GCPS Assessment

Consultants:
Kara Thacker and Destinee Berry

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 Table of Contents

Title Page 0

Table of Contents 1-2

Introduction 3

Background and Overview 4

Proposal 5

Objectives 6

Crisis Inventory 7-9

I. Murphy's Law, Major vs. Minor, List 7
II. Ranking & Explanation 8-9
Key publics and Stakeholders 10

Situational Assessment 11

Training 12-13

Current Team Evaluation 14-17

Communication Flow 18-19

Crisis Directory 20-21

How People Receive Communication 22

Mediums for Internal and External communication 22

Roles and Responsibilities 23

Spokespersons 24
I. Sample Statements 25
II. News Release 26
III. Internal & External Messages 27
IV. Social Media Examples 28

Media List 29

Emergency Personnel Resource List 30

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Emergency Management Core Team 31

Emergency Command Center 32

Media Staging Areas 33-34

Evacuation Area 35

Evaluation 36

Appendix 37

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 Introduction
Thacker and Berry was founded in 1995 in Atlanta. Thacker and Berry work together with
companies to handle disputes, giving them advice on how to avoid, resolve, and recover from on-
going issues.We started off with a small clientele and grew to a fortune 500 company due to our
success with entities such as Starbucks, Doritos, and the University of Georgia. Since then we
have been the number one recommended private consulting company in the South-East United
States. Our previous experience with universities and other school systems has equipped us to
handle potential crises that could take place in the Gwinnett County School System.

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 Background & Overview
The Gwinnett County Public Schools system is located in Gwinnett County, Georgia. It is the
largest school system in the state of Georgia, containing 143 schools. After doing much research
we have come to the conclusion that GCPS needs a crisis communication management team
within their board of education. We see that they don’t have that. Even though they do have
people set in place to handle certain situations, we feel they should have a more in depth team
due to their goal as a system which has really high standards. GCPS strives to become a system
of world-class schools where students acquire the knowledge and skills to be successful in
college and careers according to gwinnett.k12.ga.us.

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 Proposal
Gwinnett County Public Schools strives to be a world-class system of schools. We share a
common goal. Thacker and Berry aspire to become known as a trusted consulting company in
more than just the Southeast US. We strive to be “world class” when it comes to providing crisis
management and/or communication to our customers. As stated before, we see GCPS does not
have a crisis communication management team within their board of education. GCPS has seven
strategic goals to accomplish their mission. The goals are: to ensure a world class education for
all students, to ensure a safe-orderly environment, to optimize student achievement through the
proactive pursuit of all resources necessary, to recruit-retain-develop workforce that achieves the
mission and goals of the organization, to support instructional and operational needs, provide-
manage the system’s facilities, and to continuously improve the quality of strategies to enhance
the way business is done (to read more go to gwinnett.k12.ga.us). Keeping these things in mind
T&B is the perfect business to do this job because of our history. Starbucks did not take the
initiative to train their employees about diversity until T&B reached out to them with a crisis
communication plan highlighting their need to educate their employees about inclusion. T&B
has a history of finding ways in which companies can improve their crisis communication and
management. We are also a great fit because of our own personal mission; which is to provide
the highest level of professionalism to our customers and to work alongside companies in all
stages of a crisis ensuring positive results. Even though GCPS has strategic goals to work toward
their mission, there is not a crisis communication team in place just in case things don’t go as
planned. A crisis according to Effective Crisis Communication can be defined as an event that
comes as a surprise and a threat with little time to respond (Moving from Crisis to Opportunity
pg. 6). Crises disrupt the regular flow of business. Crises will happen whether they are
intentional or unintentional. Even though it is good that GCPS has these goals in place, they are
not prepared to carry out these goals if a crisis were to take place. T&B has done much research
and is prepared to create an effective crisis communication plan for GCPS.

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 Objective
Our objective is to work alongside companies, handling all stages of crises. We ensure the
highest level of professionalism. We believe that we are qualified to work with GCPS because
we are trained PR professionals. Waiting to respond to a crisis is not ideal due to the fact that it
builds animosity towards the company in which the dispute is being brought against. Responding
late to a crisis also gives the problem time to gain local media attention and can affect the
stakeholders attached to the school. We desire to create a crisis communication team for GCPS
that will increase their chances of preventing crises, properly responding to crises, and building
relationships with stakeholders. Thacker and Berry Crisis Consulting has thoroughly analyzed
the way in which GCPS responded to crises that have occured within their school system in the
past. Based on the in depth training that our PR professionals have received, we are certified to
help the school recover and implement a new plan of effective crisis communication.

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 Crisis Inventory
Murphy's Law:
Murphy's Law can be defined as, “whatever can go wrong will go wrong,” according to
howstuffworks.com. T&B refers to this idea continuously when considering the potential crisis
our prospective clients might face on a day-to-day basis.
Major vs Minor:
Major- A crisis that will heavily impact the stakeholders and company in a way that could
greatly decrease the credibility, success, and future of an organization. A crisis that usually last
for more than five months to a year.
Minor- A situation that disrupts the regular flow of business that could potentially escalate to a
issue that affects the stakeholders and organizations relationship . A minor crisis could also be
defined as any ongoing issue that pertains to employees, the community, or stakeholders towards
the organization that could potentially disrupt the regular flow of business if it goes unresolved.
These types of situations usually last from a few weeks up to four months.
List:
Shootings, Robberies, Batteries, Harassment, Threats, Cheating Scandals, Deaths, Bus Crash,
Food illness Epidemic, Quality of Education Conflict, Racial or Prejudice Targeting or Conflicts,
Employee Absence due to personal or unexplained reasoning, Parent Rebuttals that get the
community involved, Bullying, Sexual Misconduct, Terroristic Threats, Money Laundering,
Fraudulent Activity, Issues in the community that affect the students, Mishandeling of disabled
person(s), Recruiting athletes, Undocumented health occurrences that lead to injury or death, ect.

Ranking: Percentage out of 100

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Stacked Venn Diagram
Reasoning: The purpose of using a stacked Venn Diagram is to, illustrate “...the similarities,
differences, and relationships between the risk. Groups are in the overlapping and differences are
in the non-overlapping portion” (support.office.com).

T&B Crisis Chart

Explanation: We ranked threats (battery, terroristic, ect) at the top because if that were to
happen within a school system it would not only affect that district but the school system as a
whole. A threat can affect those connected to the individuals being threatened. sexual

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misconduct, bias, money, and community are all ranked the same to us because these are all
things that affect the school system internally. Death, the quality of education, and health related
risk are all closely ranked because they have the potential to affect the organization and
stakeholders depending on who these risk effect. Rebuttals and transportation risks are ranked
the lowest because they are usually solved quickly and don’t usually affect more than just the
individuals the crisis pertains to. These risks usually only escalate into major crises when they go
unhandled. The purpose of these risks being in a stacked venn diagram is so that one can
understand that all of these risks are crises whether major or minor, and they can affect each
other.
Ranks extended:
The numbers beside each type of risk does not determine how much more serious one matter is
over another. The numbers in this chart is based on the frequency of occurences within this
organization (GCPS). You read the chart from the smallest circle to the biggest, from the grey to
the red. This indicates the level of major vs minor, with grey being the minor and red being the
major. The bigger the diameter the bigger the risk.

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 Key Publics & Stakeholders
It is important to maintain positive relationships with both the primary and secondary
stakeholders to help lower the chances of crisis occurring. Positive relationships with stakeholders
is also important during a crisis because you have “trust”.
Primary:
Board of Education department membembers, superintendent, employees, Georgia Department
of Education department, and students.
Why: These are people and entities that GCPS will communicate with often and are really
important when it comes to the success of their school system.
Secondary:
community, media outlet, family members, vendors, construction partners, investors, local and
authorities.
Why: These are people and entities that GCPS will work to build and maintain positive
relationships with to enhance the success of school system.

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 Situational Assessment
Why our Ranking of Major vs Minor Crisis works Pertaining to GCPS
Analysis:
Our ranking chart will work for any crisis GCPS may experience because it gives the
organization an idea of how much effort to put into dealing with a crisis. For example if a
terroristic threat is made to one of the schools GCPS knows to reach out to all media outlets,
utilize all of its resources, and deal with the crisis deliberately. GCPS may not have to reach out
to media outlets and use all of its resources when it comes to a parent having an issue with a
teacher. This may be something that can be handled internally at one particular school. However,
if the teacher is openly prejudice and the school decides not to terminate their employment,
GCPS would end up in a crisis. GCPS stakeholders might not feel confident in the recruiting and
quality of education of the school system.
Final Thoughts:
It is important to deal with every crisis and potential crisis immediately. Having a scale to
understand the potential damage a crisis can cause is a helpful tool when it comes to how to
respond to a crisis.

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 Training

National:
Members of GCPS staff has the option to go to certain paid conferences and trainings that are
held at national levels to develop personally and professionally. While at these trainings the
employees are required to take notes so that they can create a presentation and present them at
their annual prospective staff meetings.
Paid Conference(s):
Southeast Conference on Positive Behavior Interventions and Support,
Regional:
The Georgia Department of Education has annual trainings that GCPS teachers and
administrators are required to attend.
Paid Conference(s):
Innovative Schools Summit in Atlanta
Board Members:
Board Members are required to meet once a week to discuss various topics relating to the
schools, the employees, and the students. The meetings will be held in the conference room at
the GCPS board of Education. The trainings are every Friday from 7:00pm-10:00pm.
Administrators:
The school administrators at each are required to meet once every two weeks on Fridays from
5:45 pm-7:00 pm to discuss the outlook of their students, events, and staff. Meetings Will be
held in the largest meeting room of every school.
Teachers:
Are required to meet once a month to discuss their plans to improve the quality of education
within their classrooms, student behaviors, and ways in which to improve learning environments.
Meetings will be from 7:00pm-9:30pm every Friday. The meetings will be held in the largest
classroom of every school.

Staff:

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Staff is required to meet once every three weeks to discuss the overall effectiveness of their
duties, work environment, and job related material. The meetings will be held from 7:00pm-
8:00pm every Friday in the breakroom of every school.
Combined:
GCPS employees will collectivley meet once every two months to discuss policies, construction,
and etc pertaining to the school system. Meetings will be held in the gym of the school closest to
GCPS from 5:00pm-9:00pm.
Excused absences are as follows:
Doctors notes, Court related issues, Transportation incidents (wrecks, lack of ride), Deaths,
Family Emergencies, Excused trainings, meetings, ect.

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 Current Team Evaluation
This is an assessment of people who work for the GCPS Board who have jobs associated with risk
management or crisis communications

Safety and Security: This department is doing excellent when it comes to providing safety and
security to GCPS. If a crisis were to arise T&B is sure that this department will act quickly.
Health and Social Services: This department is doing excellent when it comes to catering to the
employees, students, and communities health-social service needs. T&B likes the education that
this department provides and is sure that this department will be aware of health and social
related crisis if they were to happen.
Associate Superintendent, School Improvement and Operations: Overall this department is
very organized but they lack a crisis management-communications department. The risk
management office could be a solution to this problem. Even though there are many departments
that specialize in specific categories like finance, health, and ect there is no department devoted
to crisis. If one of these departments were to experience a crisis or problem there is not a
department established to be a liaison between all of them holistically. There is no department
there to aid them in managing crisis or helping them communicate successfully to their
prospective publics. (refer to the feedback under risk management)
Chief Human Resources Officer: This departments sole purpose to recruit a world-class work
force. I haven’t read anything about requirements, demographics and background. It is important
that GCPS is transparent with the public as to data showing these things about their employees.
One might ask what it is that makes someone a world-class employee. One might wonder how
GCPS deals with employees that have been terminated, gone, or transfered. In order to maintain
this “image” or perception of being world-class GCPS should consider creating a team of people
devoted to research about the longterm and shortterm employees of GCPS.
Chief Financial Officer: T&B looked over the Superintendent’s Recommended Budget and we
noticed that most of it was dedicated to pay rases. This is something that GCPS should
reconsider. T&B believes that GCPS should consider investing in a team of financial literacy
specialist. This departments job will be to deeply analyze how dollars are being spent and
whether or not the investment puts students first. Even Though it is good to take care of

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employees students are the number one priority. The financial literacy team would be in control
of training employees on how to budget their earnings and invest in personal growth. If the
employees invest in personal growth it will benefit the student indirectly.T&B beliefs that is the
employees are more aware of the ways in which money is being spent with a student first
approach their will be less likely of a chance for money to be mishandled. If GCPS board of
education dedicates money to the personal growth of employees then it will enhance the
positivity of the work environment, which will in the end decrease the potential of employee-to-
students, and employee-to-employee problems.
Chief Information Officer: This departments sole purpose is to stay updated with technology,
data management, and security challenges. This is great when it comes to managing security-
technology related risk. But, T&B suggest that GCPS adds a team that is devoted to being liaison
between risk management and the information management-technology department. This team
will focus on cyber security and monitor any potential media-technology related occurrences that
can lead to crisis. For instance if a student tweets that they want to bomb the school. This team
would be in charge of reaching out to the risk management team and deliberating how to best
deal with this problem.
CEO/Superintendent: GCPS has an excellent superintendent with an background in Human
resource and leadership. T&B is sure that he would be a great example to his employees on
handling and leading a crisis.
Office of Strategy and Performance: The office of strategy performance focuses on the goals
or GCPS and they provide annual forecast of five year forecast. This department is operating in
positive light when it comes to being able to detect crisis.
Department of Communication and Media Relations: This departments sole purpose is to
provide support for the media centers across Gwinnett County according to their website and
increase professional relationships with regional and local media agencies. T&B recommends
that GCPS creates a team that focuses on conflict-communication, and cultural differences. This
team will be responsible for training GCPS employees on how to communicate in a crisis and
consider cultural and social differences.
Publications and Public Information: This departments sole purpose is to display the
publications of different types of information around GCPS. GCPS should consider adding a

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open forum page that gives the community a chance to suggest what they would like to see get
published, and also have an open space to voice concerns about what they read. T&B sees that
they have accountability reports, which is good when it comes to trying to measure the
improvement of the school system. This is a way in which GCPS can expound on their
relationships with their stakeholders.
Facility Management: This departments sole purpose it to be a mediator between contractors
and business vendors pertaining to construction projects within GCPS. Overall they have a great
department. T&B suggest that they create a team devoted to construction-risk. This teams main
focus will be to communicate the risk management department about what to do if a facility is
damaged or if a contract is not fully executed. The construction-risk department would also be
responsible for reaching out to the facility literacy specialist to discuss projects that are green,
conservative, and enhance the work-learning environment of GCPS.
Department of Telecommunications & Network Services: This departments sole purpose is to
deal with the technical designs and maintenance of IP-based communication networks, voice,
data, video, internet services, and video security for staff-students. This department should
consider adding liaison with the office of safety and security. The purpose of this would to aid to
the improvement of security and risk. The telecommunications department and network services
is over video, voice, and ect. These are things that should be closely monitored so that if
potential problems arise digitally they can be dealt with quickly.
Risk Management: This departments sole purpose is to deal with worker’s compensation and
student insurance pertaining to school related injuries. This is great when it comes to dealing
with minor injury related crisis that can be quickly resolved. But, this will not be effective when
it comes to dealing with minor and major crisis that are not injury related. This department
should consider broadening their scope of what is associated with risk liability, crisis
communication, and management. This should be the main department of contact when there is a
crisis.
Records Management: This departments sole purpose is to deal with open record request and
student complaints. This department’s content is user friendly and is effectively functioning. This
papertrail process is a great initiative when comes to having evidence in case of a crisis.

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Internal Audit: The purpose of this department is to reclassify and create recconmended
compensation for gcps employees. This is good. But, T&B believes that the internal audit team
should consider expanding their duties to more than just pay. The team should consider looking
at policy, student-worker relationships, and retention data-analysis. If GCPS had a team
reviewing this material we believe that the probability of potential-crisis would go down.

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 Communication Flow

Explanation: The superintendent is the “CEO” or leader over all of these resources. Everything
highlighted in purple is the positions that we created. Below will be a breakdown of each
bracket and who to refer to:
Risk Management: The department of risk management's primary function will be the main
resource for contact in case of emergencies or crisis. You will also reach out to this department
for crisis management-communication trainings.
Mass Media- Sloan Roach, Executive Director, Communication and Media Relations at
Gwinnett County Public Schools (678-301-6020)
Crisis Communication- Susan Clark, Director of Crisis Management (678-301-82120)

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Conflict-Communication Inclusion- Sarah Dupree, Conflict Management Specialist, (678-301-
444)
Safety & Security: The purpose of the department of safety and security is to manage facilities
and digital communication-networks. This department deals with facilities and digital crisis
management.
Facilities- Daniel Jardine, Chief Operations Officer (678-301-6020)
Facilities Risk Management- Bob Builder, Director Facilities Risk (678-301-777)
Telecommunications- Frank Elmore, Chief Information Officer, (678-301-6500)
Cyber Security- Zander Oladipo, Cyber Security Specialist, (678-301-222)
Chief Financial Officer: This person is over the human resource department and is responsible
for communicating with strategic planning when it comes to conservative investments that will
improve the student, community, and employee experience. This person is the contact of
reference when gcps is dealing with financial crisis.
Chief Financial Officer- Joe Heffron, (678-301-6200)
Strategic- Eric Spoto, Strategy and Operational Support Executive Director (678-301-7265)
Planning- Greg Stanfield, Office of Planning Director (678-301-7085)
Human Resources- Dr. Linda Anderson, Associate Superintendent (678-301-6100), Hunter
Blackburn, Executive Director of HR (678-301-6037)
Employee Analytics- Kadeon Hicks, Employee Relations Specialist (678-301-111)
Financial Literacy Team- Thiteo Badue, Senior Accountant (678-301-345)
Health & Social Services: The purpose of this department is to deal with anything social and
health related. This department also deals with anything worker-student related pertaining to
relationships and disputes.
Records- Jorge Gomez, Executive Director of Administration and Policy (678-301-6005)
Audit Team- Kellie Beaver, Benefits-Leave and Employee Records (678-301-6098)
Health- Dr. Kimberly Bennett, Director (678) 301-7270)

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 Crisis Directory

The severity of the crisis will tell you whether or not to communicate internally, externally, or both.
The origin of the crisis also affects the way in which the crisis-communication is distributed. To
determine what’s major and minor refer back to the ranking chart.
Internal:
CEO/Superintendent- J. Alvin Wilbanks, CEO, 678-301-6010
Mass Media- Sloan Roach, Executive Director, Communication and Media Relations at
Gwinnett County Public Schools (678-301-6020)
Facilities- Daniel Jardine, Chief Operations Officer (678-301-6020)
Zander Oladipo, Cyber Security Specialist, (678-301-222)
Chief Financial Officer- Joe Heffron, (678-301-6200)
Eric Spoto, Strategy and Operational Support Executive Director (678-301-7265)
Greg Stanfield, Office of Planning Director (678-301-7085)

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Greg Stanfield, Office of Planning Director (678-301-7085)
Hunter Blackburn, Executive Director of HR (678-301-6037)
Kadeon Hicks, Employee Relations Specialist (678-301-111)
Jorge Gomez, Executive Director of Administration and Policy (678-301-6005)
Dr. Kimberly Bennett, Director (678) 301-7270)

External:
Vendors- Reach out to Facilities
Sponsors- Reach out to the department head for the organization in which you want to sponsor
News/Media- Reach out to the Mass Media Head

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 How People Receive Communication
External:
Email, Phone/Fax, Social Media, USPS
Internal:
Phone/Fax, Email, Social Media, Advertisements, and USPS

Mediums for External & Internal Communication (Why)

External: Email is the primary form of communication for internal because you have a papertrail
and it’s a more efficient way to communicate. One can see an email quicker than a missed call
because the phone numbers are landlines and we live in an age of cyber-technology. Also,
emails tend to be less disruptive than phone calls in a school system. Phone is secondary just in
case they don’t get an email because it is a quick and direct way to follow-up are with someone
if they don’t get the email. Social media and USPS is just our way of keeping everyone updated.
Internal:
Because it’s direct and quick and they are within the same facility. Email is secondary, because if
they are unable to answer the phone, they can read the email later. You can also provide extra
information that they wouldn’t get in a phone call. Social media, advertising, and USPS are all
just extra ways to keep internal employees and stakeholders updated with information.

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Roles & Responsibilities (For PR team & Leadership Team)
(Refer to Current Team Evaluation)

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 Spokespersons
Our spokesperson will be Kara Thacker, with Destinee Berry being our backup spokesperson for
the Thacker & Berry company.
For the school system, the spokesperson will be Susan Clark, our director of crisis management.
Our backup for the school system will be Sarah Dupree, our conflict management specialist.

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 Samples
Statements:
In case of a immediate termination:
GCPS responded to [state the incident that caused termination] in the most professional and
ethical manner when it comes to the termination of [state the former employees name]. We are
not pleased to have to seperate from a member of our family because we do belief that we hire
some of the most equipped individuals in their prospective places. But, we have to handle every
matter in such a way that puts our school system in the best position to succeed and carry out our
mission. To the family of [the terminated employee] we send our best regard.
In case of school shooting:
GCPS mourns with the families of the victims of [the name of the shooting]. Gwinnett County
Police Department along with GCPS police is doing everything in its power to examine the
gunman to understand why this tragedy took place. We are currently undergoing investigation
and will give the community updates as we find information. This is a moment in which our
community needs to join together and support one another. For any questions directed towards
the school system reach out to Conflict-Communication Inclusion- Sarah Dupree, Conflict
Management Specialist, (678)-301-4447 or someone in the risk management department Crisis
Communication- Susan Clark, Director of Crisis Management (678)-301-8212.

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News Releases:
Archer Death
April 25, 2019
LAWRENCEVILLE GA- GCPS recently had a candlelit ceremony for the lost of former student
Jacob Moore. The air was stale and hearts were heavy as many reminisced about great memories
of Moore. “He was a great guy and this community is really going to miss him,” proclaimed
David Isaac as he ended the ceremony with an booming rendition of Moore’s favorite song,
“Make Some Noise”, by Hannah Montana. It really lifted many hearts and put a smile on the
face his peers. For more information about this ceremony GCPS school website.
School Closing
January 22, 2019
SUWANEE, GA- Gwinnett County Public Schools will be closed on January 22, 2019 due to
inclement weather. GCPS offices and schools will resume normal operation on January 23, 2019.
Be sure to layer up when staying outside for a long period of time. Enjoy the snow day and stay
safe.
Welcoming the New Teachers
August 8, 2018
GWINNETT COUNTY, GA- Gwinnett County Public School System welcomes the new
teachers of the 2018-2019 school year. We are glad you chose to make Gwinnett your home, and
we are happy to have you. We wish all of our faculty, staff, and students a fun and safe school
year.

Employee Internal Employee Messaging:

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Example of blast email sent out about emergency training:
Good [time of day] staff members.
Due to [a recent event that caused the training]. We are having a mandatory meeting on [date,
time location,]. We apologize if this is an inconvenience to anyone. Please contact your direct
supervisor if you will not be in attendance. A documented or approved excuse is required. Know
that you will be required to attend this training even if you can not attend the initial session.
Have a nice day [who ever the email is coming from].
In case of a sudden change in a personnel role:
Good [time of day] staff members,
[the person who will not be there] will not be here [exact time they will be absent] because of
[brief-confidential reason]. [who ever] will be stepping up in their place in their absence. Have a
nice day [who ever the email is coming from].
In case of change of a policy:
Good [time day] staff members,
There has been an update in [what the name of the old policy was]. All employees of GPCS are
required to read over this. We understand that is does not apply to all departments, and no
assessment will be given. If anyone wants to discuss the policy change reach out to Jorge
Gomez, Executive Director of Administration and Policy (678-301-6005). Have a nice day [who
ever the email is coming from].

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Social Media:

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Media List

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 Emergency Personnel Resource List
(Refer to Current Team and Place and Media List)

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 Emergency Management Core Team
This is the team of people that T&B created with addition to the superintendent

CEO/Superintendent- J. Alvin Wilbanks, CEO, (678)301-6010

Susan Clark, Director of Crisis Management (678)301-8210
Sarah Dupree, Conflict Management Specialist, (678)301-4445
Bob Builder, Director Facilities Risk (678)301-7787
Zander Oladipo, Cyber Security Specialist, (678)301-2222
Kadeon Hicks, Employee Relations Specialist (678)301-1119
Thiteo Badue, Senior Accountant (678)301-3459

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 Emergency Command Center
Triage: Triage will be at the Gwinnett Online Campus, because there are not students coming in
and out on a daily basis.
Call Center: Calls from schools will be directed to the offices of the board of education located
in Suwanee, GA at the headquarters.
Safety Location Check-In: Our safety check-in location will be Central Gwinnett
Lawrenceville High School, because of its central location in the county.

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 Media Staging Areas
Our main media staging area for press conferences and media-briefings will be held in the
Instructional Support Center. This is the room the board meetings are held in. There is plenty of
seating, and it is located at the headquarters in Suwanee, GA.

In the event that the Board meeting

room cannot be used, the Theater at Central Gwinnett Lawrenceville High School will takes its
place. This location was chosen, because of its location and accomodations in seating.

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In the event that the Instructional Support Center and Central HS Theater do not hold enough
people, the Infinite Energy Center Theater will be used in Duluth, GA. This is also a fairly
centralized location. The GCPS has a good relationship with the Infinite Energy Center, because
they hold many graduations every school year at this venue.

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 Evacuation Area (Example)

Wherever there is an red “x” that is the the place to exit. This is the same for every school.
Where ever the fire safety exists are the students will find their way there, based on convenience,
at a safe distance. The distance depends on what the fire station in that city determines to be a
safe-distance.

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 Evaluation
GCPS can reflect and quantify the effectiveness of their crisis communication-management by
comparing the post outlook of recent crisis to former crisis. They can look at things like
community support-reaction, retention rates in the school system, and the impact-change the
crisis put on the system. How quickly GCPS recovers from a crisis can help them evaluate
whether or not the steps they are taking to emulate a world-class system of learning and working
is being carried out. As stated in Effective Crisis Communication, “After a crisis has been
resolved, leaders have the important responsibility of interpreting the lessons of the crisis and
communicating them throughout the organization (pg.151).

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 Appendix

Social Media: We are adding their social media just in case someone wants to follow them.
Facebook-
https://www.facebook.com/GwinnettSchools/
Twitter-
https://twitter.com/GwinnettSchools
Website: We are adding their website just in case someone wants to do extra research.
Website-
https://publish.gwinnett.k12.ga.us/gcps/home/public

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