STATE EDUCATION AGENCY COMMUNICATIONS PROCESS

State education agencies (SEAs) are central players in initiating and leading reform efforts to improve academic achievement for all students. With the adoption of the Every Child Succeeds Act (ESSA), SEA leaders have the opportunity and flexibility to rethink how to best educate students for the future. To be effective, SEAs of the future must now incorporate communication into their overall organizational strategy to ensure that both internal and external stakeholders can and will support implementation of new state plans. This report details the central themes and practices that emerged from this year’s Strategic Communications Benchmarking Project, which follows the BSCP Strategic Communications Framework  developed through the 2014 project. Participants for this 2016 Benchmarking Project include the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE), Indiana Department of Education (IDOE), Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE), and the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. (NCDPI).