The frequent robocalls led to the nickname “Uncle Brent” for Campbell

That changed during COVID-19, when those pre-recorded robocalls provided the local school community with critical information about ever-changing masking protocols, distance learning, hybrid programs and reopening plans during a time of massive disruption.

As the school district’s chief spokesman, Brent Campbell provided the soothing voice for most of those robocalls, which happened with such regularity that people came to depend on them, just as a staff member would trusted family member who would have called to check on them.

To many people, Campbell became “Uncle Brent.”

“It was comical, really,” Campbell said of the nicknames. “I’ve been in a grocery store and I’ve been talking to someone about something and they’ll say, ‘I know your voice.’ And it turns into, “Oh, that’s you.” I didn’t expect that at all.”

Campbell will leave the school district Wednesday, eight years after taking over as the school district’s chief program officer. That role evolved into chief communications and external relations officer under former Superintendent Angela Hairston.

Campbell returns to Arbor Acres, where he served as a marketing specialist before coming to the school district in 2016. In his new role, Campbell will serve as the retirement community’s chief marketing officer.

“It felt like for me personally, a big next step. And knowing how fantastic that place is, I felt like that was an added benefit,” said Campbell, who added that he wasn’t looking for a new job until he learned of an opening at Arbor Acres.

School communications across the country have changed dramatically in the eight years since Campbell started with the school district.

While the robocall remains an important communication tool, social media, mobile apps, videos, podcasts and the school district’s website also disseminate important information.

“At that time, obviously, social media was alive and well (when he took the job), but it hadn’t taken the place it has now in terms of one of the main sources of media,” Campbell said, noting that the Page of The school district’s Facebook page has more than 70,000 followers.

But when it comes to staying connected during COVID, nothing has been as effective locally as Campbell’s daily robocall.

“It was a time of uncertainty and information overload in some ways, and you weren’t sure what information to listen to and where to get it,” Campbell reflected. “We have tried to be a solid and consistent single voice for schools. And I thought people depended on that, that consistency. So we started making phone calls every day with a different update, and people got used to it and depended on it.”

The calls became such a presence in people’s lives that a Fans of Brent Campbell page was created on Facebook, where people created memes and posted pictures of themselves with him. The school district role, he said with a laugh, brought him more recognition than his time as a news reporter at WGHP/Fox 8.

“People were kind and generous and had fun with the phone calls,” he said. “He was never mean.”

Superintendent Tricia McManus said school district staff initially didn’t realize how people came to rely on those messages.

“It was just, ‘What do we have to tell the parents?'” she said. “But people have come to expect it and appreciate it in a time of uncertainty. It provided some stability. It was “Oh, we’re going to get that call from Brent.”

One of Campbell’s most challenging days was Sept. 1, 2021, when a student at Mount Tabor High School shot another student on school grounds. Rumors, most of them off base, spread quickly that day, and reunion plans fluctuated as parents waited for hours in a mall parking lot.

“My struggle is always wanting our parents to hear from us first, and in that situation, when things were changing so quickly and publicly and people were on social media and texting, the news traveled so fast that it was hard to I’m the first voice, so it was a struggle,” he said. “We were trying to make sure our voice got through all the noise and rumors, and then law enforcement had things the community should know.”

The incident prompted the communications team to revamp the way it handles crisis situations, he said.

The son of educators, Campbell said he will miss the people in the school district and hopes to stay involved.

“You don’t see that kind of passion in some of the other roles I’ve played. People in education have a real passion and love for children,” he said.

Campbell’s departure comes at a time when the school district will need clear messaging on some big, looming issues, including a new strategic plan that acts as a kind of guiding document for the district; and a possible change in participation areas to improve diversity.

“It’s going to be critical to promote the district and really tell our stories as charters, private schools and vouchers continue to grow,” he said.