Annual Reports Worth Reading.

Borrowing from the corporate sector, school systems produce yearly updates that pack a punch while sparing jargon and puffery 

After months of discussions with colleagues and clients, Hollister went to press. Her conscientiousness paid off. Her organization's report was clean, bold and client-driven. Its 150,000 investors read it and smiled.

When it came time to publish her organization's annual report, Betty Hollister wanted to do it right. She sent off for copies of those produced by top Amercian corporations--Microsoft, Apple Computer, Nabisco--then scouted out the best designs themes and statistics.

On Wall Street, the power and payoff of a strong annual report long has been known. But Hollister was an accountability specialist for the Clark County Public Schools in Las Vegas, Nev. Her "investors were parents, businesses and community leaders who wanted an honest update on one of the fastest-growing school systems in the country.

Delivering it, Hollister says, is "one piece of accountability."

"An annual report shouldn't just be a retrospective of where you've been. It should show where you're going," says Hollister, who has since left the school system. "Investors want to know what will happen to their investment in the next year. Parents want to know the same thing."

As annual reports go, this is revolutionary thinking.

The Puff Piece

Traditionally, school districts' yearly updates have looked a lot like an elephant--big, gray and slow-moving. Few parents read them. Worse yet, it appeared few school districts expected them to.

The publications' problems went far beyond poor design and lackluster writing. "In the past, the annual report was too often a puff piece for the superintendent, an ego thing," says a communications consultant and veteran judge of school communications contests who asked to remain anonymous. "I'd see a large picture of the superintendent on the front page, and I'd ask myself why anybody would look at this thing at all."

Inside, the contents were often just as overblown. Parents willing to plod through found an unfailingly optimistic picture of district achievements. Statistics were slanted or highly selective. Building-by-building reports read like the minutes of a PTA meeting. Focus and direction--how the school district was actually doing and where it was going--were often nowhere to be found.

The result was not just a public relations bungle that presented the school district poorly. It was a missed opportunity to sell it well.

During the last five years or so, savvy districts have begun to realize what a powerful business tool a good annual report can and must be. The cost, which can range from a few thousand dollars to upwards of $40,000, demands a return on the investment. The circulation--generally to all parents and often the entire community--offers schools a rare marketing opportunity, a chance to tell their own story.

In some states, accountability legislation requires an annual report to parents and mandates what information should be included. Typically, the report includes goals for achievement and fiscal responsibility, as well as measures of progress. This trend follows the lead of an increasing number of corporations, whose own annual reports have become solid measures of performance-straight talking report cards that give investors a clear, concise and honest bottom line.

A study late last year by the Conference Board, a New York business research group, and A.T. Kearney, a division of Electronic Data Systems Corp., predicts that in the next three years many companies will begin publishing performance targets in their annual reports, then following up the next year with how well the company actually measured up to them.

The stakes are high for companies willing to boldly lay out their performance record. So is the payoff. The Conference Board study showed that companies open about performance measures typically outperform their competitors.

School districts that find themselves competing for students are hoping the same thing.

Attention Grabbers

Following the corporate lead, school districts' annual reports have gotten prettier and glossier, but also more substantial and far more sophisticated. Increasingly, they focus on what community residents want to know rather than what schools want to tell them. They articulate a vision and show how the district has carried it out, with hard numbers and trend projections. And they are willing to compete to grab their readers' attention with lively design and appealing graphics. Recent winners in the publications contest run by the National School Public Relations Association show the evolution.

The annual report of the Waco, Texas, Public Schools is a candy-colored tri-fold with color photos of its high school valedictorians and updates on distinguished alumni.

The Des Moines, Iowa, Public Schools won recognition with a report the size of a wedding invitation, filled with streamlined statistics and large, appealing photographs. Jefferson County, Ky., Public Schools scored a hit with parents with bold, crayon-colored graphs. They measured achievement scores, attendance rates, students' service hours and parental involvement.

"The data is boiled down to about all people really want to know," says Stephanie Bateman, director of communications and publications for the Jefferson County district. "We try to keep it simple and focus on the things that are most important to them."

What was once an annual obligation has become an opportunity for districts to set their own agenda and measure their own progress--no small feat in an accountability-driven arena where more and more state legislatures relish those roles.

One of the first things Superintendent David Benson did when he arrived at Blue Valley Schools in suburban Kansas City in 1993 was to begin publishing an annual report. He wanted a document that really worked for the district, something that allowed employees and the public to know where the schools stood. What evolved was a three-form report that is carefully targeted to several audiences.

The mother publication is an inch-thick document filled with statistics on a wide variety of indicators of progress, a real working report for staff. From that, the district communications team breaks out an executive summary. A two-color version of it serves as an annual report card and update for the community. A four-color version is used in staff recruitment and promotion of the district. Total copies: 14,000. Total cost: $10,000.

"A lot of districts do annual reports and don't target them well," says Benson. "If you're going to all this work at this cost, make it pay off."

Targeted Purposes

How the reports are used depends on what the district needs from them. In the Pittsburgh Public Schools, a district that has had four superintendents in the last six years, the annual report is a way to make parents feel familiar with district leadership.

"We ran pictures of all the board members and used it as a way to sell the board," says Patricia Crawford, a veteran public relations officer whose publications have won numerous awards. "And I try to reflect the personality of the superintendent throughout, to connect the superintendent to the community."

In the Beachwood, Ohio, City Schools, 30 miles southeast of Cleveland, the annual report is a sleek marketing tool. "One of the reasons I came here was because of the annual report," admits Paul Williams, superintendent since 1994. "I felt that a district that spent that much time on an annual report was a district I wanted to be in."

The district is a perennial winner in publications contests--one year crafting an annual report that looked remarkably like a glossy version of USA Today. Beachwood uses its report to recruit teachers and administrators and to introduce prospective residents to the school system. Still, staff members make sure the piece has academic integrity as well as promotional value.

"A few years ago, we had some bad news," Williams says. "Our test scores dropped because the [statewide proficiency] tests had changed and we hadn't adjusted our curriculum. We were no longer in the 'effective' category on the state report card. We had fallen behind and we handled it quite straightforwardly. We said, 'This is what happened, and this is what we're doing to address these scores.'"

A frank, open style is a growing standard in annual reports, according to another judge of communications contests who has worked in school public relations for 23 years.

"One of the first rules in good public relations is be honest," he says. "We see more and more of it. It's OK to tell people you're not doing as well as you had hoped to. They can accept that. Just tell them what you're doing to address it--make sure they can see you have a plan."

Unified Themes 

What information to include and how to present it are crucial questions and one reason most districts put the reports in the hands of public relations staff or outside communications professionals. Typically, planning begins in the fall, and the reports are issued in the spring.

Bateman's approach as communications director in the Jefferson County, Ky., schools is fairly typical. In September, "after the dust has settled from the previous year," she says she meets with Superintendent Stephen Daeschner to determine major talking points for the report. For the next few weeks, she meets with the superintendent and community relations staff members, posing questions on what data to use and message to convey.

"A couple of months later, I have a half-hour meeting with the superintendent," she says. "I try to let him frame what he sees as the theme. I write his message, get his approval on it and then build the report on that."

Theme is essential, a communications commandment that is clearly followed in effective corporate annual reports. A single memorable message, carried through in every section, gives readers an impression of a strong organization and vision. Like businesses in the private sector, savvy school districts can use a unified message to link themselves to a desirable ideal--quality, responsiveness, innovation.

After months of studying corporate reports, Hollister and other Clark County administrators hit upon "Meeting the Needs of Every Child," an appealing theme that recognized the district's diversity and emphasized a personal focus in a school district whose enrollment has skyrocketed 100 percent over the last 10 years.

Hollister sent a memo to every administrative department including the information they had put in the previous year's report and exhorting them: "1 want you to tell me what you do to meet the needs of every child."

The information came back streamlined and focused. Then Hollister boiled the theme down to section headings that had punch. The district's action plan became "Taking Responsibility." A section on achievement scores was boldly called "Expecting More."

"You've got to grab your readers, pull them in and say what you stand for," she says.

Irresistible Faces

Still, the strongest appeal for readers is visual, not cerebral. Schools have an enormous advantage in the appeal of their product-children--a fact prize-winning annual reports use to the maximum.

"I like big photos of happy children," admits one veteran contest judge, who is a retired school public relations director and now a communications consultant. "The larger the photo, the better. It's like the socko ads. Why put that child's face over the entire page in an advertisement? Because it grabs your interest. Those companies know exactly what they're doing."

Des Moines Public Schools scored a big hit with judges for its irresistible cover shot--a jubilant, all-American high school baseball player hoisting a trophy over his head. The photo inspired the report's theme: champions.

"We believe a large photograph has a lot more impact than do a lot of smaller photos--it's more emotional," says Larry Castek, Des Moines' graphic specialist. "You don't want too much going on. That's like designing your living room with too many colors."

But while the move to better-looking, far more glitzy publications has no doubt drawn in readers, it also can evoke criticism. School districts have to carefully consider the image they project and the money they spend or are perceived to be spending.

While corporate annual reports usually benefit from looking expensive and extravagant--sign that business is good and cost is not an issue--school districts are likely to attract criticism for overspending.

"Districts have to know what will play in their communities," admits one contest judge and school public relations professional. "A glossy, full-color report can be interpreted as the district spending too much money on extras, while another community can expect a glitzy report."

"I don't think it's necessary to have a costly report to tell your story effectively," he adds. "And technology is helping, with things like four-color production actually cheaper than in the past."

One place districts shouldn't skimp, however, is on writing. Steeped in educational jargon and rhetoric, superintendents and principals rarely make good writers, the experts warn. Sometimes communications staff members can produce good copy. Sometimes districts should look to free-lance writers to provide the crisp, evocative style a memorable annual report requires.

Typically, the award-winning annual reports come from large urban and suburban districts. While many states require some form of annual reporting to parents, a multi-page, full-color publication is out of most smaller districts' reach.

Gruver Independent Schools, a 462-pupil district 90 miles north of Amarillo, Texas, sends out copies of students' standardized test scores as required by state law. But Superintendent Laura Blassingame says her district couldn't afford to publish the extensive "effectiveness and compliance" report it is required to compile for state inspections.

"Our copying costs exceeded $5,000 just for the state's copies, which may not sound like much but is a large chunk of a $3.4 million budget," she says. "I would have much rather spent that money on the kids.

"In this community, people live right next door to the school or go to church with a teacher," she adds. "If they have a question on something, all they have to do is walk into my office or a principal's office and ask."

David Voss, president of a Florida-based communications consulting company that specializes in education, says smaller districts need comprehensive communication as much as larger districts do, but can sometimes accomplish it in less expensive ways.

"I recommend that smaller districts do electronic reporting, which can be really advantageous for districts that can't afford slick, glossy magazines," he says. "They can also provide an annual report by adding pages to the school newsletter in the last few months of the school year. You can add them at almost no cost, and they're better read than the local newspaper."

Restrain Your CEO 

Still, the investment in a separate annual document can pay off, sometimes in ways the chief executive may not anticipate.

"I used to tell superintendents who were reluctant to spend their time or budget on annual reports, 'This piece could get you your next job,"' chuckles one veteran contest judge. "That always got their attention."

But whether or not the chief officer is looking for advancement, superintendents still should temper their presence in the annual report. The blunt truth, experts say, is that children sell, hard numbers sell, but superintendents don't.

"The superintendent's message should be told by everyone else," the contest judge says frankly. "His or her message is really, 'Look at the wonderful people who work here. Look at the wonderful kids here.' The superintendent's picture should be on Page 2 or in the back, and not bigger than a postage stamp."

The most effective theme for a superintendent's message? Good stewardship, the experts say. It plays well with every crowd.

Indeed, one secret to producing consistently good annual reports is to understand what one's community likes, dislikes and needs to know. It's no coincidence that many of the prize-winning reports come from districts with veteran communications officers who have tracked public inquiries and suggestions over years and sometimes decades.

One of the most effective methods, they say, is to encourage feedback on the annual report. Some invite in local corporate communications specialists, parents and community leaders for a critique. Others send out response forms or do a telephone survey.

Potential Impact

In the end, successful annual reports generally come our of comprehensive communications plans.

"The annual report is not just [produced] in a vacuum," says Hollister, formerly with Clark County, Nev., schools. "It has to be part of an overall effort. The superintendent has to understand that it has to be part of an open line of communication with parents, community and corporate community, and it has to go two ways."

School districts willing to invest the time and money in high-quality, substantial annual reports say it pays off nicely. Real estate agents use it to sell the school district, as do corporate personnel recruiters. Parents find answers to their big-picture questions. The larger community feels included in the school communications pipeline.

While they may never be read cover-to-cover and probably won't be filed and saved, good annual reports can have small but powerful influence.

"As a reader, I want to pick it up, look at it for a couple of minutes and feel happy I'm here," says one veteran contest judge and former school communications officer. "I want to feel somebody in that school district knows what they're doing."

Krista Ramsey is a free-lance education writer in Cincinnati.

Resources

The National School Public Relations Association can provide additional help on this subject.

NSPRA's book, School Public Relations: Building Confidence in Education, includes a chapter on producing effective publications.

The association also has a comprehensive Web site at www.nspra.org.

Contact NSPRA at 15948 Derwood Rd., Rockville, Md. 20855.

What's It Take to Be Noticed?

Looking for insider tips on producing an award-winning annual report for your school district? Here are words to the wise from veteran school public relations officers who have won recognition in national publications contests and even from the judges themselves.

* Less is more. Readers will deepsix a report with pages of gray copy. Lighten up your look by compacting information. Use charts instead of text. Remember that some white space provides relief for the reader.

* Find a focus. A theme directs the reader's attention and keeps you from rambling on and on. Try to sum up what your community values in a single word. Responsiveness. Integrity. Accountability. Results.

* Move beyond the obvious. Themes to retire: Excellent schools. Partnerships for progress. Judges say they've seen them, oh, maybe 5,000 times.

* Think like a reader. The best annual reports focus on what the community wants to know. The worst dwell on what the school system wants to tell them.

* People are the point. Use personal stories to illustrate your successes: An innovative classroom teacher or a bus driver with years of a spotless safety record.

* Be bold. Use short, strong headlines. Pull out powerful quotes. Slice away at chatty copy.

* Emphasize faces. Prize-winning annual reports almost always have large photos of cute kids.

* Make it manageable. Parents like reports that are concise and easy to hold. Tri-folds are popular. Smaller reports--say the size of a stenographer's notebook--appear reader-friendly.

* Keep it simple. Over-design is sure death. Judges hate faces in green and purple ink, copy on top of the school seal (which makes it unreadable) and especially too much clip art.

* Show trends. Choose smart indicators of progress, then measure them over time. Keep some things consistent in each report, such as achievement scores, attendance and budget analysis.

* Tell the truth. Of course you want to leave a good impression, but give a realistic picture of life in your district. Put achievements in context. Accept responsibility for shortcomings, and explain how you'll do better.