1. education
2. school

PREXPRESS
A Communication Service for Iowa Schools
Sample Issue
Download a full sample issue at www.ia-sb.org, including:
Reporting on board activities
(full Tip Sheet enclosed)
There is no question that the actions of a school board
significantly impact a school district. Board decisions
directly affect lives of staff members, students and
parents. By making a few simple changes to the way
you present member reports during board meetings
and the way each board meeting is subsequently
reported to employees and to others in the community,
you can significantly improve public understanding
of the scope of your work and how it impacts board
decisions.
Communicating boundary change
Although massive boundary change will never be
completely without conflict, there are ways to ease
the tension. Most of these depend on involving the
right people at the right time in the right way. Here
are some methods used by school districts that have
changed boundaries with little or no negative response
from parents or other community members.
Releasing and interpreting test scores
Like it or not, national, state and local test results are
a very visible way for people to find out how their
education dollars are being spent. Reporting test
results means first laying a foundation to help the
media and public understand the program. This tip
sheet can help you build understanding before test
scores are released.
Communicating school improvement
Change is uncomfortable and often messy. It is much
easier to repeat familiar, even flawed, patterns than
it is to take a risk on the unknown. Your district’s
constituents – teachers, support staff, parents,
administrators and community members – will
determine the success or failure of any major change
effort you undertake. Your role as a leader is to lay the
groundwork for success through careful planning and
thoughtful communication.
Creating messages they remember
This tip sheet describes ways to get your main
messages to people in your community in ways that
will make those messages important and memorable to
them.
Key dates for school calendars
This list gives the dates of observances and holidays
that can be noted on your school calendar and used to
plan special celebrations.
Recognizing employees
Although specific weeks are set aside each year
to recognize certain groups of employees, a more
effective way to show appreciation is to make
recognition a year-round activity that shows
individuals they are respected and their work
appreciated.
Insights parent newsletter and Here’s to You! staff
wellness newsletter
These ready-to-print items can be used as they are or
the text can be placed in your own newsletter format.
Ready-to-print art
Ready-to-print art is included for school newsletters.
Why not subscribe now and receive 10 PR
Express packets like this one next year? Order
forms have been sent to superintendents.
For more information, contact:
Lisa Bartusek
Associate Executive Director, Board Leadership
Iowa Association of School Boards
6000 Grand Ave.
Des Moines, IA 50312
1-800-795-4272
E-mail: [email protected]
PREXPRESS
A Communication Service for Iowa Schools
Sample Issue
Board Learning through Oral
and Written Reports
There is no question that the actions of a school board significantly impact a school
district. Board decisions directly affect lives of staff members, students and parents.
What board members learn from visiting schools, talking with individuals, studying
information, attending meetings and events and participating in state and national school
board organizations, all provide a basis of knowledge for decision-making.
As a school board member, you know that your decisions are well-thought out and based
on research, but do others?
How many times have you heard grumblings that decisions weren’t researched; that
the school board didn’t know what it was doing? Do individuals in your community
understand the amount of time you spend outside the board room on school business?
By making a few simple changes to the way you present member reports during board
meetings and the way each board meeting is subsequently reported to employees and to
others in the community, you can significantly improve public understanding of the scope
of your work and how it impacts board decisions.
What you say about what you do
□ In addition to regular agenda items, time should be allotted at each board meeting for
members to report on their activities since the last meeting which relate to the district
and to their role as a member of the school board. Often these reports are tagged on
to the end of the meeting, when many in the audience have left. Consider moving
them to the front of the meeting agenda so that more guests at the meeting will hear
the information. This enhances the importance of the reports.
PR Express is prepared
for the Iowa Association
of School Boards by the
Washington State School
Directors’ Association.
Reproduction rights for
materials distributed
as part of this service
are granted only to
subscribing districts
and are restricted to
distribution as part of a
local communications
program in such districts.
For assistance or
additional information,
contact Lisa Bartusek,
IASB, (515) 288-1991 or
1-800-795-4272.
□ Before the meeting, jot down notes so you won’t ramble or pause to recall activities,
thus wasting valuable meeting time. You should strive to present your report in one to
two minutes.
□ Keep your report concise and highlight what you have learned from a particular visit
or meeting. The purpose isn’t to outdo others by listing everywhere you have been –
remember, quality, not quantity, of information is what is important.
□ Keep your tone conversational. You haven’t become an expert on a particular subject
by virtue of one visit or of a conversation with someone, no matter how expert he or
she is in his or her field.
□ Be sure to point out when you gain significant insight or knowledge from an
individual or from a classroom, school or department visit. Your fellow board
members and guests in the audience may not have the opportunity to talk with
the same person or visit the same area, so use your report time to share pertinent
information that you acquired.
(continued)
Board reports, page 2
□ When you attend IASB workshops and events, keep fellow board members informed
about what you are hearing regarding academic progress, student achievement or
effective boardsmanship
□ If events are coming up that you feel other board members should attend or know
about, quickly give dates, times and why you think they might want to attend.
□ Don’t waste time at board meetings. If you have nothing to report, simply say so.
□ Be aware that, over time, you may develop a camaraderie with the other members
of your school board which puts you at ease with each other and often derails the
reporting session – particularly when scheduled at the end of the meeting – to one
of a more personal nature in which you talk about a recent trip which kept you from
school business or the status of the remodeling project, or your kid’s or grandkid’s
activities. While fellow board members will want to hear your news, the board report
portion of the meeting isn’t the place for it.
So, what happened at the board meeting?
The minutes of the school board meeting are the official record of the meeting and
the actions taken. They can be page upon page of very dry, boring, but important
information. The minutes should not be used as the board’s report to staff and to the
community. A short newsletter, or board report, should be produced as soon as possible –
no later than the next day – listing the highlights of the school board meeting. Distribute
this newsletter to district staff and to key communicators in your community.
The board report newsletter is generally written by the superintendent, the district’s
public information officer or the superintendent’s assistant.
□ Contents
•
Certain agenda items will undoubtedly be more important, or of interest to a
larger number of people, than others. Focus the report on those items.
•
Individuals who want details, such as every book that was approved on a
curriculum list or every donation made by the parent organization, should be
referred to the official meeting minutes where that information is recorded.
•
On the other hand, if the board makes a decision about a book or curriculum
choice that has created a controversy or been the subject of many conversations in
the community, report the action and reasons for the decision.
•
Don’t exclude controversial topics from the board report. Including facts about a
hot topic can help defuse continued controversy caused by misinformation spread
through the local grapevine.
•
When reporting major board actions, include why the action was taken and the
impact the decision will have on students and their families. For example, if a
junior high science curriculum was approved by the board, explain why a new
science curriculum was needed, if there was a cost to the adoption, what the
impact will be on junior high students and when the new curriculum will be
introduced.
(continued)
Board reports, page 3
•
Give readers human interest information. Tell them where the meeting was held
and if student or staff presentations were included. If staff or students were
honored, include their names in the report. Were proclamations read? If so, what
was proclaimed and why?
•
Recap the board members verbal reports (described above).
□ Format
•
A printed board report should be in a newsletter format that is easy to read, avoids
education jargon, and is written using short sentences and paragraphs. Keep it
short. One 8 ½” x 11” sheet printed back-to-back should be enough space to
review of the highlights of the board meeting.
•
The report could also be formatted for electronic distribution and provided via
e-mail to save both postage and printing costs. If mailed as a newsletter, without
an envelope, use layout guidelines for mailing provided by the post office. Also,
a printed newsletter can be attached to an e-mail message as a PDF (portable
document file).
□ In each board report include:
•
The name and contact information for each board member,
•
The name and contact information for the person who wrote and distributed the
report,
•
An invitation to come to the next school board meeting (some people don’t realize
board meetings are open to the public) as well as the location and time of the
meeting,
•
An explanation that the report highlights meeting discussions and board actions,
and
•
Where someone can read or obtain a copy of the official minutes.
□ Distribution
•
The brief report should be available to anyone who desires a copy. Remember,
the more people who read it, the better. If you do not create an e-mail version
that can be sent to each employee within the district, send several printed copies
to post in each school building and in each district department, as well as to
employee association representatives.
•
A mailing and/or e-mailing list for report distribution should be maintained by the
staff person charged with sending the report. Among those who should be on that
list are: the district’s key communicators, parent organization and booster club
leaders, city officials, media representatives, and others who ask to receive copies.
The list should be annually updated.
PREXPRESS
A Communication Service for Iowa Schools
Sample Issue
Communicating Boundary Changes
The thought of their children having to change schools makes many parents nervous and
fearful. All too often, that fear turns to anger that is directed at those who have to make
the decision. That’s why changing attendance boundaries between schools is almost
always a difficult decision for a school board and school administrators.
Although massive boundary change will never be completely without conflict, there are
ways to ease the tension. Most of these depend on involving the right people at the right
time in the right way. Here are some methods used by school districts that have changed
boundaries with little or no negative response from parents or other community members.
□ Give everyone involved plenty of time to get used to the idea. Start long before the
actual boundary changes will take effect. Provide information to staff members,
parents and others about why boundary changes will be necessary and when they will
have to be implemented. Give solid facts and figures and relate all information to
the effects on kids and their learning. Describe the fair, inclusive process that will be
used to make the decision about the attendance area for each school involved in the
change.
□ Set a timeline that gives families time to adjust. Letting go of a school that means
a lot to someone involves some of the same steps that people go through when they
experience any loss. Parents and others need time to process and accept the idea that
the change is inevitable and then time to move on to coping with the implications of
the change. The people most affected by the boundary change need time and support,
so this decision should be made as far in advance as possible, even as much as a year
before the actual change.
PR Express is prepared
for the Iowa Association
of School Boards by the
Washington State School
Directors’ Association.
Reproduction rights for
materials distributed
as part of this service
are granted only to
subscribing districts
and are restricted to
distribution as part of a
local communications
program in such districts.
For assistance or
additional information,
contact Lisa Bartusek,
IASB, (515) 288-1991 or
1-800-795-4272.
□ Use a well-planned, fair, inclusive process. An ideal committee to study this
issue and make recommendations to the administration is a committee made up of
representatives of schools whose boundaries are likely to be changed. It may be even
more successful if the committee members selected from each school are parents of
children who are likely to be moved. Principals of each of the schools should also be
involved, either as actual or ad hoc committee members.
□ Make sure the committee has clear, written information about timelines and
parameters for its work. This should include expectations for attendance at meetings,
who will facilitate its work, expectations for getting input from others, when its
recommendation is needed and who will receive the recommendation. Committee
members also need to know other “givens,” such as placement of special education
classes, placement of classes for highly capable students or use of portable
classrooms.
(continued)
Boundary changes, page 2
□ If the committee is board-appointed, committee meetings are open to the public.
□ To avoid accusations that the committee was only a “rubber stamp” for a decision
already made by district administrators, the district may want to hire an outside,
neutral facilitator to organize and convene the committee meetings. The facilitator
will need to work closely with staff and have staff support.
□ Provide proper staff support to the boundary committee. The committee that makes
its recommendations about boundary changes will need information about current
boundaries, enrollment at each school, how proposed changes will alter enrollment
at each school, capacity of each school, student transportation routes and many other
topics. Key staff members who are well versed in these various areas of concern
should be at every meeting to support the committee by providing information
needed. They should work between committee meetings to answer all questions
raised by committee members and to help the facilitator prepare for future meetings.
□ Plan how you will communicate, communicate, communicate. A complete,
comprehensive communications plan begins before the need for change is
announced and extends through the boundary changes. This plan should identify
various audiences that will need information and need to be involved, should
give details about exactly how and when communications will take place, and
should describe the messages to be delivered. When making boundary changes,
it is almost impossible to communicate too much. Consider sending a brief report
immediately after each committee meeting to those who have asked for continuous
updates and via the method they prefer, either e-mail or regular mail. When the
committee has a preliminary recommendation and is ready to hear from the public
about that recommendation, the parents of every child that could be affected by the
recommendation should be made aware of it and how he or she can give testimony to
the committee.
□ Listen and respond. It is very important for the committee to be responsive
to information it receives. By listening carefully, the committee may receive
information it did not have or expect and may need to change some of its
recommendations.
□ The board also needs to listen. After the recommendation has gone to the
superintendent and, in turn, to the board of directors, the board should also schedule
hearings. It is important to listen intently and respond sympathetically but factually.
□ Think about grandfathering. If your timeline and circumstance will allow it, think
about “grandfathering” current students or some grade levels into their current school.
In some cases, you might be able to include siblings.
□ After the decision is made — communicate, communicate, communicate. The board
decision about boundary changes is only the mid-point of this process. Students,
parents and staff need to have continuing information.
(continued)
Boundary changes, page 3
□ Ease the transition for students being moved. A large part of the communications
efforts and the transition plan should be determining how students and their parents
will become acquainted with and welcomed into their new school. Each school
involved in the boundary change will need to have a plan for how it will make this
change easier for staff, students and families.
□ And finally, keep the proper perspective. If this were an easy process, there would
be a lot more to worry about. It is important to remember that the reason this is so
difficult is that parents and kids love their schools. Their current school is like a
second home, a place where families send their children each day with the complete
confidence that the people at that school care deeply for them. Having to leave a
school, for many students and their parents, is somewhat like having to move away
from beloved family members. When you think of the effects of a boundary change
in that way, dealing with the resulting emotional turmoil will be much easier because
you realize that those emotions are a good thing!
□ Also know that if, two years from now, you suggest to these same parents that their
children should be moved back to the school they now attend, you may well get the
same reaction you are getting now. They will have come to love their new school in
much the same way they love the school their children now attend.
PREXPRESS
A Communication Service for Iowa Schools
Releasing and Interpreting Test Scores
Sample Issue
Like it or not, national, state and local test results are a very visible way for people to
find out how well their education dollars are being spent. For too many administrators,
reporting test results means first laying a foundation to help the media and public
understand the program. The results are reported next. Sometimes the foundation can
sound like a defensive “set up” for the report that follows. That’s why it’s important to
start building understanding well before time for test scores to be released.
□ Analyze the various groups of people that live in the area served by your schools and
determine what test scores might mean to each group. Develop targeted information
for each group based on what they know about testing and how they want to be able
to interpret the results.
□ Include an article in your community newsletter early in the school year that explains
how you assess student achievement. Point out that the state-mandated, standardized
test is but one way of measuring student progress. Describe other ways of measuring
progress that are used by your school district.
□ Use your school calendar to communicate how you measure student achievement
and school performance. For example, start with information about attendance
in September; describe the use of state-mandated tests in October; conclude with
graduation rates and drop-out rates in June.
□ Invite representatives of the local news media, local government officials, community
leaders and members of students’ families to take portions of a major test you use in
your district. Do the sample testing under timed circumstances – just like the students
face.
PR Express is prepared
for the Iowa Association
of School Boards by the
Washington State School
Directors’ Association.
Reproduction rights for
materials distributed
as part of this service
are granted only to
subscribing districts
and are restricted to
distribution as part of a
local communications
program in such districts.
For assistance or
additional information,
contact Lisa Bartusek,
IASB, (515) 288-1991 or
1-800-795-4272.
□ When administrators, teachers or students speak to local groups, such as the Chamber
of Commerce, a service club or a senior citizens’ organization, encourage them to use
a few actual problems from high stakes tests to demonstrate very clearly the level of
competence required to score well on such tests.
□ To acquaint people with your district’s writing assessment, bring a set of papers
and the scoring guide to a parent meeting or community gathering and ask those in
attendance to assign their own scores to the papers. Give ample time for discussion!
□ Survey the families of your district’s students to find out what they want to know
about testing, and how much time they’re willing to spend learning about it. Keep the
survey simple! You can then plan how to effectively use, for example, presentations
by teachers at parent meetings, handouts for parent-teacher conferences or videos
available for parents to check out.
□ Be ready to answer the following questions:
•
How does the material students’ learn in class relate to what is covered on tests?
(continued)
Releasing test scores, page 2
•
In what other ways does the school, and the teachers, measure how well students
are learning?
•
How much time do students spend taking tests during the school year?
•
Does how students perform on state-required achievement tests match their
performance in the classroom? (If an achievement test is not well matched to what
students are being taught at school, they could score poorly on the achievement
test while still making good grades.)
•
How are the test results used by the school and the teachers?
□ Define testing terms for families and others in your community. For example:
•
Achievement tests are tests designed to measure how much a student has learned
in a particular subject or group of subjects.
•
High stakes tests are achievement tests that have specific, serious consequences
attached to their results.
•
Standardized tests are achievement tests in which all students are scored and their
achievement calculated according to a common standard. High stakes testing
programs use standardized test results to judge the performance of students and
sometimes of teachers and administrators.
•
Norm-referenced standardized tests compare an individual student’s test
performance with the performance of students in a sample group.
•
Criterion-referenced standardized tests report how well a student performs against
a fixed standard.
•
Results of norm-referenced tests are typically reported as percentiles. A percentile
rank tells you how one student performed in relation to the students in the sample
group and others who took the test. Results of criterion-referenced tests report
how well a student did in accomplishing a desired learning goal. Typically, results
are reported using words such as “not proficient,” “satisfactory” or “proficient.”
□ Create a flyer to send home to students’ families before standardized testing begins.
Provide tips on ways they can help students do better on tests, such as making sure
they get plenty of sleep, having a balanced breakfast and having not had caffeine,
which may increase anxiety.
□ Share successful test-taking strategies with students and their families. For example:
•
Relax and stay calm before and during tests.
•
Read and listen carefully to all directions and follow them closely.
•
Budget time. Make sure to leave enough time to answer all questions, or as many
as possible.
•
Check work carefully.
•
Answer easy questions first, and come back to more difficult ones.
•
Read questions and all answers completely.
(continued)
Releasing test scores, page 3
•
If the correct answer isn’t immediately obvious, figure out which answers are
definitely wrong, then see if you can choose from those that are left.
□ Include concrete examples of student work in your publications. Show what a top
writing sample looks like, as well as an average paper.
□ Involve parents and students in the development of new forms for reporting
achievement and progress in order to ensure that the language is user-friendly.
□ Develop a timeline that provides a logical release sequence and gets the test results
into the hands of the staff first.
□ Brief principals in person, not by memo, because they become the first line for public
relations and their job will be to brief other staff members.
□ Encourage principals to review assessment results with non-teaching staff members,
too. As far as their friends, families and neighbors are concerned, clerical, custodial,
food service and instructional assistance employees are the authorities on what’s
going on at the school. Thus, they need accurate information, and they need adequate
background materials so that they understand the meaning of your students’ scores
and the steps being taken to assure continued high student achievement.
□ Test scores should also be discussed with school advisory and support groups and
with school and district key communicators.
□ Ideally, the results should be released and explained at the school level at the same
time they are being released at the district level.
□ Find out when the test results will be released to the media by the state, and provide
a briefing for local reporters on how to interpret test results before that date. Be sure
to explain the program in simple, everyday English and be prepared to answer the
inevitable “What are you going to do about these results?” – even if the results are
good. Appeal to their desire for accuracy in reporting.
□ Don’t depend on reporters to pick up everything they need to know about the tests
during a board report. Provide them an opportunity to be briefed prior to the meeting.
Whether they attend this meeting or not, provide them with a fact sheet and news
release summarizing the program and results.
□ Produce a performance report for each school. Ask teachers, parents and others in
your community what measures they rely on to evaluate school success. You may
need to develop ways to quantify subjective opinion, since many people rely on “what
parents think about their school.”
In a nutshell: Be an initiator. Don’t get caught in a situation where you have to respond to
inquiries without knowing all you can about your testing program and about interpreting
the results. That puts you on the defensive. Answer questions before they’re asked by
providing a continuous flow of information about your assessment program and its
results.
PREXPRESS
A Communication Service for Iowa Schools
School Improvement: Communicating for Success
Sample Issue
Change is uncomfortable and often messy. It is much easier to repeat familiar, even
flawed, patterns than it is to take a risk on the unknown. Your district’s constituents –
teachers, support staff, parents, administrators and community members – will determine
the success or failure of any major change effort you undertake. Your role as a leader is to
lay the groundwork for success through careful planning and thoughtful communication.
□ Include a communications professional on your implementation team from the
very beginning. Leaders often ask for public relations help when the rumor mill
and push-back is well underway. That’s too late. A quality communications plan
can help you avoid those problems in the first place. If your district doesn’t have a
communications person on staff, seek out the advice of a professional in your area.
□ Make the case for change well in advance of any implementation efforts. It takes
time to build the shared understanding you need in order to generate grassroots
support for reform. Talk about the underlying reasons for change, even when that
means bringing attention to unpleasant realities. This step is often glossed over or
skipped entirely; perhaps because it is uncomfortable to talk about shortcomings,
or maybe because the people recommending change have spent so much time
studying the issues they forget that others don’t have the same depth of knowledge.
Regardless, people are only willing to invest themselves in something new and
different when they believe the cost of staying the same is higher than the risk
inherent in change.
PR Express is prepared
for the Iowa Association
of School Boards by the
Washington State School
Directors’ Association.
Reproduction rights for
materials distributed
as part of this service
are granted only to
subscribing districts
and are restricted to
distribution as part of a
local communications
program in such districts.
For assistance or
additional information,
contact Lisa Bartusek,
IASB, (515) 288-1991 or
1-800-795-4272.
□ Better yet, help others make the case for you. Improvement efforts are more readily
embraced when there is trust in the process. Working through big, potentially
contentious issues in an open and collaborative way gives you a broad-based group of
people who understand the issues and thinking behind the proposed reform.
□ Know what you want to achieve. It is your job to show a clear and compelling
connection between any proposed initiative and a direct benefit to students. If you
can’t make that link, you shouldn’t ask your employees to spend their time and energy
implementing change.
□ Focus inward first. As with any important issue, it is critical that you communicate
with your internal audiences before communicating with external audiences.
There are many reasons for this. Most importantly, your employees are your key
communicators. They are the people others turn to with questions about your district,
schools and initiatives. They will also be on the front lines of any reform you try to
implement. Their understanding and buy-in is the first step toward successful and
lasting change.
(continued)
Communicating school improvement, page 2
□ Speak in plain English. Jargon, slogans and buzz words don’t mean much in the dayto-day reality of teachers and administrative assistants because they don’t define what
your reform is expected to achieve. Communicate specific information about how the
changes have worked elsewhere, how they will benefit kids and how they will affect
each constituent group.
□ Be honest. If the proposed change is going to adversely affect some groups or
individuals, don’t pretend otherwise. Your credibility with all your constituents is at
stake. Be direct about what you are doing and why; focus on the necessity and longterm benefits of reform while acknowledging any sacrifices along the way.
□ Repeat, repeat, repeat your most important messages: why change is necessary,
what the proposed reform entails, and what you expect the outcome to be. Studies
have shown that most people need to hear a new message seven or more times
before they fully incorporate it into their own thinking and belief systems. This is
your challenge. You must start early and continue to communicate your important
messages throughout the school improvement process. Be intentional about using a
variety of communication vehicles. Redundancy and repetition are not bad things in
this process; you want to saturate your target audiences with your key messages.
□ Process is not engagement. While your change procedures – visioning, planning,
meetings and presentations – are important, it is a mistake to believe they constitute
your entire communication program. These activities represent just one of the ways
you should be engaging your constituents; you will want to employ many different
communications tactics and vehicles during your efforts.
□ Maintain an open door policy and encourage two-way communication. Make sure
small informal meetings with a variety of your internal and external constituents
are a part of your communications plan. They are a great way to delve deeply into
the needs and questions that could derail your reform efforts if left unaddressed.
Remember that silence does not necessarily equal support; a lively dialogue is a sign
of engagement in the process, so give people multiple opportunities and a variety
of ways to share their concerns, ask questions, and offer ideas. The more involved
people are in the process, the less likely they are to work against the efforts.
□ “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Gandhi’s words certainly
apply here. As a leader, you must model the behavior you wish to see. If your
words and actions don’t match, you can trust that people will notice. Inconsistencies
undermine your credibility, damage trust and ultimately limit your ability to influence
change in others.
□ Celebrate the successes that show the school district is making progress. People all
have their own daily challenges and responsibilities. You must demonstrate progress
and appreciation so they continue to see the value of investing themselves in the
change. This helps maintain momentum for further changes and helps win over the
late adopters who wait out the first wave of reform to see if the new changes are really
going to last.
PREXPRESS
A Communication Service for Iowa Schools
Short, sweet and striking
Sample Issue
Messages They Remember
In an effort to be transparent in all of their dealings, school districts often publish very
complete information on every subject they think is of interest to the public. Most of it
is never read and even more of it is never remembered. One reason is that the public is
bombarded with literally thousands of messages a day, most of them aimed at getting
them to do something or buy something, and in today’s world of marketing, those
messages are sophisticated.
The marketing professionals who create slogans such as “No Child Left Behind” use
sophisticated techniques to craft messages that appeal to our basic values and senses.
They know the one thought they want to plant in minds or the one lesson they want to
teach. They don’t worry about whether their audience knows any details of the law they
are writing about. They sell the idea of something, convince people to feel positive about
it and then disseminate the facts as they are needed. They blend fact with emotion and
trigger memories and actions that are meaningful and unforgettable for the intended
audience. Those of us who work with and for children can afford to do no less.
Here are some ways to get your main messages to people in your community in ways that
will make those messages important and memorable to them.
□ Determine who the message is intended to reach.
Sending the same message in exactly the same way to everyone in your community
is the same as inviting everyone, including total strangers, to a party at your house.
Because such an invitation is so impersonal, most will think it really doesn’t pertain
to them. They won’t come.
PR Express is prepared
for the Iowa Association
of School Boards by the
Washington State School
Directors’ Association.
Reproduction rights for
materials distributed
as part of this service
are granted only to
subscribing districts
and are restricted to
distribution as part of a
local communications
program in such districts.
For assistance or
additional information,
contact Lisa Bartusek,
IASB, (515) 288-1991 or
1-800-795-4272.
The same thing is true when you plan messages. Think of parts of your community.
Think about age groups, parts of town, ethnicity, those with children in school, those
who have no children in school, and other groups. Write down everything you know
about the members of a group with whom you want to communicate: what they like,
what appeals to them, where they go, what they know, what you need for them to
know about your schools. Be sure to include how you want them to feel about your
schools and the things other than schools that historically evoke warm feelings from
those people. Why do they get that warm feeling about that particular “thing”? What
images give them that feeling? How would they describe that “thing” in two or three
words?
(continued)
Messages, page 2
□ What do you want them to know or do?
Think about what you want them to know or how you want them to feel. Describe
in 10 words or less what, in a perfect communications world, you would like to go
through their minds when they hear about schools.
Now try to reduce your 10 words to even fewer words. If possible, make your
statement five words or less.
Take those few words from step two and think about the absolutely essential facts
your audience must have about changes you are making or a key situation in your
schools. No matter what you are talking about — school closures, boundary changes,
achievement scores, adequate yearly progress — reduce your comments to the bare
essentials and then compare that statement with the images that you know grab the
attention of your target audience and gives them that “warm feeling.”
□ Figure out how to deliver your message so that you get the facts to your target
audience. Think in pictures. Use imagination and creativity.
In the book The Tipping Point, author Malcolm Gladwell tells the story of how the
popular children’s television show Sesame Street was designed. The show was
originally designed to separate facts from fantasy. The children would learn things
at one time and, at another time in the show, see things to trigger their imaginations.
Before the show went on the air, a test group of children viewed the show. The
producers found the children lost interest in the show and learned little. However, the
children were interested, watched and learned when the Muppets were on the show.
In response, the creators of the show developed puppets that could walk and talk
and mingle with the adults on the show. When they did this, children remembered
the messages delivered to them through the show. Gladwell calls these “sticky”
messages. The success of Sesame Street speaks for itself.
Although this example deals with children and their learning, adults are no different.
To reach audiences about schools we must:
•
Appeal to their senses.
•
Grab their interest.
•
Pique their imaginations.
•
Use images that keep their attention.
•
Create an atmosphere that is comfortable, warm and familiar.
•
Make a topic interesting throughout the message.
•
Reaffirm that we are carrying out their values and beliefs.
•
Evoke pleasant thoughts and memories.
If this is done correctly, the message will be so familiar, pleasant and reaffirming
to them, they will quickly adopt it as their own and remember it when they think of
schools.
PREXPRESS
A Communication Service for Iowa Schools
Key 2009-2010 Dates for School Calendars
Sample Issue
Here are some special days you might want to note on your 2009-2010 school year calendar or take into consideration as you establish programs for next year. They are taken
from Resources for Planning the School Calendar, published by the Educational Research Service, 1001 North Fairfax Street, Suite 500, Alexandria, VA 22314. The price is
$40 plus $4.50 or 10 percent (whichever is more) of the total purchase price for postage
and handling.
2009
PR Express is prepared
for the Iowa Association
of School Boards by the
Washington State School
Directors’ Association.
Reproduction rights for
materials distributed
as part of this service
are granted only to
subscribing districts
and are restricted to
distribution as part of a
local communications
program in such districts.
For assistance or
additional information,
contact Lisa Bartusek,
IASB, (515) 288-1991 or
1-800-795-4272.
Date
Sept. 1-30
Sept.
7
Sept.
8
Sept.
11
Sept.
13
Sept. 15 Oct. 15
Sept. 15Oct. 15
Sept.
15-16
Sept.
16
Sept.
17-23
Sept.
17
Sept.
19-20
Sept.
21
Sept.
21
Sept.
22
Sept.
28
Sept.
28
Oct.
1-31
Oct.
1-31
Oct.
1-31
Oct.
1-31
Oct.
Oct.
Oct.
Oct.
1-31
4-10
4-10
6
Observance/Holiday
Library Card Sign-Up Month
Labor Day
Internat’l Literacy Day
Patriot Day
Grandparents’ Day
Hispanic Heritage Month
German American Heritage
Month
Mexican Independence Days
Mayflower Day
Constitution Week
Citizenship Day
Rosh Hashanah*
Id al-Fitr (End of Ramadan)
Internat’l Day of Peace
First Day of Autumn
Yom Kippur*
Nat’l Good Neighbor Day
Crime Prevention Month
Czech Heritage Month
Italian American Heritage
and Culture Month
Polish American Heritage
Month
UNICEF Month
Fire Prevention Week
Nat’l Metric Week
German American
Heritage Day
Date
Oct.
Oct.
11-17
11-17
Oct.
Oct.
Oct.
Oct.
Oct.
Oct.
Oct.
12-16
12
12
16
18-24
19-23
23-31
Oct.
Oct.
Oct.
Nov.
Nov.
Nov.
Nov.
Nov.
Nov.
24
24
31
1-30
1
3
11
15-21
17
Nov.
18
Nov.
Nov.
Nov.
Nov.
Nov.
19
19
22-28
26
28
Dec.
1
Observance/Holiday
Earth Science Week
NAEOP Career Awareness
Week
Nat’l School Lunch Week
Canadian Thanksgiving
Columbus Day
World Food Day
America’s Safe Schools Week
Nat’l School Bus Safety Week
Red Ribbon Week
(Drug-Free America)
United Nations Day
Make a Difference Day
Halloween
American Indian Heritage Month
Standard Time
Election Day
Veterans Day
American Education Week
Nat’l Community
Education Day
Nat’l Education Support
Professionals Day
Gettysburg Address Anniversary
Nat’l Parental Involvement Day
Nat’l Family Week
Thanksgiving Day
Id al-Adha
(Feast of Sacrifice)
World AIDS Day
(continued)
Key dates, page 2
Date
Dec.
7
Dec.
10
Dec.
12-19
Dec.
15
Dec.
21
Dec.
25
Dec. 26 Jan. 1
Observance/Holiday
Pearl Harbor Day
Human Rights Day
Hanukkah*
Bill of Rights Day
First Day of Winter
Christmas
Kwanzaa (an AfricanAmerican Festival)
2010
Date
Jan.
Jan.
1
1
Jan.
Feb.
18
1-28
Feb.
1-28
Feb.
Feb.
Feb.
1
2
7-13
Feb.
Feb.
Feb.
Feb.
Feb.
Feb. 17Apr. 3
Feb.
Feb.
Feb.
Feb.
8-12
12
14
14
15
Mar.
Mar.
Mar.
Mar.
Mar.
Mar.
Mar.
1-31
1-31
1-31
1-31
1-31
1-31
1-31
Mar.
Mar.
1-31
2
17
17
20-27
22
Observance/Holiday
New Year’s Day
Emancipation Proclamation
Anniversary
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Black History Month
(aka African-American
History Month)
Nat’l Children’s Dental
Health Month
Nat’l Freedom Day
Groundhog Day
Take Your Family to School
Week
Nat’l School Counseling Week
Abraham Lincoln’s Birthday
St. Valentine’s Day
Chinese New Year
Presidents’ Day
Lent
Ash Wednesday
PTA Founders Day
Nat’l FFA Week
George Washington’s
Birthday
American Red Cross Month
Irish American Heritage Month
Music in Our Schools Month
Nat’l Nutrition Month®
Women’s History Month
Youth Art Month
Nat’l Middle Level
Education Month
Social Work Month
NEA’s Read Across America
(Dr. Seuss’s Birthday)
Date
Mar.
Mar.
Mar.
Mar.
Mar.
Mar.
Mar.
Mar.
Mar.
Mar.
Mar.
Mar.
8-14
8
8-12
11
14-20
14
17
18
20
21
21-27
21
Mar.
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
30-31
1-30
1-30
1-30
1
2
2
4-10
4
5-6
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
7
11
11-17
18-24
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
18-24
18-24
18-24
22
22
Apr.
May
30
1-31
May
May
May
1-31
1-31
1-31
May
May
May
1-31
1
1-7
Observance/Holiday
Nat’l Foreign Language Week
Internat’l Women’s Day
Nat’l School Breakfast Week
Johnny Appleseed Day
Nat’l Agriculture Week
Daylight Saving Time
St. Patrick’s Day
Absolutely Incredible Kid Day®
First Day of Spring
Bahá’í New Year’s Day
Nat’l Poison Prevention Week
Internat’l Day for the
Elimination of Racial
Discrimination
Passover* (First Days)
Keep America Beautiful Month
Mathematics Awareness Month
Young People’s Poetry Month
April Fools’ Day
Internat’l Children’s Book Day
Good Friday
Nat’l Library Week
Easter
Passover*
(Concluding Days)
World Health Day
Holocaust Remembrance Day*
Nat’l Student Leadership Week
Administrative
Professionals Week
Nat’l Coin Week
Public School Volunteer Week
Volunteer Week
Earth Day
Take Our Daughters and
Sons to Work Day™
Nat’l Arbor Day
Asian Pacific American
Heritage Month
Nat’l Sight-Saving Month
Better Hearing and Speech
Nat’l Physical Fitness
and Sports Month
Preservation Month
Law Day
Nat’l Physical Education
and Sports Week
(continued)
Key dates, page 3
May
May
May
May
May
May
May
May
May
May
May
May
May
May
May
May
2-9
2-8
2-8
3-7
9-15
15
16-22
3
4
4
5
8
9
10-16
12
24
Nat’l Music Week
Be Kind to Animals Week
Teacher Appreciation Week
Child Nutrition Employee
Appreciation Week
Iowa School Board
Recognition Week
Armed Forces Day
Nat’l Educational Bosses
World Press Freedom Day
Horace Mann’s Birthday
Nat’l Teacher Day
Cinco de Mayo
World Red Cross Day
Mother’s Day
Nat’l Children’s Book Week
Nat’l School Nurse Day Week
Victoria Day (Canada)
May
31
May
31
June 1 July 4
June
1-30
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
1-30
5
13-17
13
14
16
20
21
Memorial Day
World No-Tobacco Day
Fireworks Safety Month
Caribbean-American
Heritage Month
Great Outdoors Month
World Environment Day
Nat’l History Day Contest
Race Unity Day
Flag Day
Day of the African Child
Father’s Day
First Day of Summer
*Begins at sunset on the preceding day.
PREXPRESS
A Communication Service for Iowa Schools
Recognizing Employees
A Year-Round Celebration
Sample Issue
Although specific weeks are set aside each year to recognize certain groups of
employees, a more effective way to show appreciation is to make recognition a yearround activity that shows individuals they are respected and their work appreciated.
An important part of recognition is reminding staff members that everyone is a critical
member of the team and that each person contributes to student achievement. The
custodial staff is responsible for the learning environment. Food service employees make
sure students aren’t being asked to learn on an empty stomach. Classroom assistants
and specialists support teachers in creating the learning avenues children follow. Nurses
are responsible for health, as are fitness instructors and those who coordinate athletic
programs. The administrative assistants and clerical staff members address the business
side of district operations but also generally know each student by name and contribute
to their positive self-esteem. Bus drivers, crossing guards and playground supervisors
are key to ensuring safe transportation to and from school and to creating positive school
environments outside the classroom.
□ Involvement in decision-making and acceptance as an equal member of the district’s
education team is an important part of all recognition. Consider:
PR Express is prepared
for the Iowa Association
of School Boards by the
Washington State School
Directors’ Association.
Reproduction rights for
materials distributed
as part of this service
are granted only to
subscribing districts
and are restricted to
distribution as part of a
local communications
program in such districts.
For assistance or
additional information,
contact Lisa Bartusek,
IASB, (515) 288-1991 or
1-800-795-4272.
•
Is everyone in your building encouraged to attend staff meetings? What happens
at a staff meeting is important to your entire staff, not just the teachers. Take care
to organize the agenda so that at least a portion of each meeting is pertinent to
each group of employees. Make sure that all staff members are included in the
discussions and that all know their comments and questions are valued.
•
Do you provide the same information to your classified staff members as you
do to your certificated staff? Make sure all staff members receive the same
information and, as work schedules permit, that each gets the information at the
same time.
•
Have you provided communications training for all staff members in each
building? Each employee should be made aware of the good news that happens
every day and should know how to tell others in the community about that good
news.
•
Do you provide training opportunities – including paying tuition or providing
substitutes as necessary – for everyone in the building? Helping staff members
hone their skills in each of their specialty areas tells them you value them and the
work that they do and that you want them to be the best they can be.
(continued)
Recognizing employees, page 2
•
Do you review the district’s and your school’s mission and goals at regular
intervals throughout the year during staff meetings or through written
communications? As you present this review, clearly show how each group or
individual contributes to student achievement as defined in those statements.
You may be wondering how you, a building administrator with a full plate of duties, can
add year-round recognition to your myriad responsibilities. Don’t despair. You will be
surprised at what just two minutes a day can do! For example, it takes only a few minutes
to tell someone he or she did a good job and to thank him or her for contributing to
student success. Saying, “Thank you,” and meaning it, lets a person know his or her work
is important.
□ Take time to write thank you or commendation notes to your employees. Send a
quick e-mail or jot a handwritten note. Don’t limit your praise to a generic letter that
goes to all employees during a special recognition week. Make every week special
by sending individual notes.
□ This doesn’t mean you should ignore those special weeks designated as a time for
specific recognition. However, be creative with how they are celebrated. Recognition
goes beyond proclamations read at school board meetings and donuts brought in for a
special morning break to honor a group within your building. For instance:
•
Invite the honorees, such as custodians, or food service employees, to visit a
classroom. Have students tell them about what they are doing. This is a win-win
situation for two-way communications – it honors the employees and also shows
them what is happening in the classroom so that they learn firsthand what to tell
others in your community.
•
Have students write poems, sing songs or prepare art displays as part of employee
recognition.
•
If you are in a school with a home and family life program or a student service
group, arrange for students to make customized aprons for those who work in the
school lunchroom or utility aprons for the custodians. Student-planted container
gardens are also a great way to show appreciation.
□ Allow students to “shadow” school employees who fill various roles. Set up a
system for students to earn the privilege of spending an hour or two with the honored
classified or certificated staff member.
□ Designate a few staff members as VIPs at school assemblies. Introduce them, have a
special place for them to sit, and don’t require them to supervise students during their
VIP honor time.
□ Look for ways to celebrate the accomplishments of your staff, and let the news be
known throughout the district. Include time on the school board agenda to highlight
staff accomplishments.
All individuals want to feel that they have contributed to the greater good and that their
contributions have made a difference. While special recognition weeks don’t need to be
eliminated from your calendar, it is important to expand recognition to be a year-round
celebration.