WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON CONCURRENT SESSIONS

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22 | 4:00-5:00 P.M.

Healing After A Tragedy

Texas Ballroom G, 2nd Floor

Shots ring out in a high school classroom. A student is critically injured. A teacher tries to intervene and is wounded. Hearing the shots, students and teachers run for cover, lock doors and prepare for the worst.

Police descend upon the campus. Media launch helicopters and send reporters. The gunman is on the run.

This shooting happened in October of 2021 at Timberview High School in Mansfield ISD.

Our team had prepared for a crisis of this magnitude. But the hypothetical was now reality. And our team faced the monumental task of guiding our community through it.

Kimberley Cantu, Ed.D. | Superintendent of Schools | Mansfield Independent School District

Sean Scott, Ed.D. | Deputy Superintendent of Schools | Mansfield Independent School District

Donald Williams | Associate Superintendent, Communications & Marketing | Mansfield Independent School District

Jeff Brogden | Associate Superintendent, Facilities & Bond Programs | Mansfield Independent School District

Don’t Major in the Minors

Texas Ballroom I, 2nd Floor

“Visualize. Focus. Execute.” - Dan Gazaway

Every School PR Department starts the school year with a strategic plan. So, what do you do when outside forces try to derail the plan? This session explores ways to keep the spotlight on student and district success by flipping the narrative. Through real-life examples, learn how to keep the main thing the main thing while staying focused on your strategic plan and avoiding burnout.

Kimberly Simpson | Chief of Communications | Lancaster ISD

Sonja Brown | Communications Coordinator | Lancaster ISD

Typhani Bartholomew | Multimedia Coordinator | Lancaster ISD

CORPORATE SHOWCASE sponsored by Finalsite

The School Websites & Mass Comms Honky Tonk!

Texas Ballroom J, 2nd Floor

Slide those boots on, saddle up and ride over to this interactive panel of Finalsite clients to discuss best practices in websites and integrated mass comms! Panelists will discuss successes, best practices, and tips on the Finalsite software and deployment process. Attendees will have opportunities to ask questions live during the session.

Moderator: Joshua Sauer, APR - Director of District Communications Strategy, Finalsite

Panelists: Ralph Bissey, Webmaster, New Braunfels ISD; Justin Elbert, Executive Director of Communications, Klein ISD; Claudia McWhorter, Chief Communications Officer, Eanes ISD; Rebecca Villarreal, APR, Executive Director of Communications, New Braunfels ISD; Justin Warnasch, Director of Digital Communications, Tomball ISD; Cooper Welch, Director of Communications, Community ISD

Using Google to Keep Your District Website Up-to-Date

Sundance 1, 3rd Floor

Website editors can be clunky & hard to train multiple people to use. In this session, we’ll discuss ways to use Google Drive and Google tools to keep your website up-to-date & how others can help! Great for communications departments with limited personnel/one-person departments. We’ll get hands-on as time allows!

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

Protecting the Future: An Exploration of Seguin ISD’s Safety Task Force

Sundance 2 , 3rd Floor

In response to the Uvalde tragedy, Seguin ISD assembled a Safety Task Force to review its own safety and security measures. The 30-member community task force was charged with identifying improvement ideas across four safety areas. This session will examine Seguin’s response strategy, the four safety areas, and how ThoughtExchange was used to include all community voices in the conversation to find common-ground and a way forward in ensuring the protection of the community’s children.

Matthew Gutierrez, Ph.D. | Protecting the Future: An Exploration of Seguin ISD’s Safety Task Force | Seguin ISD Kevin Skelcher, Account Executive | ThoughtExchange

Measurement Makeover: Taking Stock of Your Evaluation Practices

Sundance 3, 3rd Floor

Straight from the Certified Public Communicator (CPC) runway, we’ll create and model measurements that are in fashion and on-trend. In this interactive session, we’ll crowdsource ways to measure your communication successes. You’ll walk away rethinking that old evaluation wardrobe and wearing new measurement accessories.

Sarah Maben, Ph.D. | Associate Professor | Tarleton State University, Fort Worth Campus

Confronting the Challenges of a Bond Election

Sundance 4, 3rd Floor

Texas Public Schools are growing at a fast rate. In this session, we will encounter challenges that a bond election brings. We will address the approaches and schemes that will fit your stakeholders and community to allow them to grasp and comprehend the important of the bond election your board has called.

Susan Ard, CPC | Cleveland Independent School District

FUNdraising: Idea Sharing for Education Foundations

Sundance 5, 3rd Floor

This session will focus on making connections with other education foundation professionals and sharing ideas for grants, fundraising, PR and events.

Taylor Poston | Public Information Officer | Krum ISD

School PR Work Lounge sponsored by Remind

Sundance 6, 3rd Floor

Vendors And Sponsors

Alboum

Alboum provides translation and interpretation services to districts in Texas and nationwide and is an approved vendor on Buyboard, Choice Partners, TIPS, and Allied States.

Sandra Alboum sandra@alboum.com

571-765-3060

Always On

AI with school expertise: AlwaysOn is an automated chatbot built for schools to help their stakeholders get answers, find information, and feel supported 24/7. It works “out of the box” with no setup or maintenance required.

Teddy Daiber teddy@alwayson.ai

American Association of School Customer Service

Our online customer service training is designed specifically for school and district office staff. It includes 30 lessons, an exam and a professional certificate.

Casey Nash casey@schoolcustomerservice.org

919-592-2369

Apptegy

Make it easy to reach parents, students, staff, and your community: with Thrillshare, you can communicate better and influence how people feel about your schools.

Abby Honnas abby.honnas@apptegy

832-520-6555

Captivate Media+Consulting

Captivate Media is your K-12 expert in crafting highimpact video, graphic design, and animation. Grow enrollment and build community support with clarity, purpose, and intent.

Jake Sturgis jake@captivatemedia.us

CatapultK12

CatapultK12 provides Integrated Communication Solutions for K12 schools and educational institutions for affordable prices.

CESO Communications

CESO Communications brings you the brightest minds in school PR to communicate with clarity, connect with your community, and build for the future. We know the challenges of this work because we’ve done it for decades.

theceso.com

Bob Noyed

Bob.Noyed@theceso.com

Class Intercom

Class Intercom is the only social media management platform created specifically for educational use. It is the smartest and simplest way for school administrators, communicators, and educators to manage all of their social media profiles, from a single school to an entire district. Class Intercom allows schools to foster a secure and collaborative environment with social media content creation, scheduling, publishing, moderation, monitoring, and archiving. Make your school’s social media remarkable.

Dr. Jill Johnson jill@classintercom.com

402-413-7114

Claycomb

“Designing Schools with Kids in Mind,” Claycomb Associates, Architects exclusively serves Texas K-12 districts, offering long-range planning, bond election assistance, creative services, and construction administration.

Claycomb.net

Kim Hocott kim.hocott@claycomb.net

832-672-4000

Edlio

Edlio is a technology company that unifies, simplifies, and streamlines school communication for students, families, and the community. marketing@edlio.com

1-877-646-0500

Et Tu Boutique

Et Tu Boutique is a women’s clothing store specializing in curvy and plus-size women, starting with sizes XL. We believe every woman deserves to feel beautiful. Et Tu - “And You” deserve to find stylish, comfortable and beautiful clothes.

Melissa Day ettu@the-other-day.com

512-905-3875 catapultk12.com

Finalsite

Easy-to-use website and communications tools. Districts choose Finalsite for our award-winning, ADA-compliant designs, robust communications software, integrated mobile app, easy-to-use website content management tools and secure hosting.

finalsite.com

Gallagher

Gallagher Construction Services provides complete construction services for independent school districts, municipalities, higher education districts, and government agencies.

Steve Risser srisser@gallaghertx.com

972-663-0564

Go Public

Go Public promotes the benefits of PreK-12 public education and the wonderful things happening in its member districts.

Lisa Losasso Jackson Lisa@WeGoPublic.com

512-217-7408

Harris County Department of Education

Harris County Department of Education is a public entity dedicated to meeting the needs of uniquely challenged learners in the stateʼs largest county through innovative programming and support services.

Stephanie De Los Santos sdelossantos@hcde-texas.org

713-696-0754

Huckabee

Huckabee Communications team facilitates district bond campaigns and develops branding and communications strategies that holistically tell a client’s story, increase engagement and elevate their image.

Lesley Weaver

Lesley.Weaver@huckabee-inc.com 817-377-2969

Kendra Scott

Jewelry for every look & occasion, from simple & classic to bright and bold. Jewelry that makes you feel like your most confident self. Shop pendants, earrings & more!

K12 Insight

K12 Insight offers the only all-in-one, enterprise-wide customer experience and intelligence platform built for education.

Sarah Maston smaston@k12insight.com

703-542-9605

Knockout Specialties

Welcome to Knock-Out Specialties, where promoting your business is our business. We are a premier source for your branding solutions and promotional product needs!

Brett Bond orders@knockoutspecialties.com

214-440-1200

LexisNexis

Learn about how LexisNexis® Media Intelligence Solutions can inform your communications and business strategies with our media monitoring, social analytics and news curation tools.

Clayton Miller

Clayton.Miller@lexisnexis.com

937-557-8229

Niche

Niche is where families choose their school. By supporting over 27 million families, Niche is changing how schools connect with parents and build their classes.

Mark Eshelman mark.eshelman@niche.com

412.303.8697

National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA)

With more than 2,500 members, NSPRA is the leader in developing professionals to communicate strategically, build trust and foster positive relationships in support of their school communities. Members receive two monthly newsletters, free monthly webinars, access to the members-only discussion forum NSPRA Connect, discounts to the National Seminar and on other programs and services, ability to earn their APR through NSPRA and participate in the APR cohort, and much more! Become a member today at nspra.org.

Barbara Hunter, APR bhunter@nspra.org

301-519-1220

O’Connell Robertson

O’Connell Robertson is a full-service architecture, engineering and interior design firm whose missiondriven approach creates education and healthcare environments that enrich the lives of the people they were designed to serve.

oconnellrobertson.com

ParentSquare

ParentSquare provides unified school-home communications from district office to the classroom. Reporting, integrations, language translation, and app/ email/text/voice/web access support equitable communication.

Peachjar

Peachjar unites schools, parents, and communities in their joint mission to help children thrive. This digital communication platform streamlines school-to-home communication by distributing invaluable school updates and community resources directly to parent inboxes. Trusted by over 12 million parents and 17,500 schools nationwide, Peachjar works with over 35,000 organizations to provide opportunities to help students find their passions, build social skills, and achieve lifelong success.

Tabassum Bhaghani tabassumb@peachjar.com

858-997-2117

Possip

Possip helps schools and districts routinely access feedback from their stakeholders - families, staff, and students. Working with 1000+ schools and organizations across 34 states, Possip uses Pulse Checks translatable in 100+ languages to capture trends, praise, and feedback for schools and districts.

Hannah Hall

Hannah@possip.com

513-5503178

Qualtrics

Qualtrics is used by 3/4 of the fortune 100 companies, nearly every university, and K-12 to improve experiences and relationships with parents, students, and the community.

RBFCU

With high-value products and services, RBFCU is a trusted financial partner for thousands of members in Texas and around the world.

Region 4

Proud to be the “Official Printer of TSPRA,” we offer online printing services 24 hours a day! Our friendly team is ready to assist you. Stop by our booth and learn what we can do.

esc4.net/printcenter

Bryan Tucker btucker@esc4.net

713-744-8129

Remind

Remind is a communication platform that reaches students and families where they are. We believe that relationships drive success in education, and we’re building a platform that supports learning wherever it happens. Today, the Remind platform is home to one of the largest free services in education, a school communication business that supports millions of students, and an online tutoring solution that provides help outside the classroom. Founded in 2011, Remind is backed by GSV Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Owl Ventures, and Social Capital.

For more information, visit Remind.com

Public School Marketing Services

Public School Marketing Services provides professional development for school district communications professionals. Through the online School District Marketing Academy, students gain valuable marketing skills. Small to mid-size districts benefit from the ready-to-use resources and tools.

SchoolMessenger

SchoolMessenger combines parent communications, two-way classroom messaging, attendance management, digital forms and workflows, branded mobile apps, and school websites. Designed to work together from the start, our school communications systems save districts time and money and provide more immediate, complete, and equitable school community engagement. See for yourself why SchoolMessenger is trusted by far more districts than any other school communications provider.

AJ Morgan Director of Marketing

ajmorgan@intrado.com

School Revenue Partners

Stop by our table to learn about how we can generate revenue using your website and e-newsletter and bring more money to your department.

schoolrevenuepartners.com

Thomas Evans

tevans@schoolrevenuepartners.com

214-620-2091

School Status

Simple solutions for districts that need accessible student data and district-wide communication tools to increase parent and student engagement. The platform aggregates information and pairs with call, text and email capability for data-informed communications. schoolstatus.com

Smore

Smore makes it easy to design beautiful and effective online newsletters. Users of our amazing product create a culture of consistent communication, with interactive newsletters people actually open and read.

SocialSchool4edu

#SocialSchool4EDU provides social media management, offers a Social Media Bootcamp, and runs a vibrant online community that provides professional development for school social media champions. socialschool4edu.com

Andrea Gribble andrea@socialschool4edu.com

715-205-0429

Talking Points

TalkingPoints is a multilingual, two-way family engagement platform that establishes effective and meaningful communication with all families in more than 100 languages

TASB

Weʼre here for the benefit of Texas public education. Members have instant access to expert information, training, and advocacy support. So, when you need help, Think TASB First!

Sylvia Wood tasb@tasb.org

800-580-8279

Certified Public Communicator Program at TCU

The Certified Public Communicator Program at TCU serves communicators from school districts and public-sector agencies, providing postbaccalaureate professional development on writing communication plans using best practices.

certifiedpubliccommunicator.org j.lambiase@tcu.edu

Jacqueline Lambiase, Ph.D.

817-257-6552

TeacherLists

TeacherLists is the free, easy-to-use online school supply list solution that helps schools and district manage and share supply lists with families in seconds. Parents love the convenience of viewing lists on their smartphones and shopping through online retailers. All supply lists are ADA-compliant and TeacherLists is 100% free. Visit TeacherLists at www.teacherlists.com.

Charlene LaFerriere claferriere@teacherlist.com

800-644-3561 x 209

ThoughtExchange

ThoughtExchange is for leaders who make big decisions. Get instant, unbiased insights from tens, hundreds, or thousands of people—without spending weeks or months making sense of the data. Engage your organization or community to voice their thoughts and deliver the best solutions to your most pressing challenges. Unify people and make better decisions, faster.

Vype Media

Content Provider and Marketing Partner for ISDs and Schools, specializing in athletics.

WRA Architects

We’ve designed more than 1,200 projects for 70 districts including K-12 schools, stadiums, auditoriums, CATE & STE(A)M facilities and more. Services include facility assessment, master planning, bond planning, architectural and interior design, and construction administration. Wraarchitects.com

Mike Holmberg mholmberg@wraarchitects.com

254-396-4776