Crisis-Ready: A K-12 Communications Playbook

By Dr. Kara Stern • 2 min

Communication,Community Building,Engagement,Family Engagement,Resources,School Districts

When a crisis strikes, clear and timely communication can make all the difference for your school district. Whether it’s a weather emergency, safety concern, or unexpected disruption, having a well-defined K-12 crisis communication plan is essential to keeping families informed and students safe.

Unfortunately, many districts wait until it’s too late to think about crisis communication.

That’s why we created the Crisis-Ready: A K-12 Communications Playbook—a practical guide to help school leaders prepare for the unexpected and respond with confidence.

👉 Download your free copy now »

Why Your School District Needs a Crisis Communication Plan

When school emergencies happen, parents and staff look to leadership for accurate, timely updates. Without a solid plan in place, communication can break down—leading to confusion, mistrust, and even safety risks.

A strong school emergency communication plan helps you:

Define roles and responsibilities ahead of time
Deliver clear, consistent messages across communication channels
Reduce misinformation and panic
Maintain trust and transparency during high-stress situations

What’s Inside the K-12 Crisis Communication Playbook

This free resource is designed for district leaders, superintendents, and communication professionals. You’ll find:

A step-by-step guide to creating your crisis communication plan
Templates for emergency messages and parent notifications
Tips for choosing the right communication tools (calls, texts, email, etc.)
Best practices for communicating before, during, and after a crisis
Strategies to strengthen community trust over time

Whether you’re starting from scratch or updating an existing plan, this playbook is built to help K-12 teams create a reliable, repeatable process for managing communication in any scenario.

🎯 Download the K-12 Crisis Communication Playbook »

Prepare Now. Communicate Better Later.

Emergencies can’t always be predicted—but your response can be prepared.

With the right tools and planning, your district can navigate crises while keeping your school community safe, informed, and supported. Take the first step by downloading our free playbook today.

Get Your Free Crisis Communication Playbook for Schools

Get the Playbook

Dr. Kara Stern
Director, Education and Engagement

Dr. Kara Stern began her career as an ELA teacher, then shifted into administration as a middle school principal. Dr. Stern is a fervent advocate for equitable communication and family engagement. She spent five years as Executive Director at Math for America, where she designed the professional learning community that exists to this day. An unexpected move to Tel Aviv launched her into the world of EdTech where she became the Director of Education Content for Smore and then the Head of Content at SchoolStatus. Outside of work, she indulges her love for reading, devouring two novels weekly, with a particular fondness for heists and spy stories.