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. Wesley Benjamin leads Kalama School District with a disciplined, people-centered approach that blends strategic systems with strong, visible communication. Since becoming superintendent, he has focused on stabilizing operations, strengthening trust, and creating clear, two-way connections between schools and the Kalama community.
“Dr. Wesley Benjamin demonstrates excellence in leadership through his vision, integrity, and ability to transform systems while building trust across his community.” — Steve Padilla, Chief of Staff, Kalama School District
Building Trust Through Open Communication
Benjamin has made communication a defining feature of his leadership, combining regular digital updates with consistent face-to-face engagement so families, staff and community members stay informed and connected to district priorities. A hallmark of his communication leadership is his weekly Facebook Live broadcast, which has quickly become a trusted and anticipated touchpoint for the community. Each week, he uses this platform to highlight the district’s guiding principles, showcase innovative teaching practices, and celebrate the work of students and staff. From spotlighting the middle school’s student-run marketplace to sharing the success of the district’s math intervention program, his broadcasts make learning visible. Families regularly comment with words of gratitude, and teachers appreciate how their students’ work is elevated before a wider audience. His approachable, conversational style brings humanity to district leadership, turning what might otherwise be a static update into an engaging dialogue with the community.
Dr. Benjamin’s communication extends well beyond digital channels. He and members of the school board host quarterly Community Listening Sessions at local venues—informal gatherings designed to hear directly from families, business owners, and residents. These sessions have been instrumental in rebuilding confidence and creating an authentic feedback loop between the district and the public. Attendees frequently remark that they feel “heard” for the first time in years, a testament to the power of two-way communication in leadership.
When the district faced financial challenges, Benjamin addressed the issue directly through written updates, public meetings and online communications to explain the situation, outline next steps and keep the focus on students.
“Whether navigating complex issues, strengthening school-community partnerships, or communicating openly during challenging moments, he demonstrates a level of steadiness and foresight that inspires trust and confidence.” — Rafael Herrera, Chief of Police, City of Kalama (Ret.)
Making Communication a Strategic System
Benjamin ensured communication was embedded into how Kalama operates, not treated as a side function. One of the district’s six guiding principles, Integrity in Action, explicitly calls for clear, timely and transparent communication, and those expectations are built into district goals, strategies and performance measures.
Under his leadership, the district aligned communication with strategy through:
The strategic plan itself was developed through community listening sessions, a districtwide survey and a 60-member planning team of students, families, staff and civic partners.
“Dr. Benjamin models the kind of visionary, student-centered leadership that builds trust and strengthens a district. He reminds us that leadership in education is not only about managing systems but about cultivating a love of learning and ensuring every child has access to high-quality instruction." — Stephanie Harbell, School Board Director, Kalama School District
Leading Where the Work Happens
Benjamin models communication through daily visibility. Serving a single-campus district allows him to be in classrooms, hallways and offices every day, where real-time conversations help resolve issues quickly and reinforce a culture of accessibility and trust.
“He has shown a remarkable ability to bring together educators, first responders, parents, and students into a shared vision of what safe and supportive schools should look like.” — Rafael Herrera, Chief of Police, City of Kalama (Ret.)
With this foundation in place, Kalama School District continues to strengthen how it communicates, align its work and build confidence across the community.
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.