Few conversations in authorizing are harder than the ones about a school that is changing form or closing its doors. Whether you’re merging, consolidating, or closing a school, you know the decision will touch students and families, teachers and staff, and the community around them.

So how can your team approach those conversations with care? NACSA held focus groups with families and communities to learn what makes a closure announcement land well. Here are the highlights:

• When it comes to low-academic performance, families and voters want to know that consolidation, merger, and/or closure are only options after efforts to help the school have been made.
• Giving students access to more opportunities resonates most with families and voters as a reason to consolidate, merge, and/or close a school due to low student enrollment.
• Acknowledging the loss, focusing on student benefits, including families in the journey, and providing clear next steps are the best ways to navigate these emotional conversations. 

NACSA’s School Closure Guide provides authorizers with the knowledge and resources to support effective closures. This guide offers tips and tools on how to support students and families, implement an action plan, and communicate effectively. Download the School Closure Guide. 

Additional closure resources

• Plan: Use NACSA’s customizable Action Plan to plan for closure and clearly communicate key actions and timelines to schools and staff.
• Communicate: Download NACSA’s guide on how best to communicate about school closures. 
• Listen: Hear Clarence Burton Jr., CEO of Denver Families for Public Schools, on our Community Conversations podcast,  where he shares what this communication looks like in action. Listen to the episode.