In front of a standing-room only crowd, Mary Templeton, superintendent of Lake Stevens School District in Washington, delivered a general rallying cry to the troops. “We’re at war,” she said, stressing the urgency to amplify positive stories to save public education.

Templeton made these boisterous remarks at the AASA conference session titled “Communicating Your Hopeful Message” on Thursday.

“Now more than ever, we have to make sure we are communicating constantly about the great things happening in our schools,” she added.

Templeton, who is in her first year in Lake Stevens following a six-year tenure as superintendent of Washougal School District in Washington, does just that every day. A theatre major in college, she is at home in front of the camera. She started in Lake Stevens just four months before a $314 million bond was on the Nov. 5, 2024 ballot, so she immediately set out to establish herself as the trusted, consistent and clear source of positive news and factual information in her community.

Templeton worked with the district’s executive director of communications, Jayme Taylor, to go out into the district to film “Did You Know?” videos to show the facilities and the impact that public education has on the people within them. The videos are short, typically running a minute, and they are posted on the district’s Facebook page weekly.

“If you give them too much or too often, they tune out,” said Templeton. But in those minutes, the community gains insight, information and connections that they can’t get anywhere else. Because you can’t invite the entire community into your classrooms, she said you need to bring the classrooms – and the great things happening within them – to the community through social media.

Templeton urged leaders who aren’t as comfortable being the face of their district to get out of their comfort zone. If they aren’t, their board or community may wonder if they are engaged. Leaders may be in buildings, at community events, connected and fully engaged. But if staff, parents and community members don’t see it, they can’t know it. But if they do see it – for example, in photos or videos of the superintendent shopping and interacting with community members at the local farmers market – they feel they know you and can trust you.

She assured superintendents that it doesn’t have to be big and bold, but it does have to be impactful and constant. “We have to think differently about what it means to be a superintendent today,” she said.

The Lake Stevens bond did not pass in November. It missed the required 60 percent threshold by about 1 percent. One area where Templeton felt the district fell short was in getting visible support from the business community. However, when talking to business leaders, she was told they didn’t feel they could risk their business by showing support. One business owner told her, “It’s so political. I can’t run the risk of a ‘Yes’ sign for kids.”

The district put it back on the ballot on February 11, 2025, just before Valentine’s Day. So, in addition to and separate from the information campaign for the bond, the district launched another campaign, “I Love Lake Stevens Schools,” a campaign that will run every February. Businesses were eager to have those signs in their windows in order to be featured on the district’s social media. It was free advertising for them.

In addition, actor Chris Pratt, an alumnus of Lake Stevens High School, sent a photo of himself holding an “I Love Lake Stevens Schools” sign. That post went viral.

The bond passed, allowing the district to meet its facility needs, and Templeton was able to use a “Did You Know” video to thank the community.

Templeton says that now, her communication will focus on how the district is spending that money. She will tell the stories of success created by voter support, proving to the community that they made a smart investment in schools. “Our job as superintendents is to communicate that it’s a rich investment and a rich return.”

(Cathy Kedjidjian is director of communications for the North Cook Intermediate Service Center in Des Plaines, Ill.)