PREFACE. We ve entered a demanding new age for those charged with building strong

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "PREFACE. We ve entered a demanding new age for those charged with building strong"

Eleanore Freeman
8 years ago
Views:

1 PREFACE We ve entered a demanding new age for those charged with building strong communications and successful working relationships between schools and the many communities they serve. Accountability issues, funding pressures, increasing competition, and expanding expectations are just a few items on the growing list of communication pressures facing schools today. From health scares to student achievement issues to security concerns and more, school leaders are expected to communicate more thoroughly and more swiftly than ever before. These demands, combined with the growing diversity found in many communities in transition and the rapid expansion of online and other digital communication technologies, present tremendous opportunities and challenges to school communicators. Both the strategies and tactics that drive sound school communication have evolved significantly since the last edition of this text. Importantly, while the pace and nature of school-communication techniques continue to progress, evidence of the direct links between successful communication and student and school success continues to grow. The parental involvement and community support that

From health scares to student achievement issues to security concerns and more, school leaders are expected to communicate more thoroughly and more swiftly than ever before.

2 good communication fosters directly supports the kind of understanding and interest essential to long-term achievement. Communication is central to the success of all issues challenging educators today. And as a result, school leaders increasingly support formal and measurable schoolcommunication programs, as well as programs to help all educators succeed in their communication roles. The scope of school and community relations programs has continued to expand for more than 50 years. The growth is evident in the large number of school systems that have committed to formal programs and the professionals to run them. It is also evident in college and university course offerings where opportunities for exposure to the field are made both in teacher-education programs and in programs preparing school ad-ministrators. The School and Community Relations emphasizes the importance of designing programs around the identified needs and problems of the school and its many special publics. Dealing con-structively and effectively with these needs and problems will increase the chances that parents and other community residents will take a positive interest in the school. Well-designed programs can effect a sense of friendliness and goodwill toward staffs, provide adequate financial support for the schools, and develop a sense of responsibility for the steady improvement of education.

And as a result, school leaders increasingly support formal and measurable schoolcommunication programs, as well as programs to help all educators succeed in their communication roles.

3 The Ninth Edition of The School and Community Relations updates the 2005 edition and incorporates current developments and concepts on school and community relations. This new edition now includes coverage focusing on (a) How schools are successfully using new and emerging communication technology, (b) attracting new students and keeping current ones in the face of growing competitive pressures, (c) handling the changing nature of crisis communication as it expands to include health and environmental issues, bad acts by employees and more, (d) managing the communication demands of increasing financial and bond election issues, (e) the legal and management issues confronting communication officials through the demands of both privacy and freedomof-information issues, (f) ideas for assessing impact and boosting the accountability for school-communication programming, and (g) the role of communication in supporting student and school achievement by building parental involvement and community support. This new edition offers a wide-ranging and timely exploration of the many new and emerging school-community relations issues being confronted in schools today, while preserving the best aspects of the previous edition. Special thanks and recognition is extended to William J. Banach, Ed.D., chairman, Banach, Banach and Cassidy, for writing the new chapter, Marketing and School Choice. Along with being an accomplished school-communications practitioner and researcher, Bill is a pioneer in school marketing. For more than 25 years, he has been at the center of much groundbreaking work in the marketing, customer service and

of growing competitive pressures, (c) handling the changing nature of crisis communication as it expands to include health and environmental issues, bad acts by employees and more, (d) managing the

4 communications areas surrounding open enrollment and school choice. The ideas he shares here offer school leaders many important insights into the vital and growing area of school choice. A work of this scope, of course, requires the insight and expertise of many, many peo-ple and organizations. It s therefore appropriate to thank these many organizations and individuals. Our thanks, then, to: Linda Antonowich, Assistant Superintendent, West Chester (PA) Area School District; Rich Bagin, Executive Director, National School Public Relations Associations, Rockville, MD; Frank Belluscio, Director of Public Information, New Jersey School Boards Association, Tren-ton, NJ; Joseph Cardona, Director of University Relations, Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ; Jennifer Caracciolo, Forsyth County (GA) Schools; Clark County School District, Las Vegas, Nevada; Communications Briefings, Alex-andria, VA; Clarksville, Montgomery County (TN) School System; Timothy Carroll, Di-rector of Public Relations, Allen (TX) School District; Janice Crawford, Executive Director, Communications, Memphis (TN) City Schools: Dade County Public Schools, Miami, FL; Davidson County (NC) Business Education Partnership; Forsyth County Schools, Cumming, GA; Anthony J. Fulginiti, Professor, College of Communication, Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ; Edward Gallagher, Retired Director, Communications, New Jersey Educational Association, Trenton, NJ; Glassboro (NJ) Public Schools; Michelle Hinson, Director, The Institute for Public Relations, Gainesville, FL; Haverford Township (PA) School District; Al-bert E. Holliday, Former Editor-Publisher, Journal of Educational Relations and current publisher of Pennsylvania Magazine, Camp Hill, PA; Irving (TX) Independent School

Our thanks, then, to: Linda Antonowich, Assistant Superintendent, West Chester (PA) Area School District; Rich Bagin, Executive Director, National School Public Relations Associations, Rockville, MD;

5 District; Jeffer-son County (CO) Public Schools; Sherry Johnson, Assistant to Director of Iowa State University Press, Ames, Iowa; Shannon Joyce, Council for Advancement and Support of Education, Washington, DC; Jill Kurtz, web development specialist, Fairfax County (VA) Public Schools; Donald Langlois, a retired superintendent of schools, New Harbor, ME; Francis P. Larkin, Intergenerational Consultant, Marmora, NJ; Gary Marx, APR, CAE, President, Center for Public Outreach, Inc., Vienna, VA; Montgomery County Public Schools, Rockville, MD; National Association of Broadcasters, Washington, DC; Phi Delta Kappan, Bloomington, IN; The Philadelphia (PA) Inquirer; Kitty Porter-field, Director of Community Relations, Fairfax County (VA) Public Schools; Cindy Randle, executive director of public information, Carrollton-Farmers Branch (TX) Independent School District; Heather Simmons, Heather Simmons Communications, Glassboro, NJ; Colin Sokolowski, public relations director, Mounds View Public Schools, Shoreview, MN; The School Administrator, Arlington, VA; The Rand Corporation, Santa Monica, CA; Texas School Public Relations Association, Aus-tin, TX; Washoe County (NV) School District; Sheila Weiss, supervisor communication & community relations; Sarasota County Public Schools, Sarasota, FL; West Muffin (PA) School District; Wichita (KS) Public Schools; Utica (MI) Community Schools and Ed Ziegler, Director of Marketing; Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ. Don Bagin, Don Gallagher and Edward H. Moore

Larkin, Intergenerational Consultant, Marmora, NJ; Gary Marx, APR, CAE, President, Center for Public Outreach, Inc.

Stepping Up: The Nation s Top K-12 Education Foundations

Stepping Up: The Nation s Top K-12 Education Foundations Advocating the importance of K-12 education foundations while recognizing those that do it best E X E C U T I V E S T U D Y & N A T I O N A L R A N K I N G S : 2 0 1 5 sponsored by conducted by 1 Stepping