About NSPRA
The Superintendents to Watch award recognizes school district leaders who have fewer than five years of experience as a superintendent and who demonstrate dynamic, fast-paced leadership with strong communication at its core.
Dr. Laurie Putnam leads St. Cloud Area School District with a communication-centered approach that blends strategic vision, visible leadership and deep community connection. Serving a district of nearly 10,000 students across urban, suburban and rural communities, she has made it her mission to ensure every student feels “safe, welcomed, valued and prepared for the future.”
Dr. Putnam's leadership emphasizes belonging alongside academic excellence, with communication serving as the bridge that connects families, staff, students and community partners across one of Minnesota’s most diverse school systems.
“Dr. Putnam's communication style is both strategic and personal. Her approachable and transparent leadership style has fostered greater trust across the district.” — Shannon Haws, Board of Education Chair, St. Cloud Area School District 742
Building Trust Through Two-Way Engagement
Dr. Putnam is widely recognized for creating spaces where community voice shapes district decisions. She believes the best decisions are made when all voices are heard and ensures inclusive participation whether the topic is a facility referendum, removing barriers to school supplies or partnering with local industry to provide emergency response training and certification for students. At the core of Putnam’s leadership is clear and strategic communication.
Key elements of her engagement approach include:
“She has hosted more ‘Coffee and Conversation’ and community open meetings than any superintendent I have ever worked with.” — Donna Roper, Director of Research, Assessment and AI Integration, St. Cloud Area School District 742
Using Communication to Drive Community Confidence
Dr. Putnam has used communication strategically to strengthen enrollment, public understanding and community trust. During the Apollo High School referendum, she organized 83 community meetings and personally facilitated 53 of them, using tours, presentations and information sessions to explain the proposal and invite dialogue.
She also leads a comprehensive districtwide communications effort focused on safety, belonging, collaboration and excellence, supported by storytelling, direct outreach and highly visible leadership.
A forward-thinking innovator, Dr. Putnam has become a statewide leader in exploring the potential of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in education. Under her leadership, St. Cloud hosted two back-to-back AI Summits, drawing hundreds of educators and thought leaders from across the state and nation, and worked to develop guiding principles for the ethical use of AI by staff and students.
Communication Embedded in Strategy
Dr. Putnam has integrated communication into St. Cloud’s strategic plan, particularly through district goals centered on Positive Climate and Culture and Family and Community Engagement. Those priorities are reinforced through advisory committees, public board meetings, State of the Schools presentations and regular district updates so progress remains visible and shared.
Dr. Putnam views the district’s strategic plan as a living, guiding force—one that drives purposeful action and inspires transformation. From its inception, the strategic plan has been a community endeavor, and Superintendent Putnam continues to honor that foundation. She ensures that its progress is both visible and celebrated through public board meetings, districtwide presentations on the state of the schools, and ongoing communication via direct messages, website stories, and newsletters. Her steady leadership keeps the plan not just alive but thriving, anchoring the district’s vision and propelling it toward a stronger, more connected future.
Superintendent Putnam understands that transparent communication builds trust and is committed to clear, consistent and inclusive communication with all stakeholders. Intentional about inclusion, all district communications are delivered in three languages—English, Somali, and Spanish—and she ensures every school is supported by bilingual communications specialists and family advocates.
A Visible, Relationship-Driven Leader
Her commitment to collaboration extends throughout the community. Through partnerships with local colleges, CentraCare Health System, the Greater St. Cloud Development Corporation and area businesses, Dr. Putnam launched the highly successful Future 100 Initiative, which ensures every student graduates with a clear plan for the future. Now in its second year, the initiative has significantly increased local college applications, aided by waived application fees, college representative support and personalized guidance for every senior in high school.
Dr. Putnam is known for being present, responsive and deeply invested in her community. She maintains strong relationships with local and regional media, joins a monthly radio program to answer questions, and consistently shows up for students, staff, and families during both moments of challenge and celebration. In 2025 Dr. Putnam was named Minnesota Superintendent of the Year. She currently serves as President-Elect of the Minnesota Association of School Administrators (MASA), where she continues to champion courageous, student-centered and community-connected leadership across Minnesota.
B.A. - Mississippi State University; MPA - University of Georgia
I believe school PR/communications is what I was born to do! One of the biggest decisions a parent can make is where to send their child to school, and it’s an honor to share with our parents the engaging work that their children are doing under the guidance of world-class teachers and leaders. On any given day, in any given school, there are many stories to be told and I take that charge seriously. As school communicators played a key role in COVID-19 communications, storytelling was more important than ever – not only did I share information with parents about our protocols, but I also made over 80 visits to schools last year and told a variety of stories about how students were thriving with both in-person and distance learning options. I also worked with principals to determine best mitigation practices and helped make those pervasive, because positive action must be the foundation of what we are ultimately communicating. School public relations is incredibly complex and I love that each day brings a new challenge.
My greatest school PR success was completing 11 nationally-innovative school communication audits using a process of research, planning, implementation, and evaluation. I am now in phase two of this project and am attending school council meetings to garner feedback from parents about school-level communication and how I can better support the work of their schools. One of the most significant findings is that as students take more ownership of their learning, they also take more ownership in parent communication. Therefore, next steps are to better prepare parents for this transition and to also determine best practices from exemplar teachers and coaches at the secondary level so we can strike the right balance with parents feeling informed and fostering student independence.
My greatest school PR challenge is overcoming rigidity. Like many PR professionals, I am detail-oriented and a self-described perfectionist. It’s a blessing and a curse to see when something is one pixel off, but the greatest challenge I have faced in my 13 years in this field is to learn to be more flexible. I might have an aversion to Comic Sans or Curlz, but it’s not the end of the world if those are a font favorite elsewhere. What’s more important is the bigger picture – staff and parents feeling well-informed and students growing and learning in positive school cultures. Instead of telling someone their website isn’t formatted properly, I now make a 2-3 minute screencast if I think there’s a quick tutorial I can offer to provide ongoing professional learning. By being much more flexible, I have deepened relationships and become better at supporting the most important job that occurs in our school system: teaching.
My favorite part of my job is the relationships. I often say that there is no substitute for showing up, and that’s why I make so many school visits each year. From getting to hold a gorgeous monarch butterfly to watching a vibrant student musical to seeing 3-D printing in action from engineering students, I have witnessed countless unique opportunities, and these experiences are just a small piece of what our students get to take part in each and every day. If I didn’t take the time to form relationships, I wouldn’t know that what students value is knowing that the photos I take may show up in their yearbooks. I wouldn’t know the myriad of annual activities that teachers do across our schools because I wouldn’t have witnessed them firsthand. I wouldn’t know about the families of our principals or what they believe makes their school unique. All of that is invaluable because at the end of the day and at the end of this career, relationships are what will remain – both professionally and personally.
The communication tool I use the most is Canva! I would be a brand ambassador if they asked! I am not very mathematically-minded and it can be challenging for someone with an eye for good design – but not an eye for rulers and gridlines – to be a graphic designer. However, Canva has made it possible and I am able to create aesthetically-pleasing graphics with short turn-around times. I have trained communication ambassadors at our schools how to use it as well. Right after Canva, the tool I most use is iMovie. I am completely self-taught in videography and using iMovie and Canva together has made me someone who can add “videographer” to their list of expertise.