Bus Rollover
Goals and Objectives *
Our initial response was to notify families of what happened and give them an update on their child’s status.
Target audience - Our primary audience was the families of students impacted by the rollover. The secondary target was to notify the community and local media with an update.
On November 1, 2021 a bus rolled over on a wet gravel road. Within eight minutes of having the details of the accident, the Office of Communication started our emergency protocol and sent a text message to the parents of students involved in the bus accident. During COVID, we built an Emergency Communication Response Team to make personal phone calls, and that team was assembled at one of our elementary schools.
Within 26 minutes of the details being called into the communication point, our team had every family the transportation department identified as being on the bus called with an update. In the next 30 minutes, we directed the family members of the four students taken to the hospital to meet their students at the hospital. We stationed a building principal at the hospital to meet each family. Once the accident scene was released, the superintendent, communications director, and another building principal went to the hospital and stayed with each family until everyone was dismissed. In total, five school senior leaders stayed with families until they went home.
Our communication was clear, concise, and correct. We waited until the scene was clear before issuing a press release. The following day our Emergency Communication Response Team called each family again and made sure we addressed any concerns or issues. One student had a hard time getting back on the bus, so the transportation assistant took a bus to their home the next day and drove the student and their mother to school, by themselves, allowing them the time to get reaccustomed to the bus.
In the weeks following the accident, we made sure to tell the story of this bus driver retiring. After 48 years of safely driving a bus, we didn’t want the bus accident to be her final chapter.
Desired audience - Our parents and families were our number one priority. Communicating with them was job number one. After that, our secondary audience was notifying the community with factual information. We utilized our text, email, and website to clearly communicate the facts in a timely manner with our community.
Photos and graphics - We used minimal photos and graphics as we didn’t believe that would add to the calmness of the situation.
Organizational brand - Our brand is our promise that when there is a crisis, we will continue to deliver an amazing communication experience for your family, and you hear from school employees with care and can ask questions and get answers.
Many parents were very relieved to have an update as quickly as it happened. Other superintendents commented on the speed and accuracy of the communication and response.
Links:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1heDabol8N_JYn4-AI91G9m6KGbGNNJKDk5GLo7WwBoM/edit?usp=sharing
https://kchanews.com/2021/12/21/retiring-longtime-charles-city-school-bus-drivers-recognized/
