ROUNDTABLES & JOB ALIKE SESSIONS

SPONSORED BY:

This year, with the addition of the Special Content Sessions, the Planning Committee made the decision to combine the annual job-alike sessions with roundtable sessions. This will give the opportunity for networking and sharing of ideas in smaller groups. All members are encouraged to find a job-alike table and network with TSPRAns in similar roles. Members who stepped up to lead these sessions are much appreciated!

Table 1

What Districts Miss in Attracting Talent

Attracting and retaining talent is a challenge for many districts. You will learn misconceptions about recruiting teachers and best practices on how to stand out.

Abby Honnas | Business Development Manager Apptegy

Table 2

Time To Step Up - TSPRA Leadership

If you are interested in learning the areas where you can step up and serve TSPRA members from across the state, join TSPRA President Rebecca Villarreal, APR, Fellow PRSA, for this informational roundtable.

TABLE 3 Smartphone Photography

When the only camera you have with you is the one in your pocket, proceed with confidence. Explore techniques to best leverage the incredible technology of smartphones. We will talk about best practices for capturing more engaging images and apps for preparing them for any end use.

Dave Einsel | HCDE

Table 4

Time-Saving Apps Swap

We’re all trying to work smarter, not harder and the right apps on our phones can save a lot of time! At this roundtable, I’ll be sharing some apps that make my job easier when I’m on the go. Participants will be encouraged to share too! Let’s swap app ideas! I’ll take notes in a Google doc and share it with participants to keep and refer back to. Just bring your phone, share why your apps are awesome, and we’ll learn from each other.

Sarah-Jane Menefee | Director of Communications & One-Woman Show Rapoport Academy Public School

Table 5

Social Media Best Practices for Telling a More Authentic Story

Social media is a powerful tool in your storytelling box, but you can’t build it alone. Learn practical ways to tell a more authentic story by empowering others, sharing responsibility, and extending control without losing control.

Jill Johnson, Ed.D., President | Class Intercom

TABLE 6 On a Budget? In Need of Resources? HCDE Can Help You!

Most communications and marketing departments do not know the benefits of working with Harris County Department of Education. Find out the various ways HCDE can help your school district, as well as your department, save money through their new contract with Amazon and newly implemented rebate program.

Stephanie De Los Santos | Director of Marketing & Client Engagement

Harris County Department of Education

TABLE 7

Empowering Multilingual Communications

Learn how to empower teachers and staff to communicate directly with non-English speaking parents as needed, on a budget, and with minimal hassle.

Sandra Alboum | CEO | Alboum Translation Services

TABLE 8 Graphic Design Job Alike

Are you responsible for creating graphic design content for your team? Do you know the shortcut in Illustrator to use the curvature tool? If this sounds like you, come join the Graphic Design Job-Alike Roundtable and share your workflow process, tips and tricks, or ask questions of those that are in the design trenches every day!

Brandon Buckner | Web Manager and Graphic Designer Little Elm ISD.

TABLE 9 Sharing the Good News

If you don’t tell your district’s story, someone else will. Find the right people and ask the right questions to compose an engaging feature story.

Typhani Bartholomew | Multimedia Coordinator

Lancaster ISD

Table 10

How to Train and Manage 100+ Webmasters

Do you have webmasters managing their own campus website? Learn how CFISD’s Web Team trains and manages their 100+ webmasters for 93 campus websites.

Jennifer Ongoco | Assistant Director Cypress-Fairbanks ISD

Denisse Sioss | Digital Content Specialist Cypress-Fairbanks ISD

Table 11

One-Person PR Shops Job Alike

Are you a one-person department? Responsible for every aspect of communications? Join Jennifer Mitchell from Shallowater ISD and share tips and tricks for those that rolling solo in their school districts just like you!

Jennifer Mitchell | Director of Communications Shallowater ISD

Table 12

TSPRA Committee Information

Do you want to be on the committee that helps decide the scholarship for next year’s conference? Do you want to step up and start to help shape TSPRA now and in the future? Committees are a great launching point. Join President-Elect Megan Overman, APR, CPC, and learn about areas you can serve in 2023.

Megan Overman APR, CPC | TSPRA President-Elect Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD

TABLE 13

Transparent Parent CommunicationEliminating the “He-Said, She-Said” Conversations

Join Andrew Fernandez and SchoolStatus to learn how the district turned student families into school community and reduced “he-said, she-said” conversations.

Erin Winnicki | Regional Sales Executive SchoolStatus

Andrew Fernandez | Chief of Communications San Marcos CISD

Table 14

Back-to-School Communication: What Families Really Want to Know

In this session, you’ll learn best practices and strategies for communicating the information families really want to know, and as a result, ease back-to-school stress for everyone in your district.

Charlene LaFerriere | Director of School Engagement TeacherLists

Kim Gavrilles | EdTech Partner Success Manager TeacherLists

Lauren Fredrikson | School Relations Associate TeacherLists

Table 15

Video Magic: Turn One Video into Five with Minimal Effort!

The playbook for how schools use video continues to evolve. No longer can you create a single one-size-fitsall video that is effective on your website, social media channels, and community presentations. Learn how to become a magician with your video skills and turn one video into five that will resonate with your millennial parents AND community members who are baby boomers - WITHOUT adding five times the work to your plate!

Jake Sturgis, APR | Founder and CEO

Captivate Media + Consulting

Andrew Coons | Director of Partnerships

Captivate Media + Consulting

TABLE 15

Data rich and insight poor? Collect, analyze, and visualize data with the powerful Qualtrics engine

Join us as we discuss how Qualtrics can help collect, analyze, and visualize key stakeholder feedback and data. Take demographic, performance, attendance, discipline, and other data sources and marry them with experience data to make well-rounded, data-informed decisions that make a difference.

TABLE 16 Moving Beyond Limits - From Beginning to End

Participants will learn how to develop an effective marketing plan that markets the district in an effective way. Participants will walk away with a plan on how to develop a marketing plan that encompasses a marketing campaign, activities, social media marketing, content marketing, and branding. Participants will also learn the 4Ps of marketing that we have found effective to use in public schools.

Nikita Russell Ed.D. | Chief of Communications & Marketing

Everman Independent School District

Grace Otieno | CCMR & Marketing Specialist

Derrick Thompson | Communications Specialist

Kevin Graham | Website & Digital Content Specialist

TABLE 17

Ask the NSPRA Experts

Are you grappling with a tough issue in your district or agency on which you could use some guidance? Three NSPRA national leaders will be on hand to chat with you, provide advice and share wisdom and helpful resources.

Barbara Hunter, APR | Executive Director

TABLE 18

Are You Ready to TikTok?

Short-form video is taking over all our favorite apps. Is it time to start diving into the world of TikTok? This roundtable will be a great opportunity to share conversations on if it’s time to trend!

Chris Curtis | Rockwall ISD

TABLE 19

Education Foundation Job Alike

Are you involved in your district’s Education Foundation? Want to share stories with others who are facing the same challenges? Join Sheila Olson, Executive Director of the Alvin ISD Education Foundation, in this job-alike discussion table!

Sheila Olson | Executive Director Alvin ISD Education Foundation

TABLE 20

Thinking about earning your Accreditation in Public Relations (APR)?

Talk with a few APRs about the process and the benefits of earning your accreditation.

Danielle Clark, APR

TABLE 21

How to Survive Being Canceled

School districts are not immune to cancel culture and being overwhelmed with outrage from near and far. Hear/share tips for how to survive being “canceled.”

Amanda Simpson, CPC | Director of Communications

Angela Brown, CPC | Chief Communications Officer

Naveen Boppana | Coordinator of Digital Content and Community Engagement

Coppell ISD

TABLE 22

Good Photography + Game Changing Storytelling

Great photography is a game changer in School PR. The right photo can completely change how your community engages with your district. During this roundtable, you will learn some tips and tricks to elevate your photography and tell an even better visual story!

Michael Pena | HEB ISD

TABLE 23

Learn how TCU’s Certified Public Communicator program has benefitted TSPRA members by helping districts to create communication plans and individuals to earn a certification.

Hailee Fojtasek, MBA, CPC | Coordinator of Community Relations

Northwest Independent School District

TABLE 24

Graphic Design 101

No School PR campaign is complete without an excellent graphic design. Learn Adobe Illustrator tips and tricks to produce high-quality and engaging graphic designs.

Rodrigo Martinez | Branding and Design Coordinator

Lancaster ISD

TABLE 25

Are You Choosing the Right Company for CMS/Websites? Asking the Right Questions

Can Make All the Difference

Are you unsure if the company you picked for web development is the right fit? You don’t have to guess. By asking the right questions and taking your time, you can make sure that you’re choosing a partner that’s committed to providing quality services, building a lasting relationship, and crafting an effective website.

CatapultK12

TABLE 26 Keeping it Reels

Discuss how the Reel trend can work for your school district and learn how short videos capturing learning and events can increase engagement on social media.

Michael Gutt | Brand Experience Specialist Coppell ISD

TABLE 27

What’s Working to Engage Families Today: Communication Tips for Leaders

We’ll discuss what districts in TX and across the US are doing to improve engagement, and share how a unified communication platform can help improve connections between school and home. We’ll also share more about ParentSquare’s newest offering, Smart Sites.

TABLE 28

Absence Does Not Make the Grades Grow Fonder: Fighting Absenteeism with SMS

Texts

The negative effects of school absences are welldocumented: delayed reading in grade school, underperforming in middle school, and not graduating from high school. Learn how you can combat absenteeism in your district with three simple letters, SMS. Send text messages that can literally change the future of your students.

Steven W. Anderson | SchoolMessenger

Table 29

The Case for Customer Service in Schools

The systematic delivery of superior customer service has become a requirement for school districts nationwide to increase trust and build strong district brands.Through our work with hundreds of school districts across the country, we’ve learned how important it is to implement an intentional customer service strategy. Join us to learn how to start the process in your district — and why you can’t afford not to.

Sarah Maston, K12 Insight

Table

30

It’s Not What You Say, But How You Say It

What organizations come to mind when you think of great customer service? If your district didn’t come to mind, you need to attend this roundtable.

Sonja Brown | Lead Communications Coordinator Lancaster ISD

Table 31

Giving Your District Teachers of the Year an Edge to Advance to State

Your district may have some of the most outstanding teachers around, but they never seem to advance to the regional or state level of the Teacher of the Year awards program. Learn from a 30-year veteran ESC coordinator of this program some vital tips and strategies for leveraging the application process so that your candidates get the attention they deserve from the judges. Who knows, you may have a regional or state winner next year!

strategy with your citizens advisory committee, and using algorithms to your advantage.

Natasha Ray | Bridge City ISD

Kim Hocott | Claycomb Associates, Architects

TABLE 34 School Customer Service Matters

The customer service offered by your team significantly impacts the school experience of students and families. Learn to dramatically improve how key stakeholders feel about your district’s brand by implementing these tips and recommendations. Come hear from national consultants who train and equip school leaders to improve their daily customer service habits.

Casey Nash | Vice President of Online Learning | AASCS

TABLE 35 [Insert Emoji Here]: Should we use that emoji?

Lori

Burton, CPC | Chief Communications Officer ESC Region

11

Table 32

Your People. An Important Audience in District Communications.

Employees. Faculty and staff. Team. People. All words to describe an important audience of any communications plan. Yet, employees are often overlooked when districts plan their editorial calendars. Employee engagement and communication play an active role in retention and recruitment, as well as culture and morale. Join members of the Clear Creek ISD communications team as they share how they listened, learned, and responded to employee feedback that now drives their internal communications plan.

Elaina

Polsen | Chief Communications Officer

Clear Creek Independent School District

Lindsey Hunt | Communications Specialist

Clear Creek Independent School District

Table 33

Targeted Social Media Strategies for Your Bond Campaign

Using focused social media tactics, learn how Bridge City ISD flipped their bond results from their $46.1 million 2019 bond election results from 69% (against) / 31% (for) to passing two propositions totaling $72.4 million in 2022 with 65% support. Walk away with resources and ideas for quick facts, social media calendar, sharing your

Have you ever wondered if emojis were helping or hurting your messages on social media? Is three hearts too many to celebrate on your ISD’s Facebook page? Find out what stakeholders think about organizational emoji use in the digital realm. In our research, we tested how appropriate users found emojis in a variety of contexts, including positive and negative messages, and emoji sequences. Learn about practical findings and best practices for your digital team.

Sarah Maben, Ph.D. and Christopher Gearhart, Ph.D. Associate Professors | Tarleton State University

Table 36

The Leavenworth Student PR Internship Experience: Lessons Learned from Involving Youth In District Communications

For over 10 years, the Leavenworth (Kan.) Unified School District has facilitated a School PR paid-internship opportunity during June and July. Each summer, between 3-5 eligible juniors/seniors/recent graduates work under the supervision of the district’s Communications Department to receive hands-on learning opportunities and gain professional working experience.

Jake Potter, APR (USD 453 Director of Public Relations & NSPRA South Central Region VP), will share what’s worked well, and what has not, and things to consider before launching a similar internship/mentoring experience in your local district.

Jake Potter, APR | USD 453 Director of Public Relations NSPRA South Central Region VP

TABLE 37

Social Media Manager Job Alike

Are you in charge of your district’s social media presence? This Job-Alike table is a great opportunity for SMMs to share tips, pointers and learn from each other.

Skyler Hefley | Social Media Strategy Specialist | Tyler ISD