Passing the test: Lessons from a school district's discourse of renewal before, during and after Hurricane Harvey

This case study tests the frameworks of the discourse of renewal theory and social legitimacy theory through an examination of the Fort Bend Independent School District's (Texas) communication strategies and tactics before, during and after Hurricane Harvey struck the Houston area in 2017. A focus of this case study is one characteristic of the discourse of renewal theory: the showcasing of leaders as "instrumental forces for renewal and overcoming crises" (Ulmer, Seeger & Sellnow, 2007, pp. 131-132), especially related to messages by the district's superintendent. Both the superintendent's and Fort Bend ISD's communication efforts aligned with the tenets of renewal discourse and social legitimacy theory, with empathy an ingredient in many messages. Another important finding of this study is that the district used a discourse of renewal before, during, and after the storm, and not simply as a post-crisis strategy. Overall, this strategy may have played a role in the district's organizational resilience-as shown through its sustained enrolment and continuing leadership team-after the second-costliest hurricane in U.S. history.