Necia Nicholas, Superintendent at Mad River Local Schools, will provide a unqiue viewpoint on helping school PR professionals show our Board of Educations and Superintendents the importance of school communicators.

1. Showing BOEs the
Impor tance of Your Job
Necia Nicholas, Superintendent
Mad River Local Schools

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• School PR professionals monitor how the
district is perceived by stakeholders and then
can help implement strategies to improve public
opinion. Any district that chooses not to employ
at least one school PR professional is clearly
leaving the public opinion function to chance.
- Bob Noyed, APR

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 As superintendents we
must always prepare for the
unexpected…
• Not to be caught off guard.
• Have effective
communications
• If we aren’t campaigning for a
levy we should be
campaigning as if we are.

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• Communications Office plays a
central role in engaging all
stakeholders by fostering two-way
communication.
• This office is responsible for the
district's internal and external
communications-
 media relations, website, publications,
email, One Call Now, crisis
communications, social media

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Without good communication, people tend
to feel out of the loop, and as a result, they
become less invested in the school’s
success. This is true for staff, parents,
students, and community partners.

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• “According to the American Association of School
Administrators (AASA), the average tenure of a
superintendent in 2007 is less than six years. The
Council of Great City Schools reports the average tenure
of an urban superintendent to be less than three years.
Parents care not so much about big policy issues, but
more about what is happening in their child’s school and,
most especially, in their child’s classroom. So the
credibility is key to parental satisfaction with school and
the school system, and good communication makes a
substantial contribution to that credibility.”

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• Good communication between the
school and parents—and between
the school district and the
community—creates a climate of
trust and respect in which teachers
can teach and students can learn.
• Good communication builds a team
and that team surrounds and
supports a student so that he or
she can succeed.

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• Each week:
• Meet with Jenny, my communications director.
• Review our communications plan.
• Discuss current issues.
• Confer about upcoming activities.
• Chart our roles into a framework for success and
outcomes.
• We found this method to be very helpful during
our levy campaign last year.

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• Our communications plan was developed in the
beginning of the year by both Jenny and I as a
framework of what we wanted our goals to be.
• We facilitated the achievement of district goals,
strategies and tactics, developed short-term
and long-term goals to accomplish, and tried to
make the objectives measurable so we could
achieve them.

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 Developing A Close • Jenny and I trust each other.
Some differences are bound
Relationship to occur, but honest, open
• Jenny and I have a very close discussions can overcome
relationship… many obstacles to progress.
• I believe in an “open door”
policy – we are often texting,
emailing and calling each
other at all hours of the
evening to discuss various
school issues.

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 Strategies That Keep Relations
Productive
• Provide ideas and updates about what’s going on in the
district.
• Remember mutual respect and communication is a
must.
• Set up a communications plan that works well for both
parties. The stage is set to manage measurable goals.
• Positive relationships provide a concrete basis for
reporting to the community.

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 Strategies that
Keep Relations
Productive
• Agree on roles, relationships
and responsibilities.
• Work together toward
communication goals. When
the focus and common goal is
students and their education,
team members work on
finding common ground and
making sound decisions.

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"Just because you wear a mock black turtleneck, blue jeans, and sneakers
doesn't make you Steve Jobs."
 PR Pitfalls –
• Forgetting to contact the
communications person when
serious issues arise.
• Not communicating frequently
enough
• PR doesn't stand for "Press
Release."
Press releases should be reserved for
true announcements of value and major
milestones of interest. Instead, try
engaging a specific reporter, producer
or editor with your story before they
contact you.

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 PR Pitfalls – • You’re Too Insignificant: Don’t
• Internet. Blog, tweet and use underestimate the value of any
Facebook. and all good press. We had a
• Keep good relationships with local story picked up by the
reporters. As a former news Today Show several years back.
anchor/reporter, I rely on Jenny’s A minor story possibility could
contacts with local TV stations and mean losing a fabulous PR
newspapers. Jenny tries to opportunity.
maintain good working
relationships with local reporters so
that when difficult situations arise,
they are willing to work with us. If
they request an interview, we
always make ourselves available.

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 We have nearly doubled the amount of internal and
external communication strategies/plans that come
out of the communications office:
 Reinstituted Spaghetti Fest
 Education Fair
 Superintendent Blog
 Senior Blogs by High School Seniors
 Facebook & Twitter pages
 Passed Levy
 New website
.

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 We have nearly doubled the amount of internal and
external communication strategies/plans that come out
of the communications office:
 Staff Appreciation Picnic
 Revamped Opening Day
 Video Blogs for staff
 Began Staff Newsletter with staff Lunch Bunch section
 Rumor Mill on website to answer questions constituents may
have about district
 Working on Marketing Video for district
 Weekly meetings with communications director

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 Communications:  Investment:
• Helps schools welcome all • Invest in a school
stakeholders in meaningful communications person.
ways. • If you already have one, make
sure you are using them
• Provides the accountability
effectively. Can be the key to
framework for planning, positive school relations with
monitoring and evaluating your community.
communication
accomplishments and their
links to student and school
success.

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Questions?

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If you would like a copy of today’s presentation…
[slideshare id=17236306&doc=oshprapresentation-130315133837-phpapp02]

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Office of the Superintendent
(937) 259-6606
Necia Nicholas
Superintendent
necia.nicholas@madriverschools.org