Lansing Sun

The Haslett school board received an update on district communications during a board of education meeting Dec. 12.

Robert Kolt, CEO of Kolt Communications in Meridian township, has worked as a faculty member at Michigan State University for several decades. He is working with Haslett Public Schools to improve their communications, according to a video of the meeting posted on the school board’s YouTube page.

"Well, what I really like is that internally you're really working on preparing a lot of information that you are communicating to parents,” Kolt said. “I think there is a desire to brand the district. A lot of people are doing things. Administrators are doing things. Where I think that they hadn't been aware of is what other people were doing and you got to continue on a regular basis to make sure that administrators know what others are doing and share that information because there are new innovations that are coming out.”

Kolt said it is important for everyone to be on the same page and aware of the information that is to be communicated.

“It's not just putting out information, but it's making sure that it's absorbed and understood, and it allows innovation to happen,” Kolt said. “Sharing that information is important. You know, you won't please everybody, but it's important that the information is received, and it allows you to determine if there is, you know, anything negative to know, it allows you to detect if there are any problems."

A big focus of news and communications is pushing out as much positive information as possible, both with internal communications and external media, Kolt said.

News often has a negative bias, so any good news an organization puts on can lead to positive attention, Kolt explained. He also advised the board to stay out of social media as much as possible, because it would require another operator and program to manage.

He also talked about the importance of clear and understandable information, especially in building a brand for the district. He explained that even older people, people without children, and residents are affected by the news.

The board asked Kolt many questions and thanked him for his advice.