Thirteen crises. Nine days. One communications professional.

When Adelle Wellens walked into work one September morning in 2024, she had no idea she was about to face the most challenging stretch of her career. As the solo communications officer for Duluth Public Schools’ 8,700 students, she was used to juggling multiple priorities. But nothing could have prepared her for what was coming.

A firearm incident at a football game. Multiple bus accidents. A parent forcing their way onto buses… twice. Threats to a school because of a Facebook post. 

And just when she thought things couldn’t get more intense, an SUV crashed into an elementary school gymnasium!

If you work in school PR, you know that sinking feeling when emergencies arise. Your phone won’t stop buzzing. Emails are flooding in. Social media comments are spiraling. Reporters are waiting for a comment. And somewhere in between, you still need to get that newsletter out and post those first-day-of-school photos!

But you know what? You can handle this. By reading Adelle’s story and taking notes on her proven strategies, you’ll discover practical tools that work when you-know-what hits the fan. 

Let’s dive into real stories and real solutions from someone who’s been in the trenches! Adelle joined me on a recent episode of Mastering Social Media for Schools to talk all about those infamous nine days. 

What Happened at Duluth Public Schools? 

Adele Wellins was a journalist for 11 years, covering Duluth Public Schools as part of her responsibilities. In 2022, the district hired her as its Communications Officer. She now handles crisis communication, social media, district communications, and the website. 

All of this as a one-person #SchoolPR shop!

With such solid experience under her belt, Adelle’s adept handling of the crises in 2024 shouldn’t come as a surprise. Here’s what she had to say about those chaotic nine days: 

Those nine days were the first nine days of school. We were trying to get back into the rhythm – doing the fun photos and videos of kindergarteners and kids coming back. Unfortunately, I had a lot of other things going on.

We had bus accidents. We had vans getting into accidents. We had parents cutting off buses and forcing their way on – twice, the same parent. 

We also had to do a lockdown; our first one in years!

In fact, I was sitting in a room with a news reporter, and she asked me, ‘When’s the last time you had to have a lockdown?’ We said, ‘Oh, it’s been a couple years.’ Then I get the text – our whole crisis team gets the text – that we were in a lockdown at one of our schools.

We also had a gun dropped at a football game on a Friday night. But it didn’t go off and no one was hurt. The person was clearly embarrassed, picked up their gun, and left.

It all ended on Friday the 13th with an SUV running into the wall of one of our elementary gymnasiums. And we lucked out; if it had hit the wall 10 minutes sooner, there would have been kids in that gym. Ten minutes later, there would have been kids in that gym. Thankfully, there was no one in the gym.

Solid Systems at the Foundation

Adelle’s job would have been a lot more difficult if she hadn’t already had some plans in place. 

We had just implemented the I Love U Guys Standard Response Protocol, so we had that in place for situations like holds or secures. I had templates for quite a few of these scenarios.

Obviously, I didn’t have a template for the first time a parent cut off a bus and forced her way on, but I definitely had one the second time! That’s a tip: Always keep everything you write, because you never know when you’re going to need it again.

One of our elementary schools experienced a water main break, and that water main had broken two years earlier. When the principal called me – this was her first year – I had already pulled up the former communication. I asked, ‘Is it at this corner of the building on this street?’ She said, ‘Yeah, how did you know?’ I told her it had already happened, so I’d just update it for today.

I also already had experience dealing with medical holds and secures, which are situations where there’s police activity outside the building. That meant I had templates ready to go.

Talk about preparing for the unexpected! I love Adelle’s advice about hanging onto everything you write. You never know when a previous communication (email, press release, even social media post) could come in handy in a time-sensitive situation. 

Social Media Protocol for Crisis Situations

Anytime you’re facing an emergency situation, it’s important to keep a cool head. Contrary to popular belief – and perhaps the belief of your leadership team – not everything belongs on social media.

Just because you can post something on social media doesn’t mean you should. Your crisis communication strategy should prioritize direct, controlled channels whenever possible. In some cases, you might even stop posting normal content for a period of time!

Here are some more helpful tips on this topic:

Direct Communication First

• Always use your district’s messaging system for crisis updates
• This ensures 100% parent/guardian reach
• Don’t rely on social media as your primary crisis tool
• Remember: Not everyone sees every social post

Pause Before Posting

• Keep most crisis communications off social media
• Reserve social channels primarily for celebrations
• Consider using social only when:
  • Direct communication systems fail
  • A community-wide message is needed
  • Benefits outweigh the risk of outside commentary

Monitor Posts Carefully

• Assign a dedicated person to watch comments
• Enable notifications for real-time monitoring
• Be prepared to manage the discussion
• Consider adjusting comment settings if needed

Adelle’s tried-and-true experiences reflect this advice. 

“Most of the crises – minus the car going into the building – we kept off social media because they’re very small and specific to one school or one bus. In the case of the van, there were only two students involved.”

Strong Relationships Make All the Difference

With the incident that did go out on social media, Adelle’s approach is brilliant! Check out how she worked with community officials and local residents to keep the messaging under control.

I work closely with local public information officers – the fire department, police, and the city. All three of those women called me and asked if there was anything they could do to help. When the police public information officer, Mattie, called, she said she was putting a press release together and asked if I wanted to add a statement. They know I’m by myself.

She typed up the statement as I read it to her over the phone, and I asked her to make it a collaboration post on social media so it would appear on both of our Facebook pages. That was really helpful because people were getting updates through the police department and our district at the same time.

Knowing “who’s who” in your community is clearly very important. Can you imagine picking up the phone and calling some of these departments for the very first time, during a crisis? 

In this same situation, Adelle also recognized that she needed to work with local neighbors who had witnessed the incident or its aftermath. 

We asked people to stay on the sidewalk. We also went around to people taking photos and said, ‘You’re welcome to take photos, but please don’t post them on social media for a couple of hours. We’re still communicating with families and determining whether the building is safe.’

The neighbors were great. These were people who lived nearby, and they were willing to hold off on posting. They kept the photos to themselves or in private text chains.

We always remind our staff of that as well, so being able to say it felt normal. I didn’t see a single photo of the accident on social media until the car had already been removed from the building. It was really great that people respected our wishes and didn’t post photos until parents were fully informed.

This strategy gave Adelle time to communicate with families that the building, gym, and cafeteria were safe (though the gym would be closed), and that the school pickup procedures were going to be slightly changed. 

“Schools are part of neighborhoods. Someone always knows someone whose kid goes to that school. Being able to explain that we want parents to hear from us first, and that we don’t want to chase rumors, really helps.”

When a media outlet posted misinformation about the school district, Adelle received many texts about it. These relationships – people in your school and wider community who know that you are the communications leader – are so important! You don’t have to have your eyes on everything, all by yourself, when you have people in your corner.

Monitoring Comments on Social Media

Managing social media can be more than a full-time job! Today’s elevated political climate, not to mention any localized sensitivities, is inevitably going to make certain posts more “controversial” than others. 

Adelle had some structures in place, but she needed further specialized support. That’s when her membership in the Social Media Crew for Schools came to the rescue. 

She already had a CSV of “bad words” uploaded to all her school’s Facebook pages. This is a list of about 400 words that can be automatically hidden. 

While Adelle doesn’t turn off social media comments entirely (most schools don’t) as the district’s policy allows comments, she did create parameters so problematic comments are automatically hidden. Our group helped her hone in on more advanced moderation techniques, including: 

• Hiding comments from people without profile photos, friends, or followers. 
• Restricting comments to people in the United States and Canada. 
• Updating the “bad words” list to hide hateful comments.
• Changing the setting so only people who had followed the page for 24 hours could comment.
• Disabled the ability to post images and links in the comments.

Adelle shared that these comment moderation guidelines come in especially handy during holidays that are touchy for some people.

“If I know something might be controversial – like posts about holidays or heritage months – I prepare for that. We don’t shy away from diversity, equity, and inclusion. But ultimately, we owe it to students and staff to keep them safe. If they’re being attacked or threatened online, we need to protect them.”

Posts regarding Pride Month, Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and Black History Month have, unfortunately, triggered hateful comments from people on the Duluth Schools pages. Adelle posts boldly while still keeping things kind. 

“If your district posts about these now-polarized holidays, don’t shy away. I get far more positive feedback than negative. Don’t let the negative outweigh the positive. Always check where comments are coming from – it’s usually not your community.”

Engaging with commenters outside your community will unnecessarily eat up your bandwidth. That’s where moderation tools (and working with your legal team) really help. You can even go back and adjust comment settings on individual posts when needed, to help protect your sanity and your students!

Moving Forward with Confidence

I hope you’ve learned from Adelle’s experiences that crisis management isn’t just about surviving in the moment. It’s about building systems that help you thrive in challenging situations. Adelle has taught us that with the right preparation, strong community relationships, and proper moderation guidelines, even a solo communicator can handle multiple crises effectively!

Did you know that our #SocialSchool4EDU Membership Program provides crucial guidance during challenging situations? From advanced social media moderation techniques to crisis communication templates, having access to tested solutions and a community of experienced school communicators is worth its weight in gold!

Build your crisis management toolkit and hone your skills by joining our membership community today. You’ll get instant access to resources, templates, and a network of school communicators who understand exactly what you’re facing. 

When a crisis hits, you shouldn’t have to face it alone!