Most superintendents don't think about crisis communications until they need it. By then, the choice of who to call is already being made under pressure, which is exactly when it's easiest to make the wrong one. This is what actually separates a competent crisis communications advisor from a risky one, and the specific questions worth asking before you hire either.
Start with what "crisis communications" actually means
The term gets used loosely. Some firms mean media training. Some mean writing a statement after something has already gone wrong. Some mean full-scale reputation management for a corporate client with a legal team attached.
For a school district, crisis communications means something more specific: helping a superintendent or board make sound, fast decisions about what to say, when to say it, and who should say it, while student safety, legal exposure, and public trust are all on the line at once. It is judgment under pressure, not just writing under pressure.
Ask whether they understand school districts specifically
A crisis advisor who has only worked with corporations or political campaigns will bring instincts that don't transfer cleanly to a district. School crises involve minors, FERPA and student privacy law, elected school boards, unions, and a community that often has decades of relationship with the district, good or bad, before the crisis ever started.
Worth asking directly: has this advisor worked with a public school district before, and do they understand the specific pressures of an elected board, open meetings law, and a community watching a public institution rather than a private company?
Look for judgment, not just writing ability
Almost anyone can draft a clean statement. Far fewer people can tell a superintendent when *not* to say something yet, when a decision needs board input before it goes public, or when the instinct to respond immediately is actually the wrong instinct.
A useful test in an initial conversation: describe a real, difficult scenario and see whether the advisor's first response is about wording, or about the decision-making process behind the wording. The second answer is usually the better sign.
Ask about availability, specifically
Crises rarely happen during business hours. A crisis communications advisor who can't be reached within an hour, at any hour, isn't actually built for the job description. Ask directly: what happens if I call at 10:00 p.m. on a Saturday? Get a specific answer, not a general reassurance.
Understand the difference between a retainer and a one-time call
An advisor who has never talked to your district before a crisis starts is doing real-time learning while also trying to help you make high-stakes decisions. That's not disqualifying, sometimes it's the only option available, but it is slower and carries more risk than working with someone who already understands your district's history, your board dynamics, and your community's particular pressure points.
If your district faces even a moderate risk of a public incident (and most do), it's worth understanding the tradeoff between paying for ongoing advisory relationship versus hoping you can find the right help fast enough when something happens.
Watch for advisors who want to control the narrative more than protect the truth
Some crisis communications approaches prioritize managing public perception over transparency. In the short term, this can look effective. Over time, particularly with a public institution like a school district, it tends to erode the exact trust it was meant to protect. The better standard: does this advisor help you communicate honestly and clearly, even when the truth is difficult, rather than help you obscure it?
Questions worth asking before you hire anyone
- Have you worked with a public school district before, and can you describe a specific situation?
- What is your actual response time in an emergency, at any hour?
- Do you help write the statement, or do you help think through the decision behind it?
- How do you handle situations involving student privacy or an active legal matter?
- What does your relationship with a district look like before a crisis happens, if any?
The right answer to all of these isn't a polished pitch. It's a specific, direct answer grounded in real experience. If a prospective advisor can't answer plainly, that's information too.