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Illinois School Board Journal
May/June 2006
Corporate PR firms move into classrooms
by Debra S. Harriman
Debra S. Harriman, a former teacher in Collinsville CUSD 10, is the director of educational services for the Madison County (Illinois) Regional Office of Education.
A new trend is sweeping public schools: public relations for hire. What has worked for corporations attempting to sell a product is now being used in local schools.
Why are school boards hiring public relation firms? Because public image has become a challenge for districts like Springfield SD 186, where voters in 2002 overwhelmingly rejected a property tax increase. Or, as in Collinsville CUSD 10, where the board of education currently struggles with a decision to close small neighborhood schools and redraw district attendance areas.
Parent Teacher Associations were formed in the 1920s to shepherd support from parents. But over the past several decades, the composition of households in the United States has changed significantly due to shifts in social values and the labor force.
With both spouses working outside the home in many cases and single parents as head of the household in others, parents may find it difficult to be involved at school. More than two-thirds of households do not have children in school or any direct link at all to the schools, like grandparents or other close relatives.
These dynamics drive the need for "professional" help to take the community's pulse and to get the public school message out to the community.
But public relations firms come with a big price tag that could be as much as the cost of new textbooks, a school administrator or the salary of two full-time teachers. Is this price tag worth it?
Involving the public
In Collinsville CUSD10 in suburban St. Louis, a professional public relations agency was hired with the hopes of enlisting community support for change in the district. The superintendent, administrative team and board of education then chose members of the community who would help provide leadership for a public relations program. This core "facilitator" team also included board members, faculty, staff, administrators and consultants from the chosen PR firm.
The PR firm assisted the core facilitator team to plan and organize district-wide community meetings. Team leaders, who were the public "face" of this effort, were community members. The team's responsibility was to get the program off the ground and involve the entire community in a series of meetings where they would be charged with the task of identifying and addressing key issues facing the school district. Consultants from the PR firm were on hand at the meetings to assist the team in choosing the location of the community meetings, preparing the agenda, reviewing and critiquing the topic to be presented at each meeting and analyzing the outcome of each meeting.
Flyers and postcards were mailed to community members and sent home with students to announce meeting dates. Press releases extended an invitation to parents and community members to be a part of this effort and to become stakeholders in the decision making of the district through the monthly meetings. After the facilitator team was formed, the citizen committee and facilitating team worked for 12 months to identify key issues and formulate recommendations for the Board of Education's consideration.
At the first meeting, community members formed small groups of eight to 10 to prioritize eight to 10 topics, all key issues that faced the school district. The small groups determined several key questions they wanted answered concerning each topic. One person from each group shared results with everyone else. The key issues identified:
In subsequent meetings, participants of the citizen's committee were invited to join new small groups to review the previous meeting of the facilitator's team. Professionals and experts provided the data and information needed during topical presentations.
The small groups from the citizen's committee then determined issues, challenges and recommendations for that topic. Once again, each group presented the results of their work with the entire committee, along with a preview of the next meeting.
At the final meeting, the entire committee received a copy of the key issues and recommendations. These recommendations were presented to the Board of Education at the next board meeting to use in formative, systemic changes for the school district. The board was then charged to implement these recommendations in a timely manner.
Members of the school board were satisfied with the outcome of the meetings. And, according to the financial chairman, "The money (used to hire the public relations agency) was well worth it."
Board members felt that anyone who was interested in the school district should have a better understanding of funding and how the money was spent. They also felt the presenters did an outstanding job of informing the community about the curriculum.
Ongoing process
Public relations is an ongoing process. The Collinsville Board of Education intends to continue to invite the public to analyze the needs of the school district through the community meetings. But once the board receives the recommendations, they must be responsive to the recommendations and communicate a timeline for their implementation.
In January 2005, the Collinsville board assembled on a retreat to review the district's identified needs and how to implement the recommended changes. Their plan is to keep neighborhood schools open and consider redrawing attendance area boundaries, based on keeping a close eye on new home construction within the district.
The board also decided to hire a local public relations consultant who is familiar with the community.
Now, with coordination by an administrative staff member, the district can continue to promote the schools in a positive manner throughout the year and periodically call on the community to identify key issues and changes necessary to foster an effective learning community and, in turn, increase student achievement.