Authentically Empowered Sheleah D. Reed, APR, Aldine ISD relfects on her career as a communications professional with some life lessons

PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT Ian Halperin, Wylie ISD

No wonder Ian Halperin, Wylie ISD’s executive director of communications and community relations, has so much experience under his belt. In addition to his past as a newspaper photographer for many years, he changed careers to school PR in 1996. “I’ve photographed every US President since Ronald Reagan, plus four Super Bowls,” he explains. As far as his communications job, he says, “[I] celebrate the many accomplishments of our students and staff, ensure our message is heard above the clatter and promote the district to our many stakeholders.”

Halperin has been a friend of TSPRA for 24 years and counting. He served as president between 2016-2017, has chaired Rookie Boot Camp and has served as mentor to many members throughout the years.

When asked what it means to win this award, Halperin quips, “It means I’m old. LOL. I would not be where I am professionally without the support and friendship of my TSPRA family. I am grateful for opportunity to share knowledge and help grow our organization and the profession.”

MOST VALUABLE MEMBER Tim Carroll, APR, Allen ISD

Award sponsored by Intrado School Messenger

As a TSPRA member since 1995, Tim Carroll, who recently retired from Allen ISD as its Chief Information Officer, has been in school PR since 1981, 25 of which were spent at Allen. While he has been “producing a radio show and/or writing a newspaper column as a hobby for many years,” he says that he has no plans on teaching PR classes at Texas A&M.

Showing his professional patina, Carroll says, “I literally started in school PR before desktop computers and social media. I had a typewriter and copy machine. News release[s] were driven to the newspaper office until Fax machines were invented. I had one of the first Mac SE computers in our town. PageMaker and laser printers changed my life!”

As the MVP 2020, Carroll explains that he is in good company. “[I’m] Very flattered to receive the award – when I came here in 1995, I remember long-time pros like Bonnie Ellison and Larry Ascough that we all looked up to. It’s an honor to be included in those ranks.”

Authentically Empowered by Sheleah D. Reed, APR Chief Communications Officer

Aldine ISD

“My title is chief communications officer, but that does not truly define me.”

Ijumped into school communications the way I have learned to do so many other things in life—all in and headfirst. This time, it was for the state’s largest school district — Houston ISD (HISD). On the day of my interview, news dropped that a top official was arrested for possession of a controlled substance. My start date was delayed because an ice storm hit the area and shut down fingerprinting for several days. And if that wasn’t enough warning, on my first day, I learned that we were closing campuses in minority neighborhoods. This was a warm welcome to my new role; however, it was one that I was eager to take on. My days at HISD started at 5:30 a.m. with calls of bus accidents and some days ended after midnight, especially on those days of Board Meetings. Looking back,

I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

I could go through my resume of school communications jobs— HISD, Spring ISD, HISD again and now Aldine ISD—but that’s boring. The truth is while each role has been a different assignment, with different communities, and different objectives, the goal has remained the same: Tell the district’s story. Tell the story of teachers, staff and students, and most importantly—tell the story of achievement despite challenges with funding, tough environments,

and new leadership. While learning to tell the stories, I have also been fortunate to pick up a few lessons along the way.

Here are few lessons I’ve learned along the way:

Be yourself.

When I was recruited back to HISD, the chief operating officer said he was looking for someone to help rebrand nutrition services after the district ended a 22- year contract with a service provider. He explained the role and his goals. I reminded him, more than a few times, that I had no experience in food services and that I had packed my lunch as a child.

I will never forget his response, “I know that, but your communications experience, your personality, your approach to life and your drive makes you the perfect person for the job. You’ll figure the rest out.” His remarks continue to keep me grounded today. I recognize the power that being my authentic self has in helping me connect, communicate and lead both professionally and personally.

I won’t lie and say that authenticity is easy. There are times I don’t agree with the group, and there are times (more than I want to admit) that I am pushing my team to approach a project in a different way, to think beyond the way we’ve always done things in order to better serve others.

While working in Nutrition Services at HISD, I approached school lunch with this attitude. I sat in meetings with the “real lunch ladies”, and learned about federal guidelines and meal planning. Then I pushed back on ways we could use those guidelines to get more students to opt-in to school lunch. This meant asking people who usually stayed at the office to get out to the cafeterias. This meant being open to talking to reporters and even changing the names of the menu items to words that were fun and festive. The meetings weren’t always easy. I was out of my element and usually outnumbered; but, in the end, I think it worked. Although I’ve moved on from the role, the team is still rocking and rolling. School lunch is booming without me, but I know my voice is still at the table when decisions are being made. I could have approached the job differently. I could have remained silent. That wouldn’t have benefited anyone. Every life experience is important to the conversation. Diversity of thought and experience allows conversations to be richer and discussions to be deeper. Your voice and thoughts matter. You matter.

Work harder than anyone else.

My brother learned how to build a website using a new platform in less than 12 hours — no manual, no instructions. He just locked himself in a room and did it. Since then he’s been called on by companies across the world for his expertise on the platform. I asked him why he did it that way and he said, “It’s a chip on my shoulder. I’m trying to prove a point to myself.” It’s a strong possibility that the chip is part of our genetics.

I will work harder than most people, go above and beyond to get a project completed. I’ve pulled my fair share of all nighters and then brought breakfast to the early morning meeting the next day.

I’ve been the only person of color and the only comms professional in a meeting where everyone expressed their opinion on how to message something to black parents. I’ve rewritten statements about fights on campus — removing the word brawl —and pitched a story to the media about a star student athlete who had great SAT scores AND happened to be Black. I left the race part out on

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