Crisis Communication for School-Family Partnerships: A Case Study

• In Event: Thursday Roundtable Session 10:50 am
  In Roundtable Session: Digital Equity and Family, School, Community Partnerships (Table 14)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted K-12 public school operations and made school district crisis management and communication relevant to families of school-aged children across the nation. This case study explored building-level and district-level school administrators’ perspectives of school-family communication with elementary families in one Pennsylvania school district during the COVID-19 pandemic. From the data, two major themes emerged: the need to be responsive to evolving situations and families’ communication needs, and the importance of supporting trusting relationships with families. These findings can help inform school-family partnerships, general school-home communication practices, and school safety planning.

Authors

• Jill Freedman, Florida Southern College

• Oliver Dreon, Millersville University of Pennsylvania

• Wendy Kubasko, Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania