Communications Department

The role of the communications department is to create and maintain proactive, timely, and positive communications with our school corporation, which includes: our staff, students, parents, the community, and the media.

Technology is everywhere nowadays through smartphones, tablets, computers, the internet, smart devices, the list goes on! When it comes to a school district, we have our teachers, administrators, principals, cafeteria workers, custodians, etc. But who interacts directly with the parents and the community?

The communications department was designed to fill a communication gap that has been identified nationwide between school districts, parents/guardians, and communities. Hanover’s communications department was instituted to bridge the gap between Hanover Schools, parents/guardians, and residents of the Hanover community in March 2015. It acts as a new channel for showing student accomplishments, education programming, individual school and classroom activities, teacher excellence, and corporate information.

We provide easy to understand content directly to parents and the community through different methods of communication. Hanover schools have Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts.

The Superintendent of Hanover Schools and the Hanover School Board have chosen to move Hanover schools forward and become one of the most open and engaging school districts in Northwest Indiana. The communications department also pushes out an e-newsletter once a month to keep the public informed of the highlights happening in our schools each month.

Please contact our Public Information Officer at pio@hanover.k12.in.us if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.

Hanover Community School Corporation considers requests for community activities and organizations that are of interest and benefit to our students and families. All flyers must receive approval through the Superintendent's office.

In order for community organizations to be posted on social media, please reach out to our Public Information Officer for approval at kimmooney@hanover.k12.in.us.

Hanover Community School Corporation sees the importance of having a positive relationship with the media. Our goal is to ensure that media coverage is an accurate representation of our school corporation without disrupting the education process.

To provide timely and accurate communication between the district and media, we ask for cooperation with the following forms of communication.

INTERVIEWS

-   Media who want to film, photograph, or interview anyone from the Hanover Community School Corporation including: students, staff, board members, or administration, should place a request with our Public Information Officer at kimmooney@hanover.k12.in.us.

-   The exception to this is athletic comments or questions from coaches regarding past, present, or future sporting events.

-   For scheduled interviews, questions should be sent in advance to the Public Information Officer at kimmooney@hanover.k12.in.us.

-   After-school events that are open to the general public are open to the media and do not require arrangements to be made in advance. Events during school hours DO require an appointment.

-   The exception is graduation. Please inform our Public Information Officer if you plan to attend graduation. Only one member of each media team is allowed at the event.

SCHOOL VISITS

If a media member would like to visit a school, it should be arranged through the Public Information Officer. Photo ID and identification from your organization is required upon arrival. Visits during the school day may have restrictions. You will be escorted during your visit by a staff member during the entirety of your visit.

FERPA

Hanover Community School Corporation follows the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Students and parents are able to opt out of the release of information, including photographs, at the time of student registration. Before using a film, photo, or interview, check with the Public Information Officer to determine whether that student/parent has opted out of releasing information.

BOARD MEETINGS

The media are invited and encouraged to attend all open meetings of the Hanover Community School Board. To minimize disruption, we ask that interviews of parents, staff, board members, or other participants be conducted in the hallway outside the board room or in a pre-arranged space. Copies of board agendas, minutes, and other meeting materials are available on the corporation’s website.

EMERGENCIES

In an emergency, the corporation will release timely information through our website, social media, and our all call/email system. During an emergency, the media will not be permitted inside the affected school building(s). Media will be assigned to a designated area that does not interfere with emergency first responders.

Hanover Community School Corporation uses social media to provide timely communication and to share the great things happening in the district on a daily basis. Pages are maintained and moderated by our Public Information Officer.

We encourage civil and thoughtful dialogue about corporation matters on social media. HCSC will not remove social media comments simply because of disagreement with the school's viewpoints and/or criticism of the corporation. However, we reserve the right to delete comments that contain:

-   Content that has nothing to do with the corporation or the post itself

-   Personal attacks on teachers, students, staff, or other users on the page

-   Foul language including comments that are inappropriate, hateful, racially or ethnically offensive, threatening, or sexually explicit.

-   “Trolling” (offensive or provocative comments with the aim of upsetting someone or eliciting angry responses)

-   Spam or the intent to sell a product or service

-   Links to external sources that are not related to the corporation or the post itself

-   Copyrighted materials

-   Political information or campaign materials

-   Users that do not have students in the district or have no relation to the district

Users who continue to violate these guidelines will be banned and/or blocked from the social media page(s) and may be reported to the social media platform(s).

Should you have questions or concerns about the HCSC social media accounts, please direct your inquiry via email to Kim Mooney, Public Information Officer at kimmooney@hanover.k12.in.us.