About NSPRA
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NSPRA recognizes as "Superintendents to Watch" those school district leaders who have fewer than five years of experience as a superintendent and who are using communication technology in innovative, effective ways. These superintendents demonstrate dynamic, fast-paced leadership with strong communication at its core. They engage and inform their school communities using new communication tools combined with tried-and-true techniques.
Following are Superintendents to Watch honorees from over the years.
Dr. Carol Birks Allentown (Pa.) School District
Vince Breunig School District of Lodi (Wis.)
Cheri Burke Granby (Conn.) Public Schools
Terry Connor Sarasota County Schools
Dr. Royal Gurley, Jr. Charlottesville City (Va.) Schools
Dr. Nyah Hamlett Chapel Hill-Carrboro City (N.C.) Schools
Dr. Crystal Hill Charlotte-Mecklenburg (N.C.) Schools
Dr. Demetrius McCall Sheldon Independent School District Houston, Texas
Dr. Ginni McDonald Russellville (Ark.) School District
Expand each section to read more about each recipient.
How have you integrated communication into your district’s strategic plan? Our district strategic plan has four pillars that are titled Our Students, Our Team, Our Connections and Our System. Within these four pillars the district has developed one-year action plans that outline how we will improve items that impact students, staff, families and the overall system. The Our Connections pillar of the strategic plan includes a commitment to actively collaborate with our families, community and business partners to enhance student success. One of the key action plans within this pillar is titled Family Engagement through Personalized Communication and Relationship Building. The overall goal for the action plan states that by the end of the school year the district will increase family satisfaction and engagement through student recognition, communication on relevant educational topics and implementation of a unified communications platform.
What communication initiative are you most proud of that have you implemented in your district? Each week our district provides a customized communication to staff and families that highlights the Top 5 items we need them to know. The staff update is called the Affton Insider and the family update is called Access Affton. Each week I insert a 2-3 minute video into each update where I speak directly to each group. In the video I summarize items that are in the update while also mentioning items that might not be in the update. This allows me to include staff and student recognitions or accomplishments that might have been featured in our social media posts throughout the week. Another initiative I am proud of includes our strategic approach to the engagement and satisfaction of students, staff and families. The district integrated a consistent process to survey stakeholders on an annual basis. Based on the survey results, improvement strategies and goals are integrated into district and school improvement plans. Each survey gives us a pulse on our communication initiatives.
What does leadership mean to you? Leadership is opportunity. I believe that leadership is an opportunity to serve others and an opportunity to grow other leaders. I believe to be a leader you have to be willing to be bold and courageous, be willing to do what is right in times when others have lost their way and in education, always doing what is right for children first.
How have you integrated communication into your district’s strategic plan? Our strategic plan is centered around the children we serve because they are the "why" of everything we do. We utilize multiple methods of communication to solicit feedback on our progress in meeting the goals of our strategic plan and to share stories of our accomplishments related to our goals. Our communication methods include an updated website, text-based parent surveys and superintendent weekly emails to staff. In addition to the district's three social media platforms, I maintain two school-based social media accounts to provide "direct" communication with parents and the community. All of these methods allow us to show that #greathingshappenhere throughout our district.
What communication initiative are you most proud of that have you implemented in your district? Last year we began implementing Possip as a tool to promote communication opportunities with our parents. Throughout the year parents receive text messages asking a simple question such as "how satisfied are you with the school?" Parents are able to answer the questions on their phone through text and provide feedback on what they like and suggestions on what improvements could be made. The transition from an annual parent survey to an ongoing model of collecting feedback from our parents allows for genuine insight regarding the perception of parents, the opportunity to pivot when needed and promotes a culture of inclusion with the parents we serve.
What does leadership mean to you? Leadership is a dynamic characteristic and can be developed over time. We become better leaders by persevering through challenges, and by actively reflecting on successes and failures. It’s been said that a calm sea never made a skilled sailor; likewise, many skilled leaders have developed and honed exemplary leadership skills by persisting through difficult times and learning from every experience, positive and negative. Over my career I’ve been most impacted by leaders who are both transparent and visionary. To be a transparent leader means to be visibly honest, to communicate regularly and effectively, and to acknowledge mistakes. To be a visionary leader means to inspire, to bring out the best in others, to energize the team around common aspirations, and to support the growth of the organization by focusing on the future. Transparent leaders successfully communicate how things are; visionary leaders successfully communicate how they wish things to be. The best leaders do both.
How have you integrated communication into your district’s strategic plan? Our strategic plan includes three overarching goals; Goal 3 (“Engage parents, staff & community to promote unique educational opportunities for students) intentionally prioritizes effective communication. Our staff works closely with the Board of Trustees to ensure that the community is regularly apprised of the district’s progress toward each of our goals. In support of our strategic plan, we prioritize community partnerships as a mechanism to drive innovation in schools, with a key focus on soliciting stakeholder input to respond to diverse community interests and needs. A point of pride for the Carlsbad community is our Graduate Profile. Supported by the school community and developed collaboratively with input from diverse stakeholders, our Graduate Profile describes learners who are effective communicators and collaborators; critical thinkers; self-directed individuals; and ethical and responsible citizens. The Graduate Profile is embedded throughout our strategic plan.
What communication initiative are you most proud of that have you implemented in your district? I’m most proud of the increased use of social media by our schools and our district. Educators and leaders have an obligation to widely share the wonderful things happening in schools, and social media is an indispensable tool for sharing the good news about public education. We’ve been clear with school and district leaders about expectations for regular social media use, ensuring that each school site and school site leader has at least one active social media channel (initially prioritizing Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, and now encouraging school leaders to think intentionally about how best to use other popular platforms like TikTok and Snapchat). By setting these expectations, providing opportunities for professional learning, and modeling positive and intentional use of a variety of social media tools, we’ve seen a dramatic increase in the volume and quality of crowdsourced storytelling and communication from our school sites.
How have you integrated communication into your district’s strategic plan? As we recently revised our Suffolk Public Schools strategic plan "Destination 2028: Connection, Educational Excellence, and Innovation," the ability to establish two-way communication remains at the forefront of our goals. Community engagement and communication that focuses on increasing engagement opportunities for families, school communities and business partnerships allows Suffolk Public Schools to strive for excellence in education, to celebrate diversity, and to be committed to students, staff and the school community. I believe that it is important for constituents, staff and students to participate in multiple forms of communication, and to also be able to interact with the school division and staff. Communication metrics such as surveys, family engagement events, advisory groups, associations and clubs allows both the community and school division to determine if communication strategies have been both efficient and effective.
What communication initiative are you most proud of that have you implemented in your district? I have been the most proud of improving communication methods that the school community was already familiar with to increase two-way communication. During my tenure in Suffolk Public Schools, I have held "Meet the Superintendent" town halls and established Facebook Live sessions since the community already used Facebook as a platform to share information about the school division. I believed that taking ownership of the platform has had a tremendous benefit. I have also created SPS Starcast, which are podcasts that highlight new and innovative things that are happening in the school division. I am also extremely proud of the increase in social media use by the school division. For example, when I began in 2019, the school division Instagram page had one follower, and now it has 2,300. Good communicators adapt their communication strategies to best fit the needs of the school community while keeping in mind usability, and frequency of use.
What does leadership mean to you? Leadership – particularly in school settings – means setting the tone and establishing a clear direction. Leaders keep everyone focused on their organization’s core goals and values, and establish and cultivate the organization’s culture. They are the role models to whom everyone is looking and noticing – and they’re the catalysts behind every organizational action. Good leaders are careful and deliberate, and they deeply engage with the members of their organization. Organizations reflect these leadership qualities. Well-led organizations are joyful, busy with purpose, and productive. There is an implicit and inherent way of work and doing things, and people support and celebrate each other’s success. There’s strong communication and collaboration. Well-led schools are supportive and nurturing places where students can spend all day consumed in reading, discovery, problem-solving, and enjoying their community.
How have you integrated communication into your district’s strategic plan? Portland Public Schools' Strategic Plan, adopted in June 2021, identified, "Implement[ing] a Proactive, Effective, and Creative Communication Practice" as one of our core strategic outcomes. Through 2025, we’ll develop a communications practice that proactively informs internal and external stakeholders while being timely, respectful, transparent, and accessible. We aim to reach linguistically and culturally diverse communities, and utilize a variety of data and media. Two years in, we’re making excellent progress. We’ve grown our communications team by hiring a talented array of professionals with deep experience in writing, visual storytelling, and media relations. We’re expanding and refining how we support communication by school leaders and central staff while holding firm standards for clear, accessible, and meaningful communication. Together, we’re telling our story – a story of high-quality teaching and learning, and growth and achievement by our brilliant students.
What communication initiative are you most proud of that have you implemented in your district? I’m proud of our attention to culturally-specific, multilingual communications. Language and cultural access are the heart of a socially-just education system. Our work has increased our standing within Portland’s culturally- and linguistically-diverse communities, and it makes us stronger as a district. Beyond our core commitment to direct translation and interpretation – not simply punching materials into Google Translate – we strive to ensure our leaders write or speak in plain language. This makes translation and interpretation easier while enabling our translators and interpreters to preserve intent, style, tone, and context. It also recognizes a basic right of every listener or reader, regardless of your spoken language: to understand the terms of your child’s education. Technical jargon, inside terminology, passive voice, and overly-long sentences all stand in the way of that worthy goal for English speakers as much as non-English speakers.
What does leadership mean to you? Leadership means being an effective listener, having a team- and goal-oriented work ethic, and effectively interacting with the learning community. Leaders must listen to the needs of the entire learning community. They must develop open lines of communication with administrators, staff, students and parents to measure how they are meeting the needs of all stakeholders. This can be done by being readily available and visible during the instructional day or by developing systems for gathering feedback on district programs and supports. We model this work ethic by facilitating opportunities for the learning community to align as one, striving for the same goals and objectives. Finally, a key quality for effective leadership is building relationships with the community. Being open and honest with the community allows us to build relationships founded on trust. These relationships are the bedrock from which we build and maintain a learning environment where the entire community succeeds.>
How have you integrated communication into your district’s strategic plan? Our district’s latest strategic plan was built on a foundational commitment to open, honest and transparent communication among all stakeholders. Rather than dictating our new plan from the top down, we worked to include as many voices from the Hawthorn community as possible. This was accomplished by utilizing a third-party facilitator to bring together these stakeholders and help us ascertain exactly what was most important to each group, and then synthesize that information into a strategic plan to guide our district moving forward. One of the key takeaways from our new plan is a renewed commitment to accountability. Our strategic plan incorporates four data-driven district goals with ambitious targets. Everything we do is measured against those goals, and our board of education and community are expected to keep us accountable to those goals.
What communication initiative are you most proud of that have you implemented in your district? I’m most proud of our Superintendent Communication Council. This quarterly council brings together representatives from each of our nine schools to share celebrations and bring questions or concerns directly to district leadership. Representatives solicit their buildings for celebrations and questions, and district leadership have given a commitment to answer or address anything that is brought to the council. We do ask building representatives to submit their questions ahead of time so cabinet can review them and make sure we have answers. At the meetings, representatives share celebrations from their building, and then we work through the submitted questions with department heads providing an answer to the group. We then discuss the issue as a council. Afterwards, everything discussed at the council is shared with all staff members. This creates an environment of open communication where decisions are not being made in a vacuum, and all staff members have an avenue to ask questions.
What does leadership mean to you?Leadership begins not with formal titles or positions, but with a drive to do better for the entire community. My interest in leading academic growth did not start with the title of assistant principal or principal. It began as a teacher. Schools and school districts need strong leaders at all levels to be successful. As superintendent, I am a servant leader. Servant leaders listen, build trust and understand that success happens when all stakeholders are empowered. My leadership has evolved. I am not afraid to take risks, establish bold aspirational goals and empower those around me to work as a team to accomplish those goals. Building strong teams of students, faculty, school leaders and district leaders has been a hallmark of my career. It matters that leaders are present, show care, concern, empathy and, when needed, direct leadership. Leading as a servant, being clear and consistent, and guiding others towards success should be foundational in all leaders, regardless of title.
How have you integrated communication into your district’s strategic plan? Communication is a vital component of our district’s strategic plan. Before becoming superintendent, I initiated a plan to reach out to employees, families and community members through meet-and-greets called Listen & Learn Sessions. I wanted everyone to get to know me and my vision for the district, but, even more important, I wanted to get feedback from students, staff, families and community members. Each session had a theme, and participants could take part in-person or virtually. I incorporated my plan for Listen & Learn sessions into goal 7 of our strategic plan. This goal includes action steps to gather input from stakeholders, train staff to better communicate with families, enhance communication tools, increase outreach to community organizations and business partners, and build positive communication with students, families and employees. I also created a specific plan to engage all PCS staff in various activities to connect with the district’s core values.
What communication initiative are you most proud of that have you implemented in your district? One of my top priorities as superintendent is to make sure that every employee feels valued. Since I was appointed superintendent, I focused on connecting face-to-face with staff members, with a goal of visiting employees in all areas of our Pinellas County Schools family. At the beginning of the school year, I launched an employee recognition program called PCS Praise. It’s a teambuilding initiative that gives all employees opportunities to recognize and celebrate colleagues who exemplify our strategic plan core values. When PCS Praise forms are submitted, supervisors are notified so employees can be recognized and celebrated by everyone in their department. I visit many of the PCS Praise nominees to congratulate them in person. I also review the submissions and pick Superintendent Standouts, who receive special recognitions at our School Board meetings. It’s an honor to recognize so many deserving employees on a regular basis.
What does leadership mean to you? All students deserve a quality education where choice, interests and engagement are valued. Making a difference for students should be at the heart of all decisions. Professional and personal integrity must be demonstrated by all educators at all times. We must hold ourselves personally accountable for the success of our students and our district. Connection through diverse, transparent and collaborative communication is key. Leaders must be an active, visible part of the schools, district and community. Learning at all levels is achieved through coaching, empowerment and experiences for growth. Organizational excellence is achieved through strategic, results-driven, shared decision-making. Lead by example, recognize excellence and serve boldly.
How have you integrated communication into your district’s strategic plan? We have locally developed goals. Edgewood ISD's Goal 1 is that Edgewood ISD will improve its two-way communication and parent engagement as indicated by improving its net promoter score from a negative net promoter score to a positive net promoter score by June 2028 (Baseline net promoter measure May 2022).
What communication initiative are you most proud of that have you implemented in your district? The purpose of Edgewood ISD’s “Women with Vision” is to provide a platform for our district’s most involved, collaborative and committed female, scholar family members to engage in critical discussions on district initiatives, programs and opportunities. EISD recognizes that the work of educating our scholars should not be done in a vacuum and that we must rely on our families to not only create, and discourse, over our district goals, but to also continue the work we begin in the classrooms, in their own homes when their scholars leave our campuses each day. When we work as a team to rally around our scholars, we will see successes in all that we do. ·Members should serve as the representative voice for their peers and share out recommendations for programming, changes they wish to see, concerns they hear, etc. with the organization during the meetings.
What does leadership mean to you? Leadership means inspiring others to work together toward a common goal. It encourages and enables people to do their best work. Leadership is understanding your own strengths and weaknesses as well as those of the team, then leveraging individual strengths to compensate for individual weaknesses and overcome insurmountable challenges such as the ongoing pandemic. From my time in the U.S. Navy, I am often reminded about one of the Laws of the Navy: “On the strength of the link of the cable, dependeth the might of the chain, who knows when thou mayest be tested? So live that thou bearest the strain." We are all being tested in education, but we are undoubtedly stronger together.
How have you integrated communication into your district’s strategic plan? The unification of internal and external communications across various media helps our community understand the mission of our organization. Strategic communications aren’t only beneficial to our board of education and administrators but they are also critical for our employees. Integrated messaging from leadership provides employees with a clear roadmap of the organization’s future. In South Colonie, our families were asking for a more unified platform for communication between school and home and we wanted to make sure that our messaging was being heard in a timely manner. Integrating a communications plan that was clearly understood by administrators and employees and thus enabled us to better communicate with our families was part of our plan. Coordinating all messages into one unifying strategy fills each piece of communication with purpose — promoting action, engagement or change to serve our school district’s mission.
What communication initiative are you most proud of that have you implemented in your district? In March 2020, we abruptly shifted to distance learning as everyone throughout the country were dealing with the pandemic. It was tough on everyone: educators, students, staff and families. Switching to remote learning drastically impacted the way teachers communicated with their students and families. As a school district, we had to adapt to find new ways to communicate our plans. At the advice of our Communications Specialist, we adopted ParentSquare as the one-stop shop for all things school related. Not only was it an easy platform to use, but it provided a clean and consistent platform to communicate with families across the K-12 continuum. It certainly helped us remain engaged with our families and improve the communication between home and school. I am proud of the way that our district embraced this new platform and the fact that as a leader, I was open to the suggestion to try something new, thus leveraging the talents of people within our organization to make it happen!
What does leadership mean to you?To me, leadership is the ability to inspire others to greatness by modeling character, commitment and excellence so that we can work together to reach collective goals and provide greater learning opportunities for our number one priority, our students. As leaders, we have a moral imperative and obligation to work tenaciously towards these goals so that our students have the best learning experience possible by building upon their strengths to maximize their potential as they become productive citizens in the global society we are preparing them for each day.
How have you integrated communication into your district’s strategic plan? In our district, the Local Control Accountability Plan serves as our district's strategic plan and we have been able to communicate the plan via all of our digital media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, district website and ParentSquare notifications) so that parents can participate in the development and feedback of the goals, action steps, budget and programs. We also utilize and communicate feedback of the plan through student, staff, and parent surveys via Qualtrix to increase participation and engagement. One key communication strategy we are now doing is taking presentations from our Board meetings and sharing them out so that parents have access to what's happening district-wide. Many of these presentations highlight the three goal areas within our plan such as the Conditions of Learning, Student Outcomes and Parent/Family Engagement. Through this process, parents consistently see how we are implementing the action steps within the plan.
What communication initiative are you most proud of that have you implemented in your district? The initiative that I'm most proud of is one around the use of videos and postings on our social media platforms. We find that our students and parents are engaged and connected with the district when they see the great things happening across all of our schools. Being consistent is key to communication. Early in the pandemic, I was visiting schools and making small videos to share with the community of my visits. I also held live town halls through virtual platforms to engage our community and keep them informed. Now that we are in-person, we've been able to develop strategic professionally produced videos in coordination with our public relations firm that showcase many of our award winning programs. These are often embedded in the superintendent's communication digital newsletters that staff and parents receive each month.
What does leadership mean to you? I have noticed over the years of working in various positions that the definition of “leadership” seems to take different shapes depending on who you are leading. I have served as a teacher, principal, executive director, assistant superintendent and now superintendent. Each position exposed me to individuals at diverse levels of their careers. Each time, I found it beneficial to adapt leadership skills to fit the environment and needs. Regardless of the individual or the level, leadership called for me to encourage people to use their greatest strengths in service larger than themselves. I encourage people to reframe challenges as opportunities that create a chain reaction of value. I emphasize to people that they are in service to another regardless of employment position, economic or social status. Leadership is being aware of your environment and recognizing the strengths of the people around you and channeling those strengths to areas where they will be the most effective.
How have you integrated communication into your district’s strategic plan?The board and I recently launched the Balanced District Scorecard, a strategic plan developed with input from each community of stakeholders including employees, community members, parents and students. A series of focus group meetings and a survey provided feedback. The Balanced District Scorecard includes four priority elements: Students, Staff, Stakeholders and Stewardship. Each has an objective tied to communication. The Balanced District Scorecard, an evolving document, is a communication tool designed to share progress with the community. I continue to dispatch our leadership team to campuses to communicate face-to-face with assistant principals, principals and teachers. Our expanded communication channels, transparency and invitations for input have improved our culture. In 2021, the district was rated by its employees as #39 among the best employers in Texas according to Forbes magazine, which was up from #50 the previous year and #171 three years earlier.
What communication initiative are you most proud of that have you implemented in your district?Several communication initiatives are on-going at any time. Yet, I am proud of two communication initiatives that were a first for our district. The first was the launch of our district’s Student Voice Advisory Committee, which ensures that our district vision remains rooted in student needs. Our students have candidly spoken about their concerns, which has provided insight and the development of new initiatives. Also, I introduced two social media features – both firsts for our district. A social media coordinator position was created to ensure relevant information is posted and followers’ questions are answered promptly. Additionally, I hold Facebook Live Q&A sessions. The community submits questions which I answer live; remaining questions are answered and shared within 24 hours. Media outlets regularly use our social media posts and broadcast them to a broader audience.
What does leadership mean to you? As an inner-city public-school student from the Bronx, I learned firsthand the importance in having quality guidance and leadership. The support I received during adolescence proved to be most effective in my life. As a youth, coming up in the New York City public school system, I had many obstacles to hurdle in order to reach my full potential, and if it were not for the wonderful mentoring and support, I received from dedicated educators, I probably would not be in the position that I am in today: a life-long learner. I gained a tremendous amount of new insight; knowledge and confidence with each visit. I am a firm believer in giving back to community and I feel that it is my duty to provide students with the opportunities to succeed. Serving as Superintendent in the largest school district in Colorado allows me to engage with my passion of helping others at a larger scale. I entered education as a novice student and currently find myself as a life-long learning professional.
How have you integrated communication into your district’s strategic plan?Denver Public Schools launched a new strategic roadmap in August 2022, which specifically articulates how we will improve the experiences of our students, adults, and systems. Communication plays a vital role, from the initial communication to internal/external stakeholders to progress updates during implementation, to the specific goals assigned to communications department, the role of comms is essential as we commit to “Getting better at getting better.” Strategic roadmap goals are the shared responsibility of communications and our Family and Community Engagement team. I believe in the importance of community driven, district supported efforts, therefore, we leverage our Family and Community Engagement team to develop relationships with our community. We have advisory councils representing the voices of our often most marginalized communities. In addition to these advisory councils, I also have a student cabinet that meets in-person quarterly and virtually on an as-needed basis.
What communication initiative are you most proud of that have you implemented in your district? I developed a deliberate plan of meeting with as many family and community members, students, and staff as possible in my first 100 days. To be successful, the plan for the Listening and Learning Tour needed to cast a wide net of community participation and provide a benchmark for collecting information that could be used to help to develop a plan for the direction of the district. The Listening and Learning Tour was planned to strategically engage the all members in the City of Denver. I listened to the community about where they wanted to meet, including shelters, a mosque, parks, and language-specific meetings, and to ensure everyone felt safe and heard. I visited 68 schools and held over 100 meetings. The meetings captured feedback from 2,000 individual community members, students, and staff. In addition, over 10,000 stakeholders submitted responses to the online survey. We received the Golden Achievement Award from Colorado School Public Relations Association this plan.
What does leadership mean to you? To me, leadership means knowing and leaning into your strengths, keeping people at the forefront of every decision that is made and focusing on a spirit of service in all we do. Leadership is building a team that is engaged in meaningful work that makes a difference in the community. Leadership is all about relationships and it is all about people. We've heard the adage applied to the classroom, "they won't care how much you know until they know how much you care." The same principle applies to leadership; it requires service above self.
How have you integrated communication into your district’s strategic plan? Communication is an integral part of our district's strategic plan and our daily work in Terrell ISD. We are guided by four pillars: expect staff to deliver and students to engage in rigorous learning for high achievement; expect a high quality and safe learning environment - both physical and emotional - for high student achievement; expect transparency and decisions that support long term financial stability; and expect engagement with families and the community for high student achievement. Each pillar directs our daily work and communication is the most critical component of that work. As a newcomer to the community, it was so important for me to establish trust with staff, parents, community leaders and business partners. Trust is truth over time and the strategic communication plan has been an ongoing way to build trust in our community.
What communication initiative are you most proud of that have you implemented in your district? Moving to Terrell in January of 2020 did not give me much time to become connected to the community prior to the start of the pandemic. We have utilized tools like Facebook live and video chats to connect with our community. Sitting on my porch with my Terrell Tigers hat on, I filmed multiple messages for our community during a very scary and uncertain time. That authentic approach has really allowed our community an insight to who I am as a person, outside of the role of superintendent. It has allowed people to get to know me in a time when we have been physically isolated or distanced. We launched a series called "Wednesdays with Warnock" to highlight students, teachers and programs. In addition to our district communications, I have learned so much from other teachers and leaders from interactions on TikTok (@subbingsupt) and Twitter (@subbingsupt). The ideas and feedback I glean from interacting with educators all over the nation have led to improvements in our district.
How have you integrated communication into your district’s strategic plan?Beyond simply making robust communication, community engagement and advocacy a goal within the NVUSD’s five-year strategic plan, we ensure that expectations, progress and successes are communicated regularly with stakeholders. Our leadership does this through an approach that scaffolds information so all stakeholders are informed, in a sequence most beneficial to the organization. We share an update on progress made toward our six strategic goals with the NVUSD Board of Education each week. Then a bi-weekly All-Divisions newsletter is sent to faculty, staff and community advocates, and a Family newsletter is sent to our families. This ensures that our entire community is kept informed. Finally, there are a handful of times when the strategic plan and progress are shared publicly, typically during Board meetings, management/leadership meetings and at NVUSD’s annual “State of the District” event. The website is also regularly updated to help supplement these communication vehicles.
What communication initiative are you most proud of that have you implemented in your district?NVUSD is fortunate to have so many staff, families, board and community partners who care about advancing education for our children with a focus on equity and excellence. NVUSD’s ability over the last five years to increase community engagement—to truly hear and learn from our community—makes me feel incredibly proud. We have taken what we learned and developed a defined, consistent internal and external communications framework. This has ensured that not only is the messaging NVUSD wants to be communicated shared, but that we also have a framework in place to collect information and feedback from our stakeholders. This has resulted in robust listening-and-learning sessions, ongoing meetings with parents through a Coffee with the Superintendent series, expanded multilingual interpretation/translation services and so much more. Increased community engagement across our diverse demographics has enriched our school community and, thus, our students' learning.
What does leadership mean to you? Leadership to me is all about connection. My focus is on building strong relationships with staff, students, families, and our community. These relationships drive the work that we do. Leadership is integrated and should be representative of the people you serve on a daily basis. A leader is also someone who supports and encourages everyone around them. A leader gives direction, sets goals, and acknowledges accomplishments. A leader has a responsibility to be someone you can look up to and be proud to follow.
How have you integrated communication into your district’s strategic plan? Communication is connected to each initiative within the strategic plan. Instead of a separate outcome, it is integrated into each focus area. We, as a school division, have a responsibility to communicate all aspects of the strategic plan.
What communication initiative are you most proud of that have you implemented in your district?The communication initiative that I'm most proud of is focused on #TeamNewKent. We celebrate our staff, students, families, and community through the use of the Team New Kent hashtag. These celebrations include staff spotlight, teacher Tuesday, student spotlight, and more. The initiative shows that we are all working together towards a common goal. It has united our school district and our community.
How have you integrated communication into your district’s strategic plan? Ongoing communication was vital for the creation of our district’s strategic plan and will remain essential as the plan becomes a living and breathing component of our daily operations. District 15’s strategic plan was accomplished through a collective effort of many talented and dedicated individuals. Clear channels of communication and ongoing opportunities for feedback were important as stakeholders representative of students, parents, staff, board members, community members and district administrators all came together for a common purpose. A key focus area of the plan is high quality and timely two-way communication that fosters transparency. The district is working to create a digital platform available to stakeholders to access the strategic plan, communicate updates on progress and showcase the many important accomplishments and tasks we do everyday. Additionally, we are leveraging digital and social media to share key aspects of the plan with all of our stakeholders.
What communication initiative are you most proud of that have you implemented in your district? As McHenry School District 15’s superintendent, I am proud to have had the opportunity to build a strong communications team to share our school district’s story, be transparent and establish strong and trusting relationships with our entire learning community. I started by successfully advocating for a brand new role in District 15, hiring our first ever communication and digital media coordinator. This person, along with the assistant superintendent and my executive administrative assistant work collaboratively with me to provide high-quality and timely communications while striving to effectively showcase the many initiatives taking place throughout our district. We have been able refine our communication practices leveraging a variety of marketing tools inclusive but not limited to all social media outlets, commercial radio, timely newsletters, in house and external video development and community promotions
How have you integrated communication into your district’s strategic plan? During the early part of 2021, my team and I decided that our current strategic plan, "A Framework for Excellence," needed a reboot. The pandemic changed our needs, including how we communicate. The relaunched plan is extended to 2024 and includes expanded communication in Area II (Culture, Climate & Community), customer service excellence in Area III (Leadership & Governance) and lifting student voice through self-care and mindfulness in the new Area IV (Safety & Wellness). Expanded communication includes adding more intimate, personalized spaces for focus groups through virtual advisories. Improved customer service is listening and being responsive to our internal and external needs from school lunch to tech support. Lifting student voice happens through restorative circles, wellness rooms, mentoring and peer mediation - all a part of Project SAFE, our Student Advocacy Framework for Equity. Communication must include listening and we provide a variety of ways to engage all stakeholders.
What communication initiative are you most proud of that have you implemented in your district? Team Selma has a robust social media presence and I am proud of our YouTube channel, the weekly news articles that I write, our Talk Supt, Chat and Chew, daily Morning Joy (MoJo) emails and flipped board meetings. What I am most proud of, though, was when decided to go "old school" with our "Did you Know?" campaign. A few summers ago, we took our message to the streets and went door-to-door. Board members accompanied us when we walked in their district. Our community engagement specialist created flyers that served as brag sheets with facts about the accomplishments and new initiatives of our district. We were greeted with surprise and gratitude for taking the time to have authentic conversations with our community members. In the process, we found new PTO members, volunteers and student leaders. Over the last two years, we have gone virtual and used the same "Did you Know?" messaging with videos and flyers to share details of our relaunched strategic plan and to tell our story.
How have you integrated communication into your district’s strategic plan? Among our district goals is to provide world-class communication. We seek to have clear and timely communication among all stakeholders. We have integrated a continuous process for receiving and disseminating information. We articulate our district’s successes, values, and priorities through various platforms. I provide monthly reports at school board meetings, and weekly newsletters to the school board and parents. I believe in transparency and having genuine two-way communication. Meetings with advisory councils of students, support staff, administrators, and teachers provide specific time for feedback and suggestions. We intentionally created focus groups during the strategic planning process for the purpose of communication, collaboration, feedback, and input. As a result, we have a 5-year strategic plan with a clear vision and defined strategies to accomplish our identified goals.
What communication initiative are you most proud of that have you implemented in your district? I am most proud of our initiative to implement a comprehensive communication plan, which addresses our goal to have a high level of family and community engagement. The plan provides multiple opportunities to reach a diverse audience. Information is disseminated through call alerts, text messages, emails, press releases, our website, and social media. I hold Listen and Learn sessions with businesses, community leaders, parents, and staff. We engage in candid conversations, asking questions, and giving feedback. Each session’s questions and answers are turned into a presentation, emailed to stakeholders, and posted on our website. Among our communication efforts are Table Talk, a weekly video production on district updates and highlights; the Pride in 55: Connections podcast, which includes interviews with stakeholders; IMPACT 55, a video series featuring students sharing how Laurens 55 impacts them; and Spotlight Teacher, a video series showcasing teachers' love for teaching.
What does leadership mean to you? When I think about leadership, I am always reminded of a quote from John Quincy Adams, "If your actions inspire others to dream more learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." True leaders have a unique ability to rally others around a focused vision and communicate in a way that everyone can relate to and understand. Leaders must value relationships, lead with a servant heart and understand that communication is a two-way street. Great leaders set the vision, chart the course and empower their teams.
How have you integrated communication into your district’s strategic plan? Clarity and focus are foundational to the District's strategic vision. To accomplish this, I worked with my Board and team to align and define the District's strategic vision and priorities. To ensure understanding, and focus, we created a Strategic Framework. Through visuals, collateral materials, consistent messaging, presentations and videos, I have ensured that all stakeholders hear the same message to create shared understanding and alignment on behalf of the students we serve in Spring Branch ISD.
What communication initiative are you most proud of that have you implemented in your district? My superintendency started in a unique school year. Only five months into the role, we found ourselves sending out our first COVID messages. Since that time, keeping our community well informed has been a top priority. I championed the implementation of the communications tool, Lets Talk, through which parents, students and employees have a one stop location to ask questions and receive answers. To date, several thousand messages have been received. Through videos, social media messages and other more traditional communication tools, our team was able to focus messaging. As an example, the Communications team, my senior staff and a representative from the Board of Trustees met weekly to carefully craft separate messages for parents of in-person learners and on-line learners. We leveraged zoom, including its translation capabilities, to increase outreach, engagement and education amongst all our families in our highly diverse school district.
What does leadership mean to you? I believe leadership should be grounded in open communication, collaboration, shared governance, trust, respect and mindfulness. I work at being reflective about how I show up as a leader. It is important to me that I model the expectation for those I work alongside to ensure my team knows I am not expecting them to do anything that I myself am not willing to do. I encourage collaboration within the organization. It is important that when we make decisions in the district, we are intentional about the individuals we invite to be a part of the think-tank and planning. I stress to the team to make sure there are multiple perspectives invited to the table, as I believe that is key when making big, important decisions. As I think about multiple perspectives, I want varied groups represented at the table. It's important we honor the perspectives of ALL stakeholders when discussing the pros and cons of a decision.
How have you integrated communication into your district’s strategic plan? The development and approval of our strategic plan was grounded in communication. While working on developing the Five Year Strategic Plan, we sought feedback from our constituents to ensure we were clear regarding their vision for the district. We provided updates to the Board of Education and community regarding the proposed goals before seeking final approval. Once approved, we shared the new strategic plan with our constituents. Additionally, we have used a new tool this school year, ThoughtExchange to seek implementation ideas from parents, students and staff regarding components of the strategic plan. It has been important for us to know how our stakeholders envision meeting the goals of the Five Year Strategic Plan.
What communication initiative are you most proud of that have you implemented in your district? Starting a new job during a pandemic, I needed to be strategic about connecting with our stakeholders to earn their trust and respect as the new Superintendent while also modeling safe practices. With the support of the Public Relations Director, we were able to offer virtual meetings as a way for me to connect with our stakeholders. Over the last two years, I have hosted virtual monthly Coffee Chats and Office hours, community forums and Listening and Learning sessions with staff via Teams. I could not have imagined starting a new job as Superintendent and not being able to begin building relationships with our stakeholder groups. We have focused efforts on timely communication district wide. Following the Listening and Learning sessions with staff and meetings with our teacher union representatives, we release a publication that shares what we have learned in relation to what is working well, recognition of staff and the areas we need to focus attention on to address challenges.
What does leadership mean to you? Leadership brings thinkers and influencers together to create innovative solutions to improve the lives of others.
How have you integrated communication into your district’s strategic plan? The "Engage Our Community" strategic goal is focused on transparency, two-way communication and including our community in decision making. Examples included virtual community stakeholder events prior to developing the final school reopening plan in July 2020, a “Meet the Board Candidates” virtual event in October 2020, May 2021 budget feedback virtual events and surveys, and the live-streaming of all board meetings and study sessions. "Engage Our Community" also incorporates communications goals and strategies for reaching non-English-speaking communities. The strategic plan and Portrait of a Graduate are incorporated into board meeting presentations through custom Google Slides themes, along with my superintendent updates at board meetings.
What communication initiative are you most proud of that have you implemented in your district? The launch of our Safe.Strong.Ready. school-reopening plan which included a 170-person school-opening task force who spent thousands of hours analyzing community feedback, consulting experts and poring over data to create the plan, which incorporated more than 27,000 survey responses from parents, students and employees, and feedback from virtual WebEx community events. The district’s bilingual communication plan included a comprehensive website, videos demonstrating a “Day in the Life” at each school level, and health and safety videos. Paper copies of the plan and other flyers were produced and distributed to families during student device pickup. In late July, I sent a “welcome back” letter to every family’s home. On July 27, the district launched Safe.Strong.Ready. LIVE, a daily Facebook Live event hosted by me discussing the district reopening and answering questions. A dedicated webpage provided regular updates and surveys were administered to gather stakeholder feedback.
What does leadership mean to you? In my current role, I view leadership as an opportunity to help others reach their potential and become leaders themselves. Leadership allows one to create positive changes for individuals as well as the community at large. Even though being an effective leader can be challenging at times, my focus is always on what is best for students, parents, and other stakeholders.
How have you integrated communication into your district’s strategic plan? Goal 5 of our strategic plan is all about communication and community engagement. It focuses on fostering dialogue with all stakeholders. We encourage equitable and collaborative partnerships where all stakeholders feel welcomed, valued, and informed. Key to that is ensuring that the communication is transparent and accessible. We communicate via different social media platforms, School Messenger, and hosting events where students, parents, and community members are active participants. We’re also conscious of our diverse communities and provide information in their native languages.
What communication initiative are you most proud of that have you implemented in your district? I would have to say that it’s our focus on more parent and community engagement. We recently launched Let’s Talk! which is a platform that allows all stakeholders to seek answers to questions or leave comments about their concerns. All questions or comments, whether positive or negative, are addressed within a short time frame.
What does leadership mean to you? The success of an organization is contingent on the talents and development of its people. I believe that leadership, therefore, is a process of growing others (and oneself) to realize goals beyond the perceived ability of the individual. Leadership requires developing, sponsoring and emancipating the power of people. To do this, I must first know those with whom I work well enough to recognize growth areas and strengths alike. This personal connection - knowing our people by name, strength and need - affords insight and intentionality to place people in positions to stretch their abilities, realize success and/or "fail forward." As a leader, I organize and collaborate with others, provide and develop goals and incentives to inspire others and model and expect accountability. I can only exact that which I sustain, therefore, reciprocal accountability demands that I sponsor and support others with tools, resources and processes to achieve beyond the vision that they see.
How have you integrated communication into your district’s strategic plan? Communications and engagement are foundational elements of the strategic plan and are manifest through the following leadership examples:
What communication initiative are you most proud of that have you implemented in your district? The COVID-19 pandemic revealed the glaring inequity of inequitable broadband access, as many students lacked reliable Internet access. Realizing I had to connect the entire community with free Internet access, I first leveraged philanthropic connections to secure over a laptop for each student. Then the technology director and I brainstormed a solution to develop a relaying signal, or mesh Internet network, across the city. Under my leadership, the District used the concept of crowdsourcing Internet and leveraged community partners to boost and broadcast Wi-Fi coverage. Partnerships with the faith and business partners assured the establishment of a crisscrossing mesh of Wi-Fi signals throughout the city. This innovative, partnership-based concept allowed all district students to access the Internet and communicate broadly at no cost. The realization of digital equity through this communications technology network is the highlight of my tenure.
What does leadership mean to you? To me, leadership means to be a listener first, a collaborator, a partner, a servant, and transformational. Our purpose in education is to serve the students and the communities that we are privileged to work with as superintendents. Leadership is collaborating and communicating with all stakeholders. It is the different and even challenging perspectives that support us to make equitable decisions that best meet the needs of our communities. Leadership is supporting the growth and development of others and allowing them to shine. Leadership is being able to understand a community and adapt leadership styles to be what the community needs while holding true to equitable, educational best practices that will best serve the students. It’s not about being in the spotlight, but about shining the spotlight on the work being done in the district and the community that directly benefits our students.
How have you integrated communication into your district’s strategic plan? During our community-focused strategic planning process in early 2021, I was honored to be able to work with a wonderful group of dedicated staff and school board members, students from our middle and high schools, and parents and community members to establish the vision for our district for the next five years. In every aspect of our strategic plan, there are opportunities to increase communication. Whether it is sharing stories and points of pride from the area of student achievement, or being transparent about finances and budget decisions, I aim to make sure that our community feels as though they are part of the process every step of the way. We do this not only to increase transparency and to take down barriers in our community, but to be able to share the story of our school district and the amazing work being done here. The communities that we serve are filled with dedicated and passionate people, and utilizing their strengths makes us a stronger district overall.
What communication initiative are you most proud of that have you implemented in your district? I started at GFW Public Schools in July 2020 and the district had an operating levy referendum on the ballot for August 11. I immediately met with city officials, business owners, staff, parents, and community members to get a crash course in our district and community situation. People are passionate in our district and they want to be heard and be part of the process. I worked with my dedicated team to seek out groups like this and have more voices heard. Ultimately, our community supported our operating levy request, essentially saving our district and allowing us to focus directly on our students. I launched GFW Supt Talk which was a virtual meeting once a month with different community groups including a gathering of our Latinx community held in Spanish with help from our cultural liaison for translation. The opportunity for two-way communication and a direct connection to district leadership in the community is what I am most proud of.
What does leadership mean to you? Leadership is the gift of opportunity…the opportunity to work with others to meet a goal. That gift of opportunity may manifest itself in goal setting, planning, teaching, learning, empowering, and following. Whether in a small group of a few or groups of thousands, leaders have the trust of those with whom they are collaborating to lead the group confidently, safely, and efficiently toward the established goal. The act of leadership involves the wise use of resources, including but not limited to financial, human, knowledge/expertise, appropriate communication, and time. An effective leader inspires, motivates, thinks creatively, encourages and facilitates capacity building, models lifelong learning, and is always willing to improve. Leadership is defined more by behavior than it is by title. I firmly believe that one can lead from any chair. It is what one does with the opportunity to move others successfully toward an established goal that defines a leader.
How have you integrated communication into your district’s strategic plan? I am proud to note that our district's strategic plan includes communication as an integral component in every facet. From instruction to governance to finance to family engagement/strategic partnerships to human resources, communication has a significant role in ensuring that all stakeholders- internal and external know what we are doing (and plan to do) to meet our mission and vision. I am especially pleased that we have expanded the various means of communicating with all parties- from the traditional platforms (written documents, email, telephone calls, meetings) to additional platforms like YouTube, social media, community newsletters, video messaging, public billboards (outdoor advertising), district -sponsored interviews, and informational newspaper/magazine inserts. Our website has been redesigned and is the "go to" location for the most accurate and up to date information on district operations and progress on our strategic efforts.
What communication initiative are you most proud of that have you implemented in your district? I am most proud of the tools we now use regularly to ensure our internal and external stakeholders are kept up to date on district operations, initiatives, and achievements. In addition to a robust district website, www.sccpss.com, we maintain a SMUGMUG gallery, and social media feeds that keep everyone informed. We also issue electronic publications like the Board Brief, which summarizes actions taken during Board of Education meetings (we also provide a video of this brief), In Case You Missed It (ICYMI), which includes the achievements of district students and staff, and our video series of interviews of various community and district leaders on their efforts which support our core mission. Each year, we also issue two local newspaper inserts that highlight back to school and end of year information. Several OP ED pieces are shared throughout the year with all local newsletters. Newspaper ads celebrate our graduates, their colleges of acceptance, and other great news.
What does leadership mean to you? A vital component of leadership is communication. To effectively lead, one must be able to communicate in ways that engage and inspire others to the needed action for students and for continuous improvement of the system. Beyond engaging and inspiring others, clear and consistent communication is foundational to ensuring that all stakeholders are aware of and understand the values, expectations, and specific actions that have been identified as fundamental to realizing the collective outcomes of the organization. Taking communication as part of leadership a step further, engaging in authentic reflection on one’s communications as a leader cannot be understated. It is one thing to ensure communication occurs as a part of leadership, and a very different thing to ensure that a leader holds oneself to a standard of continuous improvement in communication with each and every stakeholder with whom they interact.
How have you integrated communication into your district’s strategic plan? The School District of Indian River County’s (SDIRC) ACHIEVE 2025 District Strategic Plan incorporates five Focus Areas. One of these Focus Areas is “Communication & Engagement.” Within this area, our collective aim is to “Establish connections and trust among all internal and external stakeholders.” During the 2020-2021 academic year, our district implemented three specific strategies in the area of “Communication & Engagement” and set associated annual and five-year targets. Strategies focused on expanding opportunities for community member engagement in district activities, increasing the number of parents accessing our Focus Parent Portal, as well as increasing the number of parent workshops being offered. Despite the presence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the SDIRC continued with the implementation of all strategies outlined through the District Strategic Plan, including the strategies within the Focus Area of “Communication & Engagement.”
What communication initiative are you most proud of that have you implemented in your district? I am the most proud of the innovation and adaptability that our district has demonstrated in communicating with students, families, and our larger community during the COVID-19 pandemic. When districts across the state of Florida were hit with sweeping school closures in the Spring of 2020, our district was nimble in responding to the need to drastically alter the way we communicated, as well as the manner in which instruction was provided to students. To smoothly and effectively transition to remote instruction for all students, and subsequently transition to three different instructional models, our district team leveraged our technological resources and existing technological expertise in ways that had not been done before to build capacity across our system of schools and to collaborate and work in the face of quickly changing circumstances.
What does leadership mean to you? Leadership means accountability, respect, service, listening and love. Leadership requires tough conversations and transparency. Leadership fosters an environment for teams to speak freely in order to collaborate, innovate and engage. Leadership requires trust. In order to lead in our District, one must believe in children. Our victory roar in Memphis-Shelby County Schools declares: Together, we MUST BELIEVE. Together, we WILL ACHIEVE. Together, we are REIMAGINING 901.
How have you integrated communication into your district’s strategic plan? Transparency at every level has been a District priority, and we have emphasized its importance by providing opportunities for all – stakeholders, parents, students, teachers, staff and community partners – to share vital feedback and to be privy to important information and data via surveys, listening tours and regional community meetings. As part of our strategic plan, we’re committed to increasing opportunities by sharing good news and telling our own story. SCS continues to expand our story-telling through strategic media relations and the SCS Newsroom, the nationally recognized, award-winning online hub for District news. SCS social media pages produced over 15 million impressions and nearly 2 million engagements this year, including multiple platforms specifically for our Latino community. We are committed to reimagining our communication and community engagement strategies.
What communication initiative are you most proud of that have you implemented in your district? African American Male Empower is one of the initiatives we are most proud of in Memphis-Shelby County Schools. It was launched to help bridge the achievement gap and eliminate explicit and implicit bias in schools. We galvanized the community beginning with strategic public messaging and compelling data that exposed the downward trend of African American male student performance, access to advanced programming and experiences with critical social issues that impact achievement. The District spurred community engagement using the hashtag #OurBoysNeedUs which led to a visually captivating march of students and dignitaries that has become a part of the District's rich history.
What does leadership mean to you? Leadership is the opportunity to develop or improve existing relationships, systems, or processes to make life better for people. No matter the calling, if at the end of your leadership tenure life is not made better for the people under your care, you may have managed but you have not led. The way I operationalize this leadership statement is around a belief to which I hold passionately: Everyone Is Created To Flourish. I believe all of us are aware of the literature that extends the definition of leadership to include vision casting, use of influence, empathy, integrity, humility, and a host of other definitions. Indeed it can be any one or even all of these. But at its core, leadership is the opportunity to make life better for the people who have been placed in your care. I do that by passionately believing that Everyone Is Created To Flourish and working to create relationships and opportunities so that belief is realized. It is why I exist.
How have you integrated communication into your district’s strategic plan? Communication strategies are the driver of our strategic plan. I do not see communication as a stand-alone part of the plan, but rather something to be woven into everything in the plan. The challenge is to tell our story better than anyone else. The strategic plan is all about what our community, staff, students, and Board of Education dream about for the future. That’s the story. A communication plan is a part of nearly every objective in the strategic plan. I am especially happy that we have broadened our use of several communication mediums to tell our story. New or renewed over the past couple of years has been the use of video interviews with staff talking about components of the strategic plan, shorter informational video updates from administration, and leveraging the growing sophistication of social media. Planned for the future will be a communication focus on the strategic plan from the student’s point of view that will be written and produced by students.
What communication initiative are you most proud of that have you implemented in your district? The communication initiative that I am most proud of is the daily interaction I have with parents, students, and staff in carlines and school entrances across our district. Those interactions are personal, informative, and real. We are a school district of 6,400 students. On the first day of school in August 2020, I went to schools to welcome students, as any new superintendent would do. I arrived so early at the first school that I was unsure of what to do with my time. I decided to get out of my car and talk to our parents. I met with many parents at two schools that morning and began to build some very good relationships. Excited about how well that first experience had gone, I did the same thing the next day. I decided from then on, from 7 am to 9 am each day I would commit myself to be at carlines and school entrances with parents, students, and staff. The personal interaction with those groups is a blessing of this job and is something I have made the first priority of each day.
What does leadership mean to you? My philosophy on leadership is being a good servant to bring out the very best in others and encourage growth in the leadership capacity within an organization. With a shared common vision, I surround myself with people who are knowledgeable, driven for success and respected for their integrity and ability to build solid relationships. As educators, we are in an industry where our actions influence lives on a daily basis. This responsibility carries a great weight that can only be shared with those equally dedicated to helping others grow and learn to develop and utilize their own talents. One leader is restricted to his/her sphere of influence where building leadership capacity empowers others. Only when you have earned the trust of others can you really begin to influence your organization and maximize your reach and impact.
How have you integrated communication into your district’s strategic plan? Communication is an integral part of Forney ISD’s strategic plan. At the center of our district values we place “relationships first.” We know that our district is only as good as the relationships we have with students, parents, the community, and business partners. With our focus on building relationships, we have a collaborative approach from the start to encourage input and creative strategies to align with our plan. We involve students and other representatives from our key stakeholder groups to listen and determine the direction and focus. We use multiple channels for communication to tell the district’s story throughout the year. Another one of our district core values is “voices,” defined as listening to the voices in our district and community.
What communication initiative are you most proud of that have you implemented in your district? In 2018 we rolled out the #ForneyFamily initiative alongside our 7 district values: relationships first, excellence, learning, individualization, perseverance, voices, and collaboration. This campaign was designed to authentically connect all the things and all the people who make make-up the Forney Family through our common values and tell the story of all the amazing work. This included students, teachers, staff, the community and business partners. There were Forney Family signs, window stickers, t-shirts, social media posts, Facebook Lives, videos, posters, awards and more. The communications team received the highest honor for the Forney Family campaign at the Texas School Public Relations Association annual awards ceremony. The campaign is in year 4, and going strong with a new push to thank our Forney Family Bright Lights, those infusing hoping and positivity in our community.
What does leadership mean to you? It is a privilege to lead. The trust individuals and teams place in a leader needs to be earned every day - by modeling what you expect of others, living and learning with those you serve, and making decisions that make the organization more effective at reaching its primary goals. Leadership has too long been depicted as being owned by the one standing in front. While there are moments this is important, leadership is more often essential behind-the-scenes, in the partnerships formed with others on the team, and leading the work that people only notice when it isn't done well. True leadership doesn't require a spotlight. The leaders I most admire recognize the value of every member of the team, share the work - and the credit - and create environments of meaningful challenge and high support.
How have you integrated communication into your district’s strategic plan? Support of our community is essential to achieve our district's strategic goals. This support isn't inevitable, and can be a challenge to maintain when nearly 75 percent of residents lack a direct connection to the district through students currently in school or jobs working in the schools. The district must accept responsibility to communicate about the teaching and learning taking place, the activities in which students are engaged, the accomplishments and areas of struggle, and the role every resident can play in the future success of our schools. We accept this responsibility by engaging our community in listening sessions, sharing updates on construction projects and initiatives online, in newspapers, and via utility bills, and by welcoming our community into our schools. Sauk Prairie loves its schools and is proud of what we have accomplished together. The current stewards of the district are committed to communicating about the district to earn this amazing support.
What communication initiative are you most proud of that have you implemented in your district? From March 2020 through most of the 2020-2021 academic year, our families and community had limited access to what was happening inside the walls of our schools. Those of us fortunate enough to be with our students had a responsibility to share the story of what we were seeing and hearing. I am proud of many of the communication initiatives our district has implemented over the past few years, but most proud of how we kept our families and community informed throughout the pandemic. Through different social media outlets, we shared photos and videos. We added a weekly email in English and Spanish to all of our families with updates from the district and a transparent reporting of all COVID activity in each building. Each school created online newsletters to start each month, filled with photos. We often hear that if we do not tell the story of our schools, someone else will. During the pandemic, we had even more responsibility to share our story - and we had fun sharing it.
How have you integrated communication into your district’s strategic plan? The preamble to our district's strategic goals is “In cooperation with our community, we will....”. Long before I became Superintendent, our district leaders worked to build a high degree of trust, transparency, and collaboration with our community. I became Superintendent just weeks before our district was one of the first in the country to return to in-person learning on July 29, 2020. It was challenging to become Superintendent at a time when parents weren’t allowed in schools, meetings were virtual, concerns were heightened, and we were preparing to open school in a pandemic. Our approach to integrate communication was to reach our community and families in multiple ways. Written communication, short videos, a re-vamped website, and a podcast have provided information in varied formats to reach our stakeholders. Our mission is we want ALL students to belong, learn, and grow in our schools and as a result, we need to ensure our communications are attempting to reach all as well.
What communication initiative are you most proud of that have you implemented in your district? I am most proud of our podcast, Orioles in the Know. We release a new podcast twice a month and highlight various aspects of the district. We’ve featured teachers, administrators, community leaders, and elected state officials. However, my favorite episodes are those that involve students. We’ve had a kindergarten student break into song at the end of a podcast and high school seniors share how our schools have prepared them for the next steps in their lives. One of my favorite episodes was highlighting our district’s Support Staff of the Year – a custodian from one of our elementary schools. We don’t celebrate our Support Staff often enough, but through this format we were able to shine a light on their hard work. I’ve had prospective hires tell me they listened to a podcast as they were researching our website, so we are trying to leverage this medium for recruiting purposes as well. There is never a shortage of great stories to tell about our staff, students and community!