For communicating with parents, Harms sees newsletters as primary communication tools. A newsletter doesn't need to be flashy. As the editor of a newsletter for the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, Harms said he strives to view the product from a parent's perspective. We ask ourselves what questions parents would like to see answered in our publication. We know that parents want to know about their children's accomplishments.
Some kids bring home news, others clam up.
For public schools, that communication needs to extend to the community as well. Public schools need to let people know that their money is well spent. That, said Harms, is one place where the public relations professional comes in. People want communication about their schools. It would be fun to think that teachers have time to do this, that principals have time to do this, but the reality is they don't.