Council of Chief State School Officers Common Core State Standards: Communications Toolkit
A clear structure for communicating the ongoing benefit of the Common Core is an essential strategy for implementation. This toolkit provides a structure and suggestions for engaging key stakeholders in support of implementation. However, since implementation will vary widely from state to state, this toolkit is designed to help states and their representatives to use their own facts to continue advocating for the standards while sharing consistent messages.
Many of these outreach tasks will be handled by different staff throughout state education agencies (SEAs). For example, your communications office will likely serve as the point of contact for press outreach, while your government relations department will likely manage outreach to legislators and other government officials. While the messengers may be different, the messages should be consistent. We recommend that you consider forming a
team of SEA staff to coordinate communications around implementation of the Common Core in order to be intentional and strategic about communications coming from the state.
This toolkit includes talking points and messaging for key audiences, frequently asked questions (FAQ), draft materials such as blog posts and opinion pieces, and how-to guides for communications outreach. It is not meant to be a list of rigid requirements, but rather a menu that allows states to pick which options will be most effective with their unique target audiences. It is meant to be a plug-and-play communications guide that can be utilized and adapted to support and bolster each state’s unique efforts.