Communications
The communications team is skilled in helping Petal schools determine the best way to deliver important school messages, news and events to parents, students, teachers and the Petal community.
- Branding & Logo Usage
- Emergency Communications
- Media Relations Guidelines & Policies
- Severe Weather & School Closing
- Social Media Guidelines
Branding & Logo Usage
We are dedicated to showcasing a consistent, positive image of the Petal School District across all schools, programs, and activities. Every message—whether in academics, athletics, or extracurriculars—reflects the pride and excellence of our district.
To maintain a unified and professional brand, we ask that everyone follow our district branding guidelines, including the proper use of our official logos, colors, and fonts.
If you wish to use our logo, please complete the form below. A member of our communications team will reach out to you to confirm approval or denial. Upon approval, we will provide requested logos and style guidelines.
Official Fonts & Colors
- Official Petal School District Fonts
- Noto Serif
- Open Sans
- Hex Code: #da291c
- Pantone: 485 C
- RGB: (218, 41, 28)
- CMYK: (0, 81, 87, 15)
- Hex Code: #FFFFFF
- Pantone: 000 C
- RGB: (255, 255, 255)
- CMYK: (0, 0, 0, 0)
- Hex Code: #000000
- Pantone: 6 C
- RGB: (0, 0, 0)
- CMYK: (0, 0, 0, 100)
Extended Colors
- Hex Code: #d9d9d9
- Pantone: Cool Gray 1C
- RGB: (217, 217, 217)
- CMYK: (0, 0, 0, 14.5)
- Hex Code: #d9d9d9
- Pantone: Cool Gray 10 C
- RGB: (166, 166, 166)
- CMYK: (0, 0, 0, 35)
- Hex Code: #737373
- Pantone: 424 C
- RGB: (115, 115, 115)
- CMYK: (0, 0, 0, 55)
Logo Use Request
* Required
Emergency Communications
In the event of an emergency, PSD uses multiple communication tools to keep parents and guardians informed. These include:
- The district website
- Official social media accounts
- SchoolStatus (text messages, email, voice calling)
- Local news media (when necessary)
All emergency communications are coordinated at the district level to ensure consistent and accurate messaging across all campuses.
While every situation is different and events can unfold quickly, we will do our best to keep families updated, especially regarding early or delayed dismissals, transportation changes and any impact to the school day.
The Standard Response Protocol (SRP): What is it?
The Petal School District has adopted the Standard Response Protocol (SRP) developed by the "I Love U Guys" Foundation, joining more than 40,000 schools, districts and organizations nationwide committed to improving emergency communication and response.
SRP standardizes the vocabulary used during emergency situations—helping students, staff, families and first responders quickly understand how to respond in a crisis. This common language increases safety and reduces confusion during high-stress situations.
SRP was developed in collaboration with school administrators, mental health professionals, public safety experts, families and first responders. It is grounded in both research and real-world experience.
Our students and staff regularly train, practice and drill the SRP to ensure they are prepared to respond quickly and safely. The five standard actions used in SRP are: Hold, Secure, Lockdown, Evacuate, and Shelter—each with clear instructions and expectations.
The strength of SRP lies in its simplicity—people of all ages can easily understand and reinforce the actions, helping everyone respond quickly and effectively in any situation.
HOLD
- There are situations that require students and staff to remain in their classrooms or stay out of access areas
- Hold is followed by the Directive: “In Your Room or Area.”
- The following are some examples of when a school might call for Hold:
- An altercation in a hallway;
- A medical issue that needs attention;
- Unfinished maintenance operation in a common area during class changes.
SECURE
- The Secure Action is called when there is a threat or hazard outside of the school building.
- Secure is followed by the Directive: “Get Inside. Lock Outside Doors.”
- The following are some examples of when a school might call for Secure:
- An unknown or unauthorized person on the grounds;
- Dangerous animal on or near the grounds;
- Criminal activity in the area;
- Planned police activity in the neighborhood.
LOCKDOWN
- Lockdown is called when there is a threat or hazard inside the school building.
- Lockdown is followed by the Directive: “Locks, Lights, Out of Sight.”
- The following are some examples of when a school might call for Lockdown:
- Dangerous animal within a school building;
- Intruder;
- An angry or violent parent or student;
- Report of a weapon;
- Active assailant.
EVACUATE
- Evacuate is called when there is a need to move people from one location to another for safety reasons.
- Evacuate is followed by the Directive: “Evacuate! To a location."
- Ex: "Evacuate to the flag pole!"
- The following are some examples of when a school might call for Evacuate:
- Power outage;
- Fire;
- Gas leak or hazmat situation;
- Violent threat or action;
- Water leak or pipe burst.
SHELTER
- Shelter is called when specific protective actions are needed based on a threat or hazard.
- Shelter is followed by the Directive: Shelter! For a hazard. Using safety strategy."
- ex: "Shelter for a Tornado! Go to the tornado shelter."
- The following are some examples of when a school might call for Hazards:
- Tornado;
- Severe weather;
- Wildfires;
- Flooding;
- Hazmat spill or release;
- Earthquake.
Media Relations Guidelines & Policies
The Petal School District recognizes the responsibility of the news media to provide accurate and timely information to the community concerning issues and events that occur in our schools. While we are committed to cooperating with the news media request for access to our schools and students, we are also obligated to protect the privacy of students and employees. To help facilitate media requests, we ask the media to use the following information as a guide for media information.
- Media Inquiries
- Any news story relating to the following topics should be coordinated through the Communications Office by contacting Abi Lott.
- Interview requests with Central Office/District staff, administrators, teachers or students
- District school policies and procedures, Board of Trustees
- Personnel issues (i.e., new coach hires or issues involving school personnel)
- Programs, initiatives or events relating to arts, academics or athletics (for example, athletic department changes, school fundraisers for a band trip, etc.)
- Inquiries about specific students in the Petal School District
- Crisis or breaking news regarding any school within the Petal School District.
- Any news story relating to the following topics should be coordinated through the Communications Office by contacting Abi Lott.
PSD ensures the protection of student/employee privacy and will not release any information that may reveal a student’s identity, respect the privacy of its teachers and employees and will not release any personal or personnel-related information unless required by law; not comment on any case that is before the courts; and refer all questions related to police investigations to proper authority.
In accordance with Board Policy KBB: Media Access to School Campuses.
Severe Weather & School Closing
At Petal School District (PSD), the safety of our students and staff is our highest priority. We are committed to maintaining a secure and supportive learning environment every day of the 180-day school year. Schools will only be closed when conditions prevent us from safely operating or when travel becomes hazardous for students and staff. School closures are always a last resort.
Unless you receive official communication directly from PSD, please assume that school will be in session as scheduled. All communications about school closures will come from one of our official platforms, which include: SchoolStatus, official social media platforms and our school website.
To find out more about how school closures due to weather, please watch our weather episode of Dillon's Deep Dive!
Social Media Guidelines
Petal School District (PSD) welcomes interaction on our social media platforms. However, comments do not reflect the views of PSD, and individuals are solely responsible for their own posts.
While we do not discriminate against viewpoints, we reserve the right to remove comments or ban users. Comments will not be edited—only deleted in full. Reasons for removal include:
- Abusive, vulgar, obscene, racist, threatening or harassing comments made in the direction of others
- Libel, slander or personal attacks of any kind, including the use of offensive terms or slurs that target specific individuals or groups
- Spam, including content that promotes products or services or contains gratuitous links
- Makes unsupported accusations towards district employees, students or other parents
- Comments that suggest or encourage illegal, dangerous or destructive activity
- Vulgar or obscene language
- Duplicate posts
- Clearly off-topic
- Political campaigning
- Misrepresentation/misinformation of PSD
- Posing as PSD
- Fake/duplicate accounts
- Comments using the names of students/staff that contain information that could violate FERPA guidelines.