PR Power Hours

Fast, Focused and Always on Fridays!
PR Power Hours are live at Noon Eastern Time.
(11 a.m. Central, 10 a.m. Mountain, 9 a.m. Pacific, 8 a.m. Alaska)
NSPRA’s PR Power Hours offer an economical and convenient way to continue your professional development. These webinars provide an interactive forum for learning best practices from top experts in school communication.
Registration for each PR Power Hour is only $59 for NSPRA members. For non-NSPRA members, it is $89 per registered attendee.
Register for five or more Power Hours and receive access to the audio file of each program you purchase for no additional fee. Registrants to individual PR Power Hours can purchase the audio file for an additional fee of just $10.
You can register online for the PR Power Hours using the links below or use the registration form.
2018-2019 PR Power Hour Series
- October 12, 2018: Get Them There: Finding, Educating and Motivating Your Bond Voters
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November 9, 2018: Earn Their Trust: Engaging Employees Through Internal Communications
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December 7, 2018: Building Support for Social Emotional Learning and Mental Health in Schools
- January 11, 2019: Cultural Awareness, Agility and Competence: What Does it Mean and How Does a Communicator Embrace and Exhibit it on the District’s Behalf?
- February 8, 2019: Making the Most of Your One-Person PR Department
- March 15, 2019: Take Your Administrators to Communication Camp: A How-to Guide
- April 12, 2019: Copyright Essentials to Keep Your District Safe in a Multimedia World
- May 10, 2019: Drive District Engagement with Content Marketing
September 14, 2018
A New Algorithm Reality: Increasing Social Media Engagement in a Shifting Landscape
Let’s face it: the changes to Facebook’s algorithm have cut your school district's social media reach dramatically. Your once-reliable social media tactics don’t work as well anymore, and that is having a big impact on your community engagement online. Learn how to navigate this shifting landscape on social media with strategies and tactics that will engage your stakeholders and regrow your reach. Some tactics, including paid placements and boosted posts, offer new opportunities that may lead to public questions about the use of budget funds, so we’ll examine that side of the issue as well.
Panelists: Andrea Gribble, owner/social media strategist, #SocialSchool4EDU; Melissa McConnell, district communications specialist, Belton (Mo.) School District #124; and Justin Grayson, public information officer, Riverside (Calif.) Unified School District
Moderator: Shane Haggerty, APR, owner & president, Purposeland, Dublin, Ohio and NSPRA vice president at large for communication technology & innovation
Qualified webinar attendees are eligible to receive one APR Maintenance credit.
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October 12, 2018
Get Them There: Finding, Educating and Motivating Your Bond Voters
Are all of your supportive residents turning out to vote on your bond campaign or capital project proposal? If national trends are any indication, that answer is, “No, not even close.” Learn practical strategies for combating voter apathy and building public support at the ballot box from a small, rural district with a single school communicator and a large, suburban district with a Gold Medallion-winning communications team.
Panelists: Sabreana Smith Marsh, director, public relations and Roosevelt Nivens, Ed.D, superintendent, Community ISD, Nevada, Texas; and Linda Buchman, community relations officer, Spring Branch ISD, Houston, Texas
Moderator: Athena Vadnais, APR, communications and community engagement director, Gresham-Barlow School District, Gresham, Ore.
Qualified webinar attendees are eligible to receive one APR Maintenance credit.
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November 9, 2018
Earn Their Trust: Engaging Employees Through Internal Communications
Ever had an employee say negative things about your school district? Just one rant at the grocery store or a barbeque can turn an undecided voter against your bond proposal or send an uncertain homebuyer to the next town over. Frustrated and uninformed employees can be the biggest threat to a school district’s success. Prevent that threat (or recover from a trust breakdown) by strengthening your internal communications with practical, successful strategies from those who’ve been there.
Presenters: Cathy Orta, APR, executive director, communications, Rockwood School District, Eureka, Mo.; and Stacy Brandt, communications specialist, San Diego (Calif.) County Office of Education
Moderator: Peg Mannion, APR, community relations coordinator, Glenbard Township High School District 87, Glen Ellyn, Ill. and NSPRA North Central Region vice president
Qualified webinar attendees are eligible to receive one APR Maintenance credit.
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December 7, 2018
Building Support for Social Emotional Learning and Mental Health in Schools
Social emotional learning and students' mental health are important and sometimes heated topics of conversation for schools today. Many states have adopted or introduced laws related to SEL standards, and this past summer, new mental health curriculum requirements went into effect in New York and Virginia. Learn what SEL is, how the movement is rolling out and what some school districts are doing to build community understanding and support for SEL and mental health programs.
Presenters: Irene Payne, Chief Communications and Community Engagement Officer, Washoe County (Nev.) School District; and Jodie Orzechowski, APR, Program Manager - Communications, Capital Region BOCES (N.Y.)
Moderator: Thomas Scheidel, Public Information Coordinator for Allegan Area Educational Service Agency and NSPRA Mideast Regional Vice President
Qualified webinar attendees are eligible to receive one APR Maintenance credit.
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January 11, 2019
Cultural Awareness, Agility and Competence: What Does it Mean and How Does a Communicator Embrace and Exhibit it on the District’s Behalf?
As the United States and Canada become more culturally and ethnically diverse, public schools are becoming more diverse, too. Systems are most effective when they respond respectfully and effectively to people of all cultures, languages, classes, races, ethnic backgrounds, religions and other diversity factors in a manner that recognizes, affirms and values the worth of individuals, families and communities, and protects and preserves the dignity of each. To create a positive environment where students and teachers are respectful of different backgrounds, schools must be proactive. Learn how your school district can take a proactive approach to acknowledging and understanding diversity where each child feels valued.
Panelists: Richard Franco, director, public relations, Florence (Ariz.) Unified School District; and Shayla Cannady, senior manager, public relations, Orange County Public Schools, Orlando, Fla.
Moderator: Heidi Otero, Director, communications, Arizona School Boards Association, Phoenix, Ariz. and NSPRA vice president for diversity engagement
Qualified webinar attendees are eligible to receive one APR Maintenance credit.
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February 8, 2019
Making the Most of Your One-Person PR Department
If there’s one struggle every one-person school PR department faces, it’s finding enough time to plan strategically while also meeting day-to-day obligations. How do you share all the great things going on in your schools when you’re the only communications person in your district? Make a difference in your schools and your community by planning and executing strategic communications. Hear examples and learn tips and ideas from fellow one-person departments to help prioritize, maximize and amplify your communications efforts to help ensure what matters is what gets done.
Panelists: Erica Chandler, APR, director, communications, Affton (Mo.) School District; and Tracy Jentz, communications/community engagement coordinator, Grand Forks (N.D.) Public Schools
Moderator: Lana Mueller, operations manager, Lawrence Township Public Schools, Lawrenceville, N.J. and NSPRA Northeast Region vice president
Qualified webinar attendees are eligible to receive one APR Maintenance credit.
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March 15, 2019
Take Your Administrators to Communication Camp: A How-to Guide
Administrative support is essential when it comes to finding and sharing the great stories going on in your schools. Lack that support, and you’ll encounter constant barriers to achieving your communication goals. Learn how one district used a “communication camp” to motivate and empower its administrators to become more active, successful partners in school communication efforts.
This session will include practical guidance on setting up a Communication Camp for administrators such as:
- How, when and where to hold it for maximum participation.
- What to put on the agenda for maximum engagement.
- Ideas to help sustain the learning all year long.
Did you attend the communication camp session at the 2018 NSPRA Seminar? If so, this session is still for you! Listen for results from the second annual Communication Camp and for more details on how to structure conversations about building your campsite community and becoming leading communicators for more than just your school.
Panelists: Danielle Airey, chief communications officer and Erin Dunsey, media relations specialist, Peoria Unified School District, Glendale, Ariz.
Moderator: Trent Allen, APR, senior director, community relations, San Juan Unified School District, Carmichael, Calif. and NSPRA Southwest Region vice president
Qualified webinar attendees are eligible to receive one APR Maintenance credit.
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April 12, 2019
Copyright Essentials to Keep Your District Safe in a Multimedia World
Want to use a chart-topping artist's new song or clips from a hot video on YouTube to promote a school program or your next bond vote? Caution ahead! What you don't know about copyright can hit your district hard, and with more than just fines. In this webinar, explore common misperceptions in the education community about how copyright applies to protected content used by educators, students and school communicators. (What "fair use" does and doesn't cover may surprise you.) Misunderstanding copyright law is negatively affecting school districts. Learn how to avoid the fiscal, ethical and operational dangers, and leave with free or low-cost options to find royalty free graphics, photos, music and more.
Panelists: Jake Sturgis, APR, chief storeyteller, Captivate Media + Consulting, Golden Valley, Minn.; and Emily Popek, public information specialist, Capital Region BOCES, Albany, N.Y.
Moderator: Kelly Avants, APR, chief communication officer, Clovis (Calif.) Unified School District and NSPRA president-elect
Qualified webinar attendees are eligible to receive one APR Maintenance credit.
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May 10, 2019
Drive District Engagement with Content Marketing
The traditional ways in which you marketed your district may not be working as well anymore. Increased competition in public education is forcing school districts to use innovative approaches to market their schools and programs. Learn how content marketing can help in driving audience engagement. Now more than ever, helpful content can move your marketing from mediocre to remarkable.
Presenter: Jason Wheeler, marketing coordinator, Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD, Carrollton, Texas
Host: Cathy Kedjidjian, director, communications & strategic planning, Glenview (Ill.) School District 34 and NSPRA vice president at large for communication technology & innovation
Qualified webinar attendees are eligible to receive one APR Maintenance credit.