All About Let's Talk

Let’s Talk! is a two-way, online customer service solution that instantly connects our educational community to Palo Alto Unified School District decision makers. While phone calls, emails, and in-person meetings remain a critical part of our engagement strategy, Let’s Talk! offers a higher level of connectivity and accountability than these traditional forms of communication. It ensures that our parents, employees, students, and community members can
engage with us at their convenience.

We currently have over 150 role-based email accounts in use for various purposes in addition to several feedback forms spread across various platforms. While individually each one of these feedback mechanisms made sense at the time of creation, the volume and distributed management has created a situation that is frustrating for both the individuals trying to reach us as well as staff members making their best efforts to respond diligently through the various platforms and accounts.

Our goals for the three year pilot of Let's Talk! will be:

1. Consolidate the existing feedback mechanisms into a coherent, consistent system that is accessible to the community.
2. Measure and report on the operational metrics and efficiencies of processing feedback.

Let’s Talk! was developed by K12 Insight. The company, based in Herndon, Virginia, works with more than 30,000 school administrators nationwide to strengthen the relationships that power education. Its custom solutions combine technology, research, and education expertise to help district leaders build trust and drive positive change in their communities.

Let’s Talk! promotes honest conversations and drives action by facilitating an open dialogue between district leaders and our stakeholders. With Let’s Talk!, we can streamline communication, spot potential crises before they happen, and build stronger relationships with our entire community. Offering Let’s Talk! means we are committed to leading by listening.

Let’s Talk! is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week from any computer, tablet, or smartphone.

When you submit a comment or question via Let’s Talk!, the system automatically routes it to the appropriate staff member for follow-up. You may remain anonymous or leave your contact information to receive a personal response.

The system also allows the district to measure and track emails, phone calls, and in-person meetings. A separate mobile app ensures that administrators can stay connected to the community. Administrators have access to an interactive dashboard that highlights common themes, average staff response times, and overall community satisfaction, turning each interaction into an opportunity for improvement.

The district is using Let’s Talk! to open lines of communication between community members and district leaders. Our hope is to hear from more people about important district issues so we can continue to provide a high-quality education and a safe learning environment for all our students.

Let’s Talk! enables us to continuously take the pulse of our educational community. It helps us consider and understand stakeholder views, while streamlining district communications, lightening employee workloads, and improving our customer service.

Instead of one person answering an email, another returning a phone message, and a third addressing an online comment, employees can collaborate to deliver a single, seamless response. In addition, the tracking feature of Let’s Talk! shows all submissions and who is responding to different dialogues to avoid duplication of effort.

K12 Insight’s training emphasizes that every incoming dialogue is a single viewpoint. If there are complaints about an individual, the district will follow the same investigative process it would if it received a phone call, email, or any other communication.

We understand that some people might be hesitant to provide their name when leaving feedback. The anonymity feature lets community members leave comments and questions without fear of repercussion. The anonymity of Let’s Talk! is no different than the anonymity of a phone call, email, or blog post. Please note that if you chose to remain anonymous, we are unable to contact you for additional information or clarification, nor can we inform you of any action we may take on this issue.

No. District leaders will learn a person’s identity only if it is revealed in the written text. Technology identifiers, such as a computer IP address, are recorded to prevent abuse of the system, but they are available only to K12 Insight. No one in the district can access that information.