Our Approach

Public schools are uniquely connected to their communities, critical to the immediate and long-term future of not just their neighborhoods but to the nation as a whole.

Along with students, parents, teachers, staff and administrators, public school stakeholders include various government entities and nonprofit foundations, other educational institutions and, of course, the business community, which relies upon public education and university graduates for their workforce.

Every high school dropout is a loss not just for that student and family but also for the community-at-large. Each community must balance the costs associated with public education with the costs associated with the failure to educate and adequately take care of its youth. Today’s students are tomorrow’s taxpayers. The stakes are high.

When crises arise — and they inevitably do — the focus is often on issues other than teaching and learning, stealing valuable administrator time and energy away from a focus on classroom instruction. In response to crises, school districts typically take one of two actions — communicating with the public to raise awareness of the issues or seeking public input through research.

K12 Insight is uniquely positioned to address this situation. From observing hundreds of school districts deal with such crises, we recommend a synthesis of both these approaches, a fusion of communication and research. By balancing these two approaches with great expertise and care, educational leaders are able to authentically communicate their key issues to the public while also gathering input through surveys.

In addition to crises, this approach also allows school districts to adequately prepare for future issues. By being ready to respond, districts see the frequency and intensity of such issues diminish, allowing and creating capacity within the system to embrace the greater transformation that is needed to advance public education.