Professional Development Academy & Programs Academy

New school PR professionals will hear from superintendents on what they expect from school communicators. Topics will include identifying what superintendents need and want, having crucial conversations, landing a seat at the leadership table and understanding the role of communication in a district’s overall strategic plan.

This module will focus on the specialized world of communications in education. Emphasis will be placed on building a strong foundation of knowledge from which participants can shape their career and school communications experiences.

Module-Level Learning Objectives:

• 🔍 Conduct research effectively to assess and better understand your organization
• 📚 Understand the vocabulary and unique processes used in the field of education
• 📑 Identify assets and threats to your organization
• 🗂️ Develop a collection of resources and a network to support your learning
• 📋 Discuss the capstone project for the NSPRA New Professionals Academy

This module will help participants to think more strategically, the foundation of a strong communication program. Enrollees will learn the importance of using the district’s strategic plan as a guide to developing a comprehensive communication plan and how to leverage the four-step research, planning, implementation and evaluation (RPIE) public relations process. Participants will put their learning into action by beginning to draft plans.

Module-Level Learning Objectives:

• 📊 Identify key components of their district strategic plan that relate specifically to communications
• 🛠️ Develop communication goals for your organization

Being prepared to communicate quickly and knowing the best platforms to share key information help communication professionals to be seen as the trusted source of school district information. This module will help participants begin creating a robust library of campaign, crisis and event plans, templates and scripts for both crises and day-to-day communication efforts. Staying digitally organized will assist participants in their efficiency and building capacity with district and building-level administrators.

Module-Level Learning Objectives:

• 📁 Organize and curate a collection of scripts, plans, and processes for a variety of events
• 🔍 Understand how environmental scanning plays a significant role in predicting and responding to events
• 🎯 Master ways to target audiences and communities for specific communications
• 🗣️ Recognize the value of district “voice” in communications
• 📝 Expand upon current writing skills

Internal Communications
+ Special Topic on Designing High Quality Professional Development

This module will focus on internal communications, a critical component of a successful communication strategy. Learn best practices for developing staff into ambassadors for the district, as well as providing them with quality professional development as it relates to effective communications. Self-care practices to guard against high levels of stress and burnout will also be shared.

Module-Level Learning Objectives:

• 📣 Understand the role internal communication plays in the success of a school district
• 📊 Evaluate current internal communication practices
• 👥 Research districts with ambassador programs or advisory teams
• 🛠️ Devise a professional development activity for staff
• 📋 Create “sub plans” to ensure communications efforts can continue in your absence if ever required

Branding and Marketing
+ Special Topic on Logos

Marketing is now a critical piece of any district’s strategic plan, but many professionals are unsure what that looks like for their district. This module will help participants understand the difference between brands, logos, mission statements and other assets that identify their districts. Participants will learn skills and strategies to confidently support and counsel district leaders in branding and marketing their district.

Module-Level Learning Objectives:

• 🛠️ Understand the importance of brand identity for a school district
• 📜 Review their district brands, logos and mascots, as well as the history behind them
• 🎯 Discover the role marketing plays in an overall communication strategy
• 📝 Review and/or create a district style guide

Navigating the political realities of school boards and the communities a school district serves are critical to the success of a school communications program. Participants will identify key communicators in their communities including other government officials, citizen advocates as well as business leaders, associations and agencies who can become partners in district efforts.

Module-Level Learning Objectives:

• 💬 Distinguish the differences between communications to the Board, from the Board, and with the Board
• 👥 Understand how advisory groups for students, staff, parents, and community members can support district efforts
• 📋 Identify board policies that mention or are impacted by communications
• 🤝 Recognize the value in strong relationships with other public information officers in the school community

Enrollees will take part in a speed learning breakout session, rotating through rooms to explore and share insights on photography, videography, social media, AP style, accessibility, web management, graphic design, media relations, and more. Each room is led by school PR professionals who specialize in these areas.

Module-Level Learning Objectives:

• 🛠️ Develop a professional development plan for continued learning
• 📋 Create templates and resources for effective communications

Participants will work with the course facilitator on completing their capstone project, a research-driven strategic communication plan for their school, school district or educational service agency.

Kenon A. Brown is a professor in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations (A+PR) at the University of Alabama. As the programming director for the Alabama Program in Sports Communication, he is responsible for stakeholder communication and events for the program. He is also the graduate coordinator for A+PR, specifically in charge of its master's program. Kenon joined the department in August 2012 after completing his doctorate at Alabama. Prior to his academic appointment, he worked for eight years in restaurant management and marketing. His research interests include image and reputation management, particularly in sports, and minority recruitment in mass communication. Kenon has worked closely with several sport and entertainment organizations, including the International Olympic Committee, FOX Sports, Twitch, NASCAR and the Country Music Association. Keeping with his practitioner roots, he also consults with several regional and national clients, specifically assisting with market research and strategic planning.

Overview of the Strategic Communication Planning Process
+Special Topic Area on Ethical Communication in a Dynamic World

This module will focus on revisiting (or introducing for some) the four-step strategic planning process in public relations (research, planning, implementation, evaluation). Rather than just a review of the strategic communication planning process, emphasis will also be placed on how the evolving communication landscape has complicated—and in some cases, improved—the process and its application. The facilitator will also begin an initial discussion about the capstone project with the members.

 

Assessing Your Communication Opportunity: The Importance of Research
+ Special Topic Area on Community Engagement

This module will be devoted to the most important—yet the most tedious—step in the process: developing and executing a research plan. The focus will be on understanding how to conduct research effectively and efficiently to better understand your situation, your school district and your stakeholders. The facilitator will discuss the vast array of secondary research that is at your fingertips. The facilitator will also discuss tools that are available that can help practitioners conduct simple primary research. The discussion will culminate with a workshop on creating better SWOT analyses and stakeholder profiles.

How Do I Measure That? Setting Realistic Benchmarks
+ Special Topic on Public Relations Law

The foundation of the strategic communication plan is the end game – your goals and objectives. This module will emphasize the need for ambitious, yet realistic benchmarks and key performance indicators (KPIs) for your plan. A discussion about understanding your limitations and knowing the difference between operational and communication issues will lead into a workshop on forward-thinking goals and developing solid, measurable objectives based on those goals.

Building Better Communication Strategies 
+ Special Topic on Behavioral Communication

This module will focus on the other part of the planning process: determining how to meet your goals and objectives. The facilitator will discuss the variety of options that you can use to build your strategies while also providing insight into choosing the right (not the easiest) approach to achieving your goals. Messaging will be a focal point of this discussion, with emphasis on creating a message strategy that will resonate with all stakeholders.

Choosing the Right Communication Channels
+ Special Topic on Crisis Management

It’s no secret that the communication landscape now is vastly different than it was 15, 10 or even five years ago. Should you use a flier to get the word out to your students, or would a Tik Tok video get the job done better? Does the standard email communication always work for parents? This module will discuss the communication evolution. The facilitator will lead a discussion on the fragmentation of media channels (how did we go from four major TV stations to having to purchase eight streaming services) and why understanding this is important to choosing the right channels to communicate your message based on your stakeholders.

Time and Money: The Important Resources
+ Special Topic on Financial Literacy

The first half of this module will focus on two components of the strategic communication plan that are usually overlooked: the budget and the timetable. The facilitator will discuss how to build development, execution and evaluation into a comprehensive timetable. The elements of a communication budget will be covered in this module as well. The discussion will end with tips for how to discuss the costs for effective communication with school boards, taxpayers and other funding gatekeepers and how sound communication can affect the bottom line.

The Measure of Success: Evaluation
+ Special Topic on Lessons in Effective Leadership

The final module will focus on the last step of the four-step process: evaluation. How do you make sure you measure your success correctly? Tying closely to Module 3, the facilitator will spend the first half of this module discussing easy ways to get the comprehensive data you need to make sure your strategic communication plans are effective. Using your objectives as a guide, this discussion will discuss the formal and informal ways to measure your success, as well as how to present the findings to your supervisors and managers to justify the next project.

Participants will work with Dr. Brown on completing their capstone project, a research-driven strategic communication plan for their school, school district or educational service agency.

This module will outline the power of establishing strong internal communications. We’ll discuss the value of developing public relations ambassadors within your staff, setting communication expectations and creating a plan for consistent communication across the district.

 

Does your district have a strategic plan? How does communication fit into that plan? Should you develop a district communications plan? We’ll discuss the importance of using the RPIE process to answer those questions and more: Research, Planning, Implementation and Evaluation. We will also spend time discussing school communication from a broad perspective: how to identify appropriate audiences, what messages are important, what tools you have – and what you might be missing, reviewing your district's current communication practices and measuring communication efforts effectively.

Districts have a wide variety of tools at their disposal to communicate with varied audiences. However, using tools more strategically will not only yield better results, but also save you time.

"Admiring and acquiring” resources from districts around the country and building a network of school communicator and superintendent colleagues, you will feel confident in developing an effective crisis communication plan.
We'll discuss the importance of developing a robust library of campaign templates, event processes, strategic plans and scripts. Learning to be prepared with minor edits to messages and knowing which platforms resonate best in your communities will result in the district being seen as the trusted source for school district information.

Understanding political nuances is key to the success of school communications. Knowing what is appropriate and having clear boundaries for board members, superintendents and other district leaders when it comes to communicating with constituents is a must-have for all districts.

Even as a leader of a district with a strategic communication plan, strong internal communications, variety of communication tools and robust resource folders, you are only one person. You need help! In this module, discover unique and creative ways to support district communication efforts, help students learn about a career path and build capacity in your staff. We'll also research and discuss options for hiring a dedicated communication staff member.

While ballot issues may only come around every few years, districts are constantly building bridges, developing trust and assessing and evaluating the impacts of their efforts, all the while gauging the climate of their staff, students, parents and community. This module will focus on the communication efforts that happen in the months prior to a ballot initiative as well as follow-up communication based on the outcome of the election.

• Participants will work with the course facilitator on completing their capstone project, a research-driven strategic communication plan for their school, school district or educational service agency.