The Thoughts Library
Every month we publish a practical take on school communications — what worked, what backfired, and what to say next time. The whole archive lives here.
We’re well into the school year, and October brings a full lineup of fall traditions—Halloween, Homecoming, Spirit Week, costumes, pranks, and excitement. But every year, we see a few cases where things go too far.…
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It should come as no surprise that in our hyper-connected and hyper-partisan world, the death of Charlie Kirk ignited a firestorm. The response was immediate. And so, too, was the response … to the response.…
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Well, that was fast. Literally, in the blink of an eye, Cold Play is hot, Astronomer is seeing stars, and everyone knows precisely what I’m talking about. THE video. Seen 122 million times in a…
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We’re constantly scouring news reports nationwide for examples of school crises that offer insights and teaching moments for administrators. One particular case caught our attention last month. In fact, we even made a short…
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CASE STUDY: In 2018, a Starbucks manager in Philadelphia called the police on two black men because they were sitting in the store without ordering anything. The event sparked a week of crisis communications cleanup…
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Welcome to The Warning Bell, a free monthly online newsletter for school superintendents, administrators, and communications specialists across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and beyond. When I was in school, the warning bell between classes signaled…
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A viral video. A teacher’s arrest. A policy backlash. Politics colliding with learning. Welcome to 2025, where the rumor mill can explode into a crisis at any moment. Let’s face it, any parent, staffer or…
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We’re all nervous about the threat of coronavirus, but how your organization responds now will be remembered long after it’s gone. Your community is counting on you. Here’s what you can do.
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