Is It Still Working? How School Districts Can Rethink What They Already Have
School districts are amazing at adding something new. Another program, another committee, another meeting. Another email (or ten). Sometimes what we need isn’t something new, but to reinvent what’s already there.
Before adding something new to fix a problem, ask a different question: What else could this become?
Schools Are Very Good at Adding Things
When something isn’t working well in a school district, the natural response is usually to add something.
Students need more support? Create a new program.
Community engagement is low? Schedule another event.
Families aren’t reading the newsletter? Send it out more often.
Sometimes something new is the right answer. But every new thing requires people, time, resources, communication, and eventually, maintenance. And school districts aren’t exactly flowing with any of those resources.
Before creating something new, encourage your administrators to reconsider what you already have.
Start With What’s Not Working
What isn’t delivering the value it should? Maybe it’s an annual event that you spend weeks preparing for, but families increasingly don’t attend. Maybe it’s a program with declining participation but a purpose that still matters.
These aren’t failures. They’re clues.
Look for the Asset Hiding Underneath
An underperforming program may still have great staff, strong relationships, or a trusted name.
An event with declining attendance may still address information families urgently need.
A newsletter people aren’t reading may contain exactly the necessary information, delivered in a format they no longer want.
The thing that’s valuable and the way you’re currently using it aren’t always the same thing.
That’s the important distinction. Root out what’s worth preserving before deciding what happens next.
Ask What Has Changed Around It
Maybe the newsletter didn’t change, but everyone around it has. Technology changed. Family schedules are busier. The workforce changed. The way people intake information has changed.
A strategy built for your district five or 10 years ago may still be accomplishing exactly what it was designed to accomplish.
The problem is that you no longer need exactly the same thing. This is particularly important with communications. A district can continue faithfully producing a publication, maintaining a webpage, or hosting an event long after the audience has changed how it gets information.
Longevity isn't proof that something works. Sometimes it just means nobody has asked whether we'd build it the same way today.
Don't Confuse the Container With the Purpose
This is the hardest part of change. School districts are built on traditions, and often, even the hint of change has people up in arms. But repetition for repetition’s sake means nobody is asking the right questions, like “Is this still serving us well?”
“We do this every year.”
“This is how we've always communicated that.”
“Families expect it.”
“Our community would notice if we stopped.”
Maybe.
But those statements are worth testing.
Would families miss the 12-page district newsletter, or would they miss knowing what is happening in their schools?
Would the community miss the annual partnership breakfast, or would they miss having a relationship with the district?
Would staff miss the meeting, or do they need the information and opportunity to ask questions that the meeting provides?
Protect the need, not the format you've historically used to meet it.
So let’s try it.
The 12-Page District Mailer
WHAT IT IS NOW: A quarterly or annual publication filled with superintendent updates, student stories, program information, upcoming dates, and approximately 4,000 words everyone worked very hard on.
WHAT IT'S ACTUALLY TRYING TO DO: Help the broader community understand what's happening in the district and why it matters.
So ask: Does it need to be 12 pages? Does it need to be once a year?
Maybe it becomes a four-page community report mailed twice a year. Give residents a handful of meaningful stories, a few numbers worth knowing, and a QR code for anyone who wants to go deeper.
You haven't eliminated districtwide communication. You've made it twice as likely someone will actually consume it.
The Email That Should Become a Postcard
Your district sends an important email about kindergarten enrollment. Or a referendum information session. A new program. An invitation for families to visit school.
It joins the lunch account notification, attendance alert, principal newsletter, PTO email, transportation update, and 37 messages from everyone else in the recipient's life.
What if the surprising choice is the mailbox?
A simple postcard with one strong message may get more attention precisely because districts send so much digitally now.
The lesson isn't “send postcards.”
It's: When everyone is communicating the same way, sometimes changing the channel is the strategy.
The Email That Should Be a Text
Then there's the opposite problem. You have 600 words explaining that tomorrow's event moved from the high school auditorium to the middle school gym.
That's not an email. That's a text.
Tomorrow's Family Information Night has moved to the Middle School Gym. Same time: 6:30 p.m. Enter Door 4.
Done. Sometimes the most respectful thing you can do with someone's attention is use less of it.
The Invitation That Needs a Person
Maybe you've sent three mass emails inviting local business and community leaders to participate in a career event. Registration is...not exactly overwhelming. Before you create another flyer or another reminder email, look at the people you're trying to reach.
What would happen if the superintendent, principal, or teacher personally emailed 10 people?
Not:
Dear Community Partner, We are excited to invite you...
But:
Marcus, our eighth graders are exploring careers in health care this semester, and I immediately thought of your team at the clinic. Would you be willing to spend an hour with them on Oct. 22?
Same event. Same district. Same ask.
Completely different invitation. Mass communication is efficient. Personal communication makes people feel wanted. Know when you need which one.
The Annual Event That Needs to Die
What did you immediately think of? That’s the one.
Your district has held the same annual community engagement event for 14 years.
Staff spends weeks planning it. There are tables. There are cookies. There are informational handouts.
Attendance has gone from 300 people to 73. Of those 73, approximately 48 already work for the district.
Please consider releasing this event from its earthly obligations. But don't just cancel it. Go back to the need.
Why did the event exist?
“We wanted the community to see what students are learning.”
Take student work into the community. Create a rotating student showcase at the library, city hall, local businesses or community festivals people already attend.
“We wanted families to connect with district leaders.”
Replace one giant annual event with four smaller principal or superintendent coffees in different neighborhoods.
“We wanted families to learn about district programs.”
Stop asking them to wander past 26 tables in a gym. Hold smaller events organized around what families are actually trying to do: preparing for kindergarten, choosing high school courses, finding summer opportunities, or accessing student support.
“We've always done it.”
Congratulations. You have identified the problem. The event can die.
Try It With Something You Own
Your turn. Pick one thing your district has been doing for at least five years.
Then answer five questions:
- Why did we start doing this?
- What do we actually need it to accomplish today?
- Who are we trying to reach?
- If we were starting from scratch today, would we build it this way?
- What else could this become?
That last question is where things get interesting.
Published on: October 7, 2026