Crisis Communications Plan outlines preparations and responses to events and situations that could occur during a crisis and provides general communications guidelines. This plan outlines how the District will share information and engage stakeholders. It is designed to work hand-in-hand with the Kiamichi Tech Emergency Operations Plans to guide the district through a crisis.
In the event of an emergency or crisis situation, notify local authorities if necessary, then contact the Superintendent, Deputy/Associate Superintendent, the Director of Safety and the Executive Director of Communications and Marketing.
The reputation of an organization can be established or lost during crisis. Official response sets the tone for the duration of the crisis and into the future. Saying a little is better than saying nothing at all.
Communicating in an Emergency Situation
Keep it simple. Answer the who, what, when, where first. Why and how should not be addressed in the first 24 hours of the crisis.
Identify both internal and external stakeholders. Students, parents, community, media. Determine the order in which they should be contacted.
No jargon. Do not use code, abbreviations or acronyms that the general public would not know.
Act quickly and be honest. Limit misinformation by communicating as quickly as possible once all the facts are known.
Communication Tools
Platform | Audience | Details | Responsibility |
|---|---|---|---|
ParentSquare/StudentSquare | Staff, Students, Parents
|
| Campus Director or designee |
Website | Staff, Students, Parents, Media, General Public | Jessie Phillips will develop a website notification banner or full emergency response page, if needed. | Jessie Phillips |
Social Media | Staff, Students, Parents, Media, General Public | Only if necessary, post brief message and direct to emergency response page on website. Note: In the event of a crisis, cancel all pre-scheduled posts. | Jessie Phillips |
Campus Phone | General | Jessie Phillips will provide a messaging sheet to operators regarding what information can be released via phone. | Jessie Phillips, Communications & Marketing Team, Secretary |
Dedicated Hotline | General | If an emergency response warrants establishment of a dedicated “hotline” number for the public, Jessie Phillips will provide a messaging sheet to operators regarding what information can be released. | Jessie Phillips, Communications & Marketing Team, Secretary |
Crisis Communications Checklist + Responsibility Chart
The following checklist outlines roles, responsibilities and protocols to guide information sharing during an emergency or crisis. This chart identifies staff members who will assist with crisis communications.
Action | Steps | Person(s) Responsible |
|---|---|---|
Alert District Administration | Call/text Superintendent, Deputy/Associate Superintendent, Director of Safety, Executive Director of Communications & Marketing | Campus Director |
Alert Board of Education | Superintendent | |
Gather facts of the crisis or emergency situation | Begin a detailed log of the crisis using the situational analysis and assessment worksheet | Executive Director of Communications & Marketing, Campus Director, Campus Designee* |
Notify staff, parents and students | Develop messaging using the messaging and media log worksheet Send ParentSquare alert to staff Send ParentSquare alert to students and parents Encourage students to share our messaging when communicating about the situation (when applicable) | Executive Director of Communications & Marketing |
Develop dedicated emergency response webpage or alert banner | Post official comments, updates, resources, etc. Direct all traffic here for most recent information | Executive Director of Communications & Marketing |
Establish a communications center / Incident Command Center (if needed) | If the situation and/or media inquires warrant, we will determine the location, on campus or off campus, of a communication center (Incident Command Center) based on the specific emergency. | Campus Director, Executive Director of Communications & Marketing |
Designate campus personnel to monitor phones and social media
| Jessie will send phone call question & answer worksheet to campus directors to send to their designees Campus designee(s) will answer calls and monitor social media (respond to direct messages) | Executive Director of Communications & Marketing, Campus Designee |
Alert media (if necessary) | If the crisis or situation warrants, Jessie will send information to local media to help control messaging. | Executive Director of Communications & Marketing, Campus Director, Campus Designee |
Update situational analysis (ongoing) | Executive Director of Communications & Marketing, Campus Director, Campus Designee | |
Send updates to staff, parents and students as needed | Executive Director of Communications & Marketing | |
Evaluate Response | Executive Director of Communications & Marketing, Campus Director |
*The campus designee will be a front office/support staff member and identified by the Campus Director and Executive Director of Communications & Marketing.
Spokesperson
Depending upon the criticality of the crisis and the availability of employees, the following individuals may find themselves serving as a spokesperson; however, all initial media inquiries should go through the Public Information Officer.
All media inquires should FIRST be directed to Jessie Phillips, Executive Director of Communications & Marketing, at 918-721-5179.
District Spokesperson(s) | Campus Spokesperson(s) |
|---|---|
Jessie Phillips | Antlers Shelly Swalley, Practical Nursing Director |
Doug Hall Kelly Grego | Atoka |
Shelley Free | Durant Brian Akins, Assistant Campus Director |
Jessica Dill | Hugo |
Jay Warren | Idabel Amy Smalling, Assistant Campus Director |
Additional Support/Resources Amber Fitzgerald, OSSBA/OKSPRA | McAlester Brad Kellogg, Assistant Campus Director |
Poteau/Spiro Cory Wood, Assistant Campus Director | |
Stigler | |
Talihina |
Key Messages
Use the following message maps to direct comments given during a crisis situation.
Emergency
Crisis
Additional messaging will be added here as necessary.
Media
Campus Facts
Use the campus information here to provide facts about the location of any crisis situations, when needed.