Goals: In communication push, Acton schools hire a P.R. firm
John Guilfoil Public Relations will be paid $23,999 for the 2025-26 school year.
Acton schools have hired John Guilfoil Public Relations to help administrators improve external communications.
The move is part of a concerted effort between Superintendent Laurie Hunter and the local and regional school committees as outlined in strategic school year goals presented at an August 20 meeting.
“The part we’re struggling with is reaching the community at large; we’ve all been talking about that,” Hunter said.
Chief Information Officer Tom Lucey said the Groveland-based public relations firm was selected through competitive bidding and will be paid $23,999 for the 2025-26 school year.
The firm, which refers to itself as JGPR, works for municipalities, school systems, and public safety agencies.
“We support our clients by creating consistent messaging, following FEMA’s rule of 95 percent positive coverage,” its website says.
The hire comes after nearly two months of community outcry and discussion of allegations of rampant antisemitism in Acton public schools described in a legal brief filed by the Anti-Defamation League, the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, and the Mayer Brown law firm.
At the August 20 meeting, Hunter and Acton’s school committees outlined their respective goals, with one salient overlapping objective for the new school year: better communication.
Hunter’s communication goals include completing and distributing the “Story of Schools” handout, developing an action plan with Lucey and the P.R. firm, expanding use of social media, and improving the process for creating and distributing press releases.
In an email to The Acton Bridge, Hunter said her goals reflect the need for “closing the achievement gaps while supporting the well-being needs of adults and children” in the schools.
Hunter’s other goals for the year encompass equity, rigorous curriculum, and wider access to high-level classes; by contrast, the regional school committee wants to scale back its objectives to simplify things for its new members.
Varied objectives
Hunter presented eight sections of goals at the meeting.
“This is probably one of the most robust and academically focused sets of goals I’ve written,” she said.
Hunter’s aims for the upcoming school year include:
- Launching a K-5 English literacy program
- Starting an AP English course for fall 2026
- Implementing an antisemitism action plan
- Starting a five-year curriculum review cycle, and
- Finishing Phase 2 of the new Acton Middle School.
The Acton-Carlisle Regional School Committee is taking a more measured approach this year compared with last, narrowing its focus to core policies: budget oversight, reviewing policy, and improving communication with the wider community.
“I think last year, in reflection, was only my first year in the committee, but we had a lot of goals and we accomplished a lot of work,” Andrew Herchek, chair of the Acton School Committee, said.
“We have a lot of new committee members this year, so Tracey and I were talking about bringing a back-to-basics mentality this year,” he said, referring to regional committee Chair Tracey Marano.
Goals include finishing work started last year, such as completing a new cellphone policy in the high school, reviewing graduation requirements, and adding an AI policy to the student handbook.
‘No silver bullet’
On the communication front, the School Committee hopes to provide monthly stories for the district bulletin, school newsletters, and newspapers. It also has a specific goal of working better with the town’s Select Board and Finance Committee.
“There is no silver bullet on how to do [communication] perfectly,” Herchek said at last Wednesday’s meeting. “But we need to get better as a committee in doing that.”
In an email to The Bridge, Marano said the pullback to core goals does not mean a lesser passion for Acton’s students.
“Our work on the School Committee is always about students. Whether setting policy, evaluating the superintendent, or proposing a budget to the town, we do so with a focus on student wellness and success,” she said.
The committee was expected to approve its goals at its meeting on August 27.
