Communications

Crown Point Community School Corporation recognizes the importance and benefit of positive relationships with the media. We strive to ensure that media coverage is an accurate reflection of our students, staff, and official position and does not disrupt the education process.

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

INTERVIEWS

• Media who want to film, photograph, or interview Crown Point School Corporation employees, students, or board members should place a request via the director of communications at 219-663-3371 ext. 10241.
  • The exception to this is athletic commentary from coaches and athletic staff regarding upcoming or recent sporting events.
• For scheduled interviews, questions should be sent in advance via email to the director of communications at ballen@cps.k12.in.us.
• After school events that are open to the general public are also open to the media and do not require prior arrangements. Events during school hours DO require an appointment.
  • The exception is graduation. Please inform our director of communications if you plan to attend graduation. Only one member of each media team is allowed on the field and must remain on the running track.

SCHOOL VISITS

If a media member would like to visit a school, it should be arranged through the director of communications. Be prepared to show a photo ID and identification from your organization upon arrival. Visits during the school day may have limitations due to instruction, standardized testing, or other events. You will be accompanied during your visit by the director of communications or another corporation representative.

FERPA

Crown Point School Corporation abides by 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 director of communications whether that student/parent has opted out of releasing directory information.

BOARD MEETINGS

The media are invited and encouraged to attend all open meetings of the Crown Point 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 work to supply timely information to the media through a spokesperson, written releases, or a news briefing. During an emergency, media will not be permitted inside affected school building(s). Media will be assigned to a designated area that does not interfere with emergency response activities. The scope of information shared is determined by the ongoing response to the emergency, conflicts with privacy laws, the well-being of students or staff, or the concerns of families.

FOIA

Crown Point School Corporation cooperates with members of the media or public who request documents under FOIA (Freedom of Information Act). FOIA inquiries should be emailed to Art Equihua at equihua@cps.k12.in.us

Crown Point Community School Corporation uses social media as a communication tool to share information and news about the district and our schools. Pages are maintained and moderated by either the director of communications, school staff, or coaches.

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

• Content unrelated to the corporation or post itself
• Personal attacks on staff members or other users on the page
• Information related to personnel matters [community members are expected to address issues according to board policy 9130]
• Foul language (profane or provocative; hateful, racially or ethnically offensive, or derogatory; threats; obscene or sexually explicit)
• “Trolling” (deliberately 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
• Copyrighted materials
• Political information or campaign materials 

Users who continually violate these guidelines will be banned or blocked from the social media page/account and may be reported to the social media platform.

Should you have questions or concerns about a CPCSC social media account, please direct your inquiry via email to Brooke Allen, Director of Communications, at ballen@cps.k12.in.us.

Crown Point Community School Corporation considers requests for promoting community youth activities and organizations. We do not distribute paper flyers/promotional materials, post signage, share contact information, or use district social media to promote community organizations.

• Interested organizations must complete the form below to apply.
• Requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis and evaluated based on profit status, organizational relationship with the district, location, mission and interest to parents/students. We only accept flyers from non-profit organizations.
• Flyers must be uploaded by Wednesday afternoon in order to be considered for distribution the following week.
• Organizations may only display one flyer at a time. If you have multiple events/info, please only submit the most important one.
• Approved flyers will be posted on the “News” website page of schools whose students match the intended audience of the flyer’s information. They will be displayed until an event is concluded, or for a maximum of two weeks.