People in the News

Robert Guthrie, a member of the West Haven Board of Education and CABE Area 7 Co-Director, was recently elected Secretary/Treasurer of the National Volunteer Fire Council. Bob had previously served on the Council legislative committee and Executive Board. Congratulations, Bob, on your election and thank you for the many facets of your volunteer service.

It seems that, especially today, everyone is looking for “transparency” in communication, as they should. Meanwhile, what they don’t realize is that communicating transparently is a full-time job. Boards of Education and schools are doing a great job educating, but the problem is that in many cases, no one really knows about the details of it. With the distractions that sometimes occur in our schools and the reality that public education is a media target, it is becoming more difficult to communicate the good things that are being done in districts on a

Opportunities

(continued from page 17) community presenters are happy to donate their time to teach classes that they feel are important. It’s important to provide child care. Usually the only other expense is refreshments.

Districts that have successfully offered parent classes say the rewards –better informed and better-connected parents – far outweigh the expense.

Here are steps to begin organizing a series of parent classes:

• Form a planning committee daily basis.

Many educators and school officials are of the mindset that their district only needs public relations if there is a crisis. Think again. If you have taken the time, energy and effort to build support for your schools throughout the school year, then the better the chances that you have also built respect and credibility with your school community and other stakeholders. Trust and respect are the one foundation that you want when it comes to communicating, so that people are more likely to give you the that includes parents and staff. Parents are your best source for knowing the kinds of questions and topics that other parents would find most helpful. benefit of the doubt when a crisis hits. Utilizing best practices of transparency and consistency can be your best advantage in a number of situations, but the key is that it has to be a priority. Taking the time to share with your community all of the good that is going on in our schools is well worth the time and the effort. Trust me, even when you think no one is paying attention, or that they even care, there are still those who do. Public relations for schools is just as important, if not more important, when there is good news to share.

• Make it easy for parents to attend by offering free child care.

• Feed them! Provide coffee and cookies or other small snacks.

• Recruit some of your staff “stars” to teach classes and showcase some of the new ways teachers are teaching and students are learning.

• Invite the media and local civic leaders to attend, so they can learn more about the higher expectations for students and staff.

• If your district has a large population of English learners, consider conducting some of the classes in another language.

• Hand out evaluation forms and not only ask for feedback on the sessions but also suggestions for future topics.

Contributed by Connie Potter, communications consultant.