Every day — in good times and bad — your district’s communications efforts are vitally important to the success of your schools. Join us on Friday, June 2 at the New Jersey School Boards Association’s headquarters for the 2023 School Public Relations Program.
Learn strategies and skills to help you build trust and respect with the press, parents and the community at large. Program sessions will include:
Facing the Media: On-Camera Training on Speaking During a Crisis
When your school district is facing a crisis, a district spokesperson will need to respond quickly, calmly and appropriately. In this session, Tom Slater, formerly the risk communications director at the New Jersey Department of Health, and a nationally known trainer in crisis communications, will present an overview of the principles of communication during a crisis. This session will include the creation of a mock scenario, video recording of interviews and critiques of results. Participants will work in teams to prepare for the interviews.
Panel Discussion: Engaging Your District’s Parents
Parents are a school’s primary partner in the education of a child. Effectively communicating with and engaging parents creates a climate of trust and respect in a district and is essential to student success. School communications professionals will discuss what parents want and need to know, how to target messages, using social media, managing language differences, crisis communications and more.
Participants in this session include Kia Bergman, director of communications, West Windsor Plainsboro School District; Paul Brubaker, director of communications, Paterson School District; and Chanta L. Jackson, communications coordinator, Asbury Park School District.
More sessions will be announced in the coming weeks. Spots are very limited – don’t let this opportunity pass you by! Ask your school business administrator to register you today.
The annual School Public Relations Program will take place at NJSBA headquarters from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Breakfast and lunch will be served. This program offers three Board Member Academy credits and has a member fee of $99 per person.