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.
“Superintendent Bassanelli demonstrates excellence and leadership through her inquiry-based approach, strategic vision and a deep commitment to placing students at the center of every decision.” — Raj Rai, APR, Director of Communications
A Strategic, Community-Guided Vision
Bassanelli made listening a leadership priority from the start. She led the development of San Juan Unified’s 2024–29 Strategic Plan through a broad and inclusive engagement process that brought together students, families, staff and community members through focus groups, community sessions, school pop-ups and online feedback tools. Voices that are often absent from traditional feedback processes were intentionally prioritized, ensuring the district’s four strategic directions (Advance and Support Student Success, Prioritize Equitable Practices, Enhance Employee Systems and Supports, and Engage Studentts, Families and Community as Valued Educational Partners) reflect the community it serves.
District storytelling, superintendent messages and ongoing updates now consistently connect daily work back to those long-term priorities. Additionally, Superintendent Bassnelli has grown the communication team, adding two new positions to the team last year. Cultural Communication Specialists, one Persian-speaking and one Spanish-speaking, will bring a strategic perspective to the work being done at San Juan Unified. These two new team members are working to build engagement and responsiveness among their specific cultural and language groups, providing culturally relevant and responsive input into the district’s communication strategies.
“This was not a top-down process but intentional planning to bring multiple viewpoints and perspectives together to synthesize the experiences, wants and needs of our community.” — Sabrina Parsley, Harry Dewey Fundamental Elementary School Principal
Modernizing How the District Communicates
Guided by family and staff feedback, Bassanelli led a systemwide shift toward streamlined, more accessible communication tools, including:
These changes reduced fragmentation, improved clarity and removed barriers for families and staff.
Visible, Two-Way Leadership
Bassanelli pairs strong systems with highly visible engagement. She meets monthly with the Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council (SSAC), which brings together student representatives from every high school in the district. Through the SSAC, she has created a safe, open space where students feel comfortable sharing their ideas and concerns directly with her, even following up by email. Superintendent Bassanelli ensures that student voices influence real change, engaging them in discussions on mental health, equity and inclusion, and policies such as the student dress code. Her regular presence demonstrates to students and families alike that their perspectives are not only heard but acted upon. She also convenes the Superintendent’s Parent Advisory Committee (SPAC), comprised of parent representatives from each school. These meetings provide a forum for sharing district updates, discussing current issues, and gathering feedback from parents and guardians. Under her leadership, participation in SPAC has grown significantly this year, in part because she removed barriers by offering onsite child care to make it easier for families to attend. This reflects her commitment not just to inviting feedback, but to actively creating conditions where community voices are equitably represented.
“That is the type of leader that Superintendent Bassanelli is—someone who uplifts the voices of others and centers them in her work.” — Julia Clauson, Student Advisory Council member
Beyond structured groups, Bassanelli is a consistent presence in classrooms, at school events and across the community. She models open, transparent communication for staff and prioritizes timely, accurate information for families.
“Her collaborative leadership approach coupled with a clear and transparent communication style has already proven she is a superintendent to watch.” — Sabrina Parsley, Harry Dewey Fundamental Elementary School Principal
The impact in Superintendent Bassanelli's leadership can be seen in how San Juan Unified has strengthened how it listens, communicates and connects with students, families and staff across the district.
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.