Lake Oconee Academy is making progress toward improving its transparency and communication with stakeholders.
LOA’s Board of Governors discussed communication updates during its first meeting of the year on Jan. 6.
According to the board, each school level publishes monthly newsletters, some with even more frequency. Teachers also regularly send out announcements on ParentSquare. “Enlightened Titan newsletters are also sent to teachers regularly, and a board newsletter is sent to families each month.
Board member Jennifer Vaughan highlighted the BOG newsletter as a way for parents to learn what is discussed at the monthly meetings without attending.
“We don’t want them to have to go to the meeting for us to communicate,” she explained. “We just feel like it’s a one-stop-shop to kind of cover the bases for all the things going on, and let them know that we’re available also to communicate with if they have any questions or concerns.”
She praised the board for improving its communication — both digitally and at meetings.
“I feel like we’ve upped the communication quite a bit over the last year,” Vaughan said. “I feel like it’s been better and more transparent. I’ve been on the board since 2022, and in the last year, we’ve been way more transparent than we were when I first started.
“When I first started, I sat in my first meeting, and I remember going, ‘What just happened?’ I didn’t know what just happened, and we didn’t talk about anything,” continued Vaughan. “So, we’re trying to talk about issues in front of people who come to the meeting, also, so they understand, that as a board, we’re not just having Brad come in and say, ‘This is what we’re going to do,’ and we’re stamping it. We’re asking questions of [families], we’re asking questions of him, and making sure that the teachers understand that we want to hold them accountable.”
LOA’s executive director, Dr. Brad Bowling, echoed Vaughan’s comments and noted the critical need for transparency.
“One of my favorite things to tell my staff is, ‘You know, if you don’t communicate and you’re not transparent, then the narrative will be created outside of what’s really going on,’” said Bowling. “I think we need to continue to get our information out so that other narratives don’t take root, which are simply not factual or based on really what’s going on. I think we have made a lot of progress.”
Bowling provided updates on future plans to foster strategic communication.
According to Bowling, school leaders currently distribute climate surveys, but also want to implement surveys about strategic plan initiatives. LOA leaders are already planning to include a dashboard on the school website, so families can check the state of the school in comparison to the strategic plan, board member Sarah Peacock said.
Bowling suggested that LOA hire a public relations or family engagement specialist to help with strategic communication in the future.
In other busines, the board saw some leadership changes to kick off 2025.
The board welcomed Matt Waterfield to replace Kristina Jaskyte Bahr, who resigned in December.
A change in positions was also approved as Dick Schmidt stepped down as secretary to remain on board in a general capacity.
For 2025, Michael Tompkins will be chair, Jennifer Vaughan will be vice chair, Sarah Peacock will be treasurer, and Kelly Brolly will be secretary.