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Public relations is a crucial component leading to success for school leaders and their school communities. INVESTMN formerly Champions for Children) is a communication partnership intended to teach Minnesotans about the accomplishments, risks, and challenges of public education.
Let's invest in Minnesota together: Implementing a New Vision to Educate Students for Tomorrow in Minnesota.
These materials are developed for MASA by Shari Prest, Ark Associates. Copy and distribute the articles in your educational communities as you see fit. Please use your influence to educate our communities about the needs and state of public education.
Please feel free to use any PowerPoint presentations that are included.
PowerPoint Presentations:
2020
Bits 'n Pieces Fall Grappling with Gaps
Did you Know?
Talking Trust
A University of Minnesota survey of over 15,000 educators, was conducted in June of 2020.
The most frequently cited concern for staff was building relations during a period of racialization, violence, and covid19 issues. Trust-building emerged as a major component of staff/student relationships that helped students to feel they belong and that encourage an effective learning environment.
As in any trust relationship, competency, motive, understanding, and dependability are essential and can be expressed through the following (spoken or unspoken) student queries and staff responses...
Click Here 2020
Bits 'n Pieces Summer Communicating in Uncertain Times
These are unpredictable times for parents, students, and educators. It is particularly challenging for educators to communicate accurately when Covid19 adaptations are continually evolving. Therefore, your communications need also to be based on the fundamental priorities of public education and your schools, regardless of the setting and/or time frame within which those priorities will be achieved. The following are some tips for communication success in conjunction with unprecedented adaptations...
Click Here 2020
Bits 'n Pieces Spring
Time
All About Time
About Time with Parents
Compare and Contrast
Red Flags2020
Bits 'n Pieces Spring
Covid-19 Communications
People are stunned (that could never happen here!) and confused (multiple mixed messages) by the pandemic the world is experiencing. Covid-19 presents a new way of teaching for most educators and an evolving way of learning for students. It is crucial that School District leaders develop and disseminate a communication plan outlining expectations for principals, teachers, students, and parents.2019
Bits 'n Pieces Winter
Teacher Shortages
Your success as a school leader depends on the instruction and outcomes that take place within classrooms. That means that one of your key jobs is creating a climate and engaging a system that will identify, attract, and retain the very best teachers. Unfortunately, that job is made more difficult by the teacher and substitute teacher shortage that exists and is growing.
2019
Bits 'n Pieces Summer
Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
The 2005 law builds on key areas of progress in recent years, made possible by the efforts of educators, communities, parents, and students across the country. The law addresses not only achievement, equity, graduation rates, etc. but also includes requirements to prevent abuse of students.
Assault and Harassment in Schools (America’s Promise Alliance, April 26, 2018, Three Ways Schools Can Help Prevent Sexual Assault)
Ramping up…or down? (Includes information from Laura Lindberg, Principal Research Scientist at the Guttmacher Institute, Trends in adolescent sexual behavior, health, and education, as printed in Phi Delta Kappan, October 2018)
2019
Power Boosters
Connection: “The act of connecting: the state of being connected…” Merriam-Webster Dictionary. That sounds simple enough but feelings of loneliness often caused by a lack of physical or emotional connectedness are increasing almost daily among Americans. Brené Brown, Ph.D., and author of five best-selling books defines connection more expansively, “as the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued; when they can give and receive without judgment; and when they derive sustenance and strength from the relationship.”
2019Communicate Kindness
These are dynamic and often divisive times. Our lives and the lives of our children are pelted daily with conflicting opinions, alternative facts, stories of violence, personal shaming, and hateful words. This is the environment in which our children’s characters form and behaviors become entrenched.
2019Bits 'n Pieces Winter
Did You Know?
- Superintendent Tenure and Compensation
- Anxiety at a Glance
- Media Matters
2018
Kick Start Communications for 2019This is the beginning of a new year and the time for superintendents in school districts – large or small – to develop a comprehensive communication plan for themselves. In some districts, the superintendent is the communication department. Other school districts have communication staff. Regardless of those variables, you are the voice of the educational community and you will be most successful if you are visible and approachable.
2018
Immigration and Education
“Immigration has long supported the growth and dynamism of the U.S. economy. Immigrants and refugees are entrepreneurs, job creators, taxpayers, and consumers. They add trillions of dollars to the U.S. gross domestic product or GDP, and their economic importance will only increase in the coming decades as America’s largest generation—the baby boomers—retires en masse, spurring labor demand and placing an unprecedented burden on the social safety net."
2018
New Beginnings
Autumn marks the end of a carefree summer and the beginning of another academic year filled with potential and challenges. In the midst of this changeover season it is crucial to recall the successes and disappointments—maybe even lost aspirations—of the past year. Now it is time to initiate pathways to greater success and fewer disappointments for the coming year.
2018Bits 'n Pieces Summer
Did you know?
• Minnesota was ranked as the second smartest state by CNBC.
• Safety Smarts:
According to the StarTribune poll conducted from April 15 through 18, 2018, of Minnesotans…• Midsummer Message from schools to home: Students who have experienced summer learning loss over the years are an average of two years behind their peers by the end of sixth grade. Two to three hours per week of maintenance learning is required during summer vacation to prevent any learning loss.
2018
Spring-
Schools Remain the Safest Places for KidsParents watch their loved ones head off to school as the tragedies of the past invade their minds and confidence in the safety of our schools is questioned...
2018
Spring-
Safety Begins at HomeWe read or hear about violence regularly so it is natural to assume that there is more violence today than in the past. In fact, despite some painful and tragic events, the opposite is true. It is impossible to maintain a free society and also eliminate all opportunities for violence. But we can influence the likelihood that violent acts will occur through the culture in our homes, communities, and schools. The following is a tip sheet on how we can all reduce violence in our society...
2018
How to Conduct Meetings that Matter
How many meetings have you attended begrudgingly, reviewing your text messages while information was being presented? Worse yet, how many meetings have you led while others were similarly disengaged?
2018
Talking Points
Definition of Personalized Learning (Institute of Personalized Learning)
2018
Talking Points
Generation What?
Why should we care?2018
Bits 'n Pieces Winter
Did you know?
Minnesota ranked first among the 50 states in...
Minnesota is ranked second among the 50 states in...
Minnesota is ranked third among the 50 states in...How smart are smartphones for teens?
2017
Bits 'n Pieces Summer
Do you know?
- Mental Health Red Flags (for staff and students)
- Gen What?!
- Minnesota Public Schools include the following according to the Minnesota Department of Education Analytics
- Teacher Supply
- Values and Variables
- Information to share with parents
2017
A Summer Send Out
In Minnesota, summer is the growing season.
2017
Talking Points
School Choice- Public Benefit or Private Promotion?
- Definition
- Constitutional Foundation for Public Schools
- Data
- Important Information
- Options
- Perspective
2017
Bits ‘n Pieces Winter
Do you know about it?
- The Millennials
- The Rural Advantage
- Costs of Childrearing
- ESSA Extension
- Pteronophobia
2016
Talking Points
Engagement... Does it Matter?
- Varied examples of initiatives
2016
Bits ‘n Pieces Spring
Did you know?
- Well-being and Behavior
- Ten Growth Mindset “do’s” and “don’ts”
- Health News
2016
Talking Points
What is Community Engagement?
Public Relations and Communication Tips.2016
Bits ‘n Pieces Winter
Did you know?
- Education Week’s Quality Counts
- 2015 NICHE rates Minnesota
- Compensation
- Testing
- Closing the summer learning gap
2015
Bits ‘n Pieces Fall
Did you know?
- Civic engagement is linked to important youth outcomes
- Energy Overload
- Considering Careers
- A time for Everything
- Currency Quiz
2015
Talking Points
Summercise
Some of us think of summer as a time to let go of schedules, abandon bedtimes, sleep in, or camp out. Older students may use it as a time to get a job and earn a little extra money for added independence in the months ahead. Still, others see it as a time to watch TV, play video games, follow celebrities on twitter and nap. However it is spent, summer has long been considered a part of our Minnesota culture—almost an annual rite of passage.
2015
Talking Points
Leading for Learning
- Key Finding: Summer Learning Loss, Which Is Disproportionate and Cumulative, Contributes Substantially to the Achievement Gap. – Wallace Foundation Rand Report, Making Summer Count, 2011
- Sample Community Conversation Starters
2015
Talking Points
Education- It's Essential
2014
Talking Points
Wise investors reap the best returns
- Economic benefits of high-quality public schools.
- Early evidence The "achievement gap" is not a metaphor.
- Failure is expensive. The High Cost of High School Dropouts.
- Onward and Upward.
2014
Opinion Leader
- MASA Organization Contacts
2014
Talking Points
- Identify people and organizations that influence the opinions of others in your school district.
- Inform a network of key communicators made up of the identified opinion leaders in your school district.
- Listen to the ideas and opinions of all constituents when possible and be deliberate about gathering the thoughts of opinion leaders. By virtue of being opinion leaders, they likely represent the thoughts of at least one sector of your community, as well.
2014
Bits ‘n Pieces Summer
- Risks of Rewards
- Beyond the Words
- Learning from Listeners
- Top ACTors
- Managing Criticism
- Recommended Book
2014
Talking Points
- Behavior development begins at home
- Student behavior is a school issue
- Bullying is a community problem
As your district and schoolSafe and Supportive Schools Policies develop to communicate the information throughout the community in posters, newsletters, blogs, conferences, tweets, homerooms, Facebook sites, newspaper articles, cable shows, you-tube, other effective means available to you.
2014
Bits ‘n Pieces Spring
- Five Indispensable Communication Tools
- SignsSchool of Success
- Charters
- Post Secondary
- Red Flags
2014
Bits ‘n Pieces Winter
Building Bridges: Questions to periodically ask yourself –Andrew Sobel, Making Rain
Principles for Principals: (core functions of an instruction-focused, collaborative conception of school leadership taken from the Wallace Foundation research as written in Five Lessons in Leadership Training – The Making of the Principal)
Students Say: (Student responses to the 2013 student survey)
Post-secondary plans, safety at school, relationships, economic hardship, adverse childhood experiencesChanging Workforce: Minnesota may have “regained” the number of jobs it lost during the Great Recession. But the workforce now has fewer blue-collar construction and manufacturing jobs — and more health care jobs.
2014
Learning for Life
Key Messages:
Excellence in education begins long before children enter the public school system and continue through their participation in the workforce.Public education is foundational to Minnesota’s success as a place to live, work, have a family, and own a business.
2014
School Readiness for All
Parents and other significant adults in a child’s life can play an important role in preparing a child for pre-K learning by engaging with the child in simple activities in each of the following key areas.
2013
Superintendents/Board Relations are
Public RelationsKey Messages:
Administration/board relations are public relations
that have significant intended and unintended consequences.
2013
Bits ‘n Pieces Summer
Graduation Forward (taken from Education Week: Nation’s Graduation Rate Nears a Milestone, May 31, 2013, Christopher B. Swanson and Sterling C. Loyd)
Administrator/Board relationships: The following are ways to improve the working relationships and increase mutual support between school boards and district/school administration.
Leadership (adapted from Flat World, Hard Boundaries: How to Lead Across Them, Chris Ernst and Donna Chrobot-Mason, MIT Sloan Management Review, Spring 2011)
Five boundaries that keep us apart
Six Boundary Spanning PracticesData and Demographics
Bully Bulletin:
Researchers at Duke University School of Medicine conducted a study on the long-term effects of bullying. The study is based on 20 years of data beginning with children in adolescence and following them into adulthood. (Long-term effects of bullying, Phi Delta Kappan, May 2013)
2013
Bits ‘n Pieces Spring
Special Education (Notes from a Civic Caucus April 5, 2013 interview with Jody Hauer, principal evaluator for the Office of the Legislative Auditor)
Ethnically Speaking (information taken from Phi Delta Kappan, March 2013, The New Latino Diaspora, Wortham, Clonan-Roy, Link and Martinex including data from PEW Hispanic Center, 2010 and Support Parents to Improve Student Learning, Joanna Cattanach )
Bully-wise from http://www.dukehealth.org/health_library/news/bullied-children-can-suffer-lasting-psychological-harm-as-adults
Tech-knowledge
Stepsin increasing school district cyber learning opportunities. (AASA SchoolAdministrator, April 2013, Competing with Cyber Charters, Jeffrey M. Taylor)
2013
We've come a long way to get where we are today
Key Messages:
History attests to the connection between prosperity, independence, and power, and a high-quality and equitable system of public education.
The foundational principles of public education are worth protecting and promoting, even as private and sectarian competition for public dollars increases.
Public education has continually evolved to meet the needs of an ever-changing world.
2013
Who do you think you are?
Who do they think you are?
The question “Who do you think you are?” has been used many times in many situations—often in a condescending or challenging way. But confronting the question can be very useful to leaders seeking professional alignment among their vision, goals, and behaviors and within their school community.
2013
Public and Community Relations
Competition... It's Here to Stay
Key Messages:
Public schools must now compete for the profound privilege of educating Minnesota’s children for the future. Today’s educational leaders need to also be public relations leaders for their schools to successfully compete.2013
Legislative Landscape
Legislative landscape. Academic Achievement. Graduation Rates.
2013
Spring into Action and Stop the Leaks
Key Message:
There is a leak in the system — summer learning loss. Creative repairs can reduce loss and increase student and school success.2013
Minnesota Markers
Key Message:
Minnesota's success is exceeded only by its potential.2013
Leadership and Kid Connections
Most parents want their children to make and be friends. They want them to be socially confident and competent. For some children that is easier than for others. But parents can help and kids can often help themselves. The following are a few tips for parents to help their children have and be friends.
2013
Leadership, Marketing, Kid Connections
Leadership, Marketing: The World (some reasons global education and educating our kids globally are important); Kid Connections on Parents of Preschoolers, Parents of Tweens, and Cliques in Schools.
