Q & A Dr. Nikita Russell, Executive Director of Public Relations, Everman ISD

by Dr. Nikita Russell Executive Director of Public Relations Everman ISD

Changing the Perception of the District

How did you know the perception of the district needed changing?

I knew the perception needed to change when I would tell people I worked in Everman the responses would be, “Oh, you sure are great in football” or “Oh, I heard that’s not a great place to work.” I didn’t like that perception, because we are great in academics, arts, and it is a great place to work.

What was the background on the issue?

The background came down to people not knowing how great a district we were. Everman was known for success in athletics but not academics or arts. People knew Everman as the state football champions not Everman one of US News Best Schools recipient, Academic Achievements on standardized tests, winner of Buckley Theatre Arts Awards, or UIL Band Competition Winner.

We wanted people to know we were great in Academics, Arts, and Athletics.

How long did it take to change the perception of the district?

If I said it took a year to change the perception that would not be the truth. The perception developed over some decades, so you can imagine it took longer than a year to change to a positive perception. The perception change was over three-years and the process continues.

What was the process for changing the perception?

I formed a district committee to assist with changing the perception. The committee consisted

of teachers, parents, coaches and high school students. We started a marketing campaign, “We Are Everman,” and led the district to change our brand. The high school Career and Technical Education class created our official seal and official districtwide bulldog. We marketed our brand with the local news media, on our new website, new social media pages, Bulldog Broadcast Magazine, billboards and brochures.

We planned community-wide events to show district spirit. Some of the events were the back to school bash, Meet the Bulldog, 1st Wednesday’s Food Pantry and Fall Festival.

The local news media were important in helping to change our perception. The media is an important piece of changing the image. Our academic success was featured on Good Morning Texas, Wayne Carter in the Classroom, KKDA Radio, and K104 Radio. We invited the media to every event possible. Those relationships helped us to change the narrative of our story. Like, Chris said last issue, “embrace the news media.”

How did you know the perception started to change?

I knew the perception changed when people starting coming to our recruitment tables at job fairs telling us what great things they heard about Everman, when home builders started building homes, when enrollment increased by 400 students, and when I told people I worked in Everman ISD, the response was positive.

What is the most important point?

You are the force to drive the stories for your district!