[Day 2] More NSPRA takeaways by two top drawer school PR pros – SCN Encourager

Hope you’re still ready for some quality think time!

Labor Day seemed perfect.

Really!

Could there have been a better day than yesterday to kick-off this week-long series of assorted school PR gems?

With this group of amazing school communicators sharing their personal tips and insights from this summer’s NSPRA 2016 Seminar, they’re actually doing all the labor.

And I really like that!

They’re handling the “labe.”

While I handle the “bore.”

And it’s all comes together in this nice little package.

Let me show you.

Lesley Bruinton, APR, is the Public Relations Coordinator for Tuscaloosa City Schools in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

She’s a young energetic school PR pro who’s always willing to forge ahead using the road less travelled… even if it requires her to employ a measure of internal “pre-suasion” first.

“I plan to help my district administrators create and carry out strategic communications on their own in support of work they need to do. (And thanks, Houston ISD for this inspiration!). The first step for me is to connect each school with a PR team member to serve as strategic counsel. This will help every school better focus their efforts and encourage them to think beyond customary school PR tactics like distributing fliers. And we’ll measure our success with a scorecard. Wish me luck!”

While I wish Lesley luck, of course, she strikes me as the kind of person who makes her own luck.

Want proof?

You won’t believe this awesome 20 page book she co-wrote: Principal Communications.

It’s a winner.

And that’s about all I’m going to say about Lesley or her book.

Until our Spartans or Wolverines beat the Crimson Tide in a future bowl game, I’m going to hold back on the high praise Lesley deserves.

School communicator Tom Scheidel is a fellow Michigander so I’m confident he understands my sentiments, even if he probably doesn’t fully agree with them.

Obviously Tom isn’t as shallow as I am.

He would never allow the scores of bowl games to adversely affect his dedication to the school PR profession.

On top of all he does as the Public & Media Relations Coordinator for the Allegan Area Educational Service Agency, he also serves on the MSPRA Board and will soon be a regional representative to NSPRA as well.

Tom returned from NSPRA 2016 with keynote speaker Jack Uldrich’s comments definitely “top of mind.”

His response to Uldrich’s point that the world has already changed and we just haven’t picked up on it yet has a tight connection to our work.

“Our business is in a constant state of change. But just because we know that doesn’t mean we are adapting our work processes properly. My takeaway is to start using newer communication technologies and really look at how our different constituencies want to communicate. We need to get information out to the public in the way they want to receive it, NOT the way we want to send it.”

Tom also wants you to have this link to Jack Uldrich’s website: http://jackuldrich.com/

He knows the value it contains.

For example, there’s a “resources” section I think you’ll enjoy poking around in.

I stopped when I saw Jack’s Future of Education 2020 predictions, though.

Dang.

I’m not that brave!

But like Tom, maybe you are!

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