Member Spotlight -Sundeep Dosanjh Present at our Conference! Searching the Listserv Quick Bites Upcoming Programs & Learning
California School Public Relations Association
Happy October, CalSPRA! Adam Grant, the organizational psychologist and bestselling author said, “The most meaningful way to succeed is to help others succeed.” To me, this quote embodies so much of what CalSPRA means for its members, its board members and school communicators across the nation. By supporting one another as an organization for almost 30 years, we help ourselves, others and the TK-12 school system as a whole. Our 2023 Conference in San Diego is focused on just that - helping each one of us succeed. Also, as I shared with you in last month’s message, throughout 2023 we’ll be celebrating our 30th anniversary, reflecting on our significance as an organization, honoring and celebrating our history and looking ahead at how we can set the stage for continued growth and greatness for thirty more years. This month I want to briefly highlight some of the exciting events we have planned for our 2023 Conference (register at the early bird rate through October 31st and book your room today - they are filling up fast!). On Wednesday, March 1, 2023 at 5:30 p.m. we’ll hold our first-ever Conference Welcome Gathering on the beautiful Westin Gaslamp Terrace. Come dressed in 90s attire for a casual and most-likely hilarious kick-off to Conference fun. On Friday, March 3, 2023 our Awards Gala Reception begins at 5:30 p.m. with the Awards Gala Dinner beginning at 7:30 p.m. Wear your finest cocktail attire to celebrate our award winners and special 30th anniversary guests. Look forward to more information about our Conference in the coming weeks and months in our monthly CalSPRA Connect and shared on our Conference webpages. Reach out to any of your CalSPRA board if you have questions about the conference, our other professional development offerings or anything else you may need a hand with - professionally or personally. We are CalSPRA and we are here to help everyone succeed! Jessica Hull, President
October 2022
www.calspra.org
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In this Issue...
Sundeep Dosanjh
What does a typical day look like? After grabbing a cup of coffee each morning, I scan the local and national headlines to forecast and anticipate trends that are impacting schools locally or regionally so I can be proactive in any possible situation that may arise. I provide counsel to my Superintendent and Cabinet colleagues on how to effectively reach target audiences to deliver the best educational outcomes. I utilize multiple communication tools throughout each day to reach the largest audience possible. There is no typical workday when it comes to school PR. Crises are always in dormant mode until they’re not. And it’s prudent to always be prepared to lead in those situations to provide the best service for colleagues, schools, students, and families. What do you like most about what you do? I left TV News nearly 12 years ago, but I never stopped telling stories. There are thousands of story ideas an arms-reach away. The best part of my role is highlighting students’ “ah-ha!” moments, how teachers are delivering educational excellence each day, and how Rocklin Unified continues to provide services and resources to best serve students in and out of the classroom. Aside from this, the equity and inclusivity work that I am committed to is the most important and fulfilling work. When parents directly reach out to me regarding an unfortunate incident that their child experienced at school, it is important to help connect them to the correct persons to assist in the matter. However, when families of minority students prefer to work with me to assist them about the concern, it’s crucial to hear them compassionately and to do a warm hand-off (and to follow up throughout the process) to reiterate the priority our district has in ensuring each student (and family) feels safe and welcome at school. Talking about “equity and inclusivity work” is common but walking the talk and delivering the results is something I am committed to doing each day for all students. What do you find most challenging? The most challenging aspects of what I do are also the ones that I learn most from. In the current socio-political climate, there are times that are challenging to sit through certain very-polarizing school board meetings (during the height of the pandemic and post-pandemic). However, any contentious meetings are opportunities for successful communication professionals to lead to help steer the tone into a positive direction. How long have you been in the profession and what was your path to school PR? I’ve been in school PR for seven years. Previously, I was in Tech PR in San Francisco writing press releases and news pitches about microcontrollers, LaserJet printers, and computers. My professional communication career began as a TV reporter in southern West Virginia. I obtained my Bachelor’s of Arts degree in TV/Radio from San Francisco State University and will receive my Master’s of Science degree in Strategic Communications from Purdue University in May 2023. What advice do you have for new PR professionals? There will be naysayers throughout your whole career. They will try to bring you down, but be brave. Retain your authenticity. Be you. Value your team and the stakeholders you serve. Be curious. In your day-to-day functioning, remember to keep an open mind, be kind and appreciate different perspectives. The Rocklin Unified School District ensures each student becomes a well-rounded individual who thrives intellectually and develops unique strengths to pursue and achieve personal ambitions while contributing to a dynamic world. Rocklin Unified serves nearly 12,000 students and their families each year.
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Member Spotlight
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Chief of Communications and Community Engagement, Rocklin Unified School District
1. Know the Popular Topics Consider emerging topics and trends in which you have experience and expertise that could benefit or interest other school public relations professionals. View the 2023 most requested topics fact sheet. 2. Know Which Format Fits Your Proposal CalSPRA is offering two different session formats: Traditional breakout sessions - one hour in length for standard presentations Workshops/skills labs sessions - two hours in length for more hands-on, skill-building learning opportunities 3. Follow the Proposal Guidance We are seeking presenters who offer unique insights; effective strategies and tactics; timely information on new and emerging issues; useful, hands-on resource materials; and relevant content and experiences that meet the high standards of CalSPRA. Here is the rubric our programming committee will be reviewing in evaluating proposals. Submit your proposal here by Monday, November 21, 2022. Presentation proposals must be submitted via the Google Form. The form will ask you the following items, so be prepared before you start to fill it out. Presenters - names, emails, organizations, bio and photo Session Title, Description (100-200 words), and Length Session Category
The deadline for submitting your proposal is Monday, November 21, 2022. If selected, you will be notified by Wednesday, December 28, 2022. Submit your conference proposal here. (Goal 4, 5)
Don't miss this opportunity to share your solutions and lessons learned with school communicators across California. Everyone is invited to submit a proposal, and priority will be given to CalSPRA members. Here are some answers to common questions - Do I have to be a senior PR person to present? No! Even those brand new to the profession may have a skill set or perspective that would be valuable to many CalSPRAns. For example, maybe you are great at Canva or developing creative hash tags - submit a proposal and share your skill! What if I am new to CalSPRA (or haven’t yet joined)? Presenting is a great way to become more involved in CalSPRA. If you've never presented before but want to learn more about the opportunity, we want to help you! We're focused on conference proposals for our Office Hours on October 28th 9:30-10:30 to help presenters hone their skills and discuss their ideas. What if I am not a communications or PR professional or not in education? We are looking for best practices and ideas and those can come from outside our profession as well. In fact, this year we are also looking to add new tracks for our superintendent and executive administrator members, so if you have an idea for one of those groups, please let us know! Does it have to be something broad and strategic? We love strategic thinking, but sometimes what someone might have to share is a specific example that includes some lessons learned from that specific case study. Submit a proposal and share that experience that might help a colleague in the future. Can it be interactive? Yes! Our members are pretty engaging and love sessions where they are invited to answer questions, take polls, work with a partner or group, or participate in an activity. The only limitation is the session time and your imagination. If you are planning to submit for a 2-hour time slot, the session must teach a new skill and be highly interactive. Can it be technical? Yes! Some of our most popular sessions in the past have been about working with video editing programs, design programs, general technology tips, understanding analytics, developing a social media monitoring wall, and how to use a variety of technical applications. Our work is constantly changing and evolving - if you’ve discovered a new tool that could help our you colleagues, please submit a proposal. Do I have to present alone? No - the CalSPRA Programming Committee welcomes submissions from individuals, duos, and panels. Sometimes that is a great way to start presenting at CalSPRA - it can be less scary to present with friends! Additional Questions? Email admin@calspra.org
Three Easy Steps
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We Want You...to Present in San Diego!
Dues and Benefits Changes January 1
Members are used to being able to jump onto the CalSPRA Listserv with a question, concern or request for guidance or samples and get what they need right away. But did you know you can search old listserv topics through Google Groups? Here are the steps to do just that: 1) Make sure you are logged in to the same email you are receiving listserv messages 2) Go to https://groups.google.com/my-groups and you should see CalSPRA Listserv as one of them 3) You will see all recent messages as a list and at the top of the page you will see a grey box - that is the search tool for messages. If your topic is generic, it can be helpful to place quotes outside of the key words so they must appear together Trouble accessing the listserv or the group search functionality? We're here to help. Email admin@calspra.org (Goal 4)
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Benefit Spotlight: Listserv Search
As a result of feedback we received from members and in an effort to continue to grow our offerings, we are making a couple program and fee adjustments. Most of our programs in this calendar, including our 60-90 minute Academy Webinars, will now be free for all members. In an effort to ensure that we can continue to offer high quality service and programs in a sustainable way, we will be increasing annual dues for those renewing their membership after January 1, 2023. The new rates in the coming year will be $250 Individual Membership $400 Institutional Membership (Up to 3 members) $100 for members added to an Institutional Membership Want to know more about why dues are increasing? Here are some of the key factors: Increased Costs - Our operating costs for software, hotels and food and beverages for events have risen dramatically over the past few years Increased Benefits - A variety of new services and programming for members - webinars, certificate courses, orientations, and office hours. In addition, we are expanding our member library with sample templates for use in a variety of crisis situations and planning to launch on-demand learning options, allowing members to access high-quality professional development when and where it works for them Previous Increases - Financial records do not indicate the last time our dues were increased, but we estimate it has been a minimum of 10-15 years. Our new dues are still lower than most statewide associations Hardships - If you anticipate the increase will create a hardship that may impact your ability to continue to be a member of CalSPRA, we will work with you. Contact us at admin@calspra.org (Goal 3)
Early Bird Rate ends Oct 31 Join colleagues from around California for three days of inspiration, networking, and in-depth learning as we celebrate 30 years of CalSPRA in the heart of San Diego's beautiful and entertaining Gaslamp Quarter! Use this link to reserve your spot at the conference. Don't forget to book your special CalSPRA room rates of $199 per night at the Westin Gaslamp by clicking HERE. We expect the hotel will be fully booked during our conference, so please book early! (Goals 2,4) Preliminary Conference Agenda Available A preliminary schedule has been created for the purposes of travel planning. Individual elements within the opening and closing time frames will be adjusted based on programmatic changes as speakers are finalized. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, a full breakfast will be provided. Award Dinner on Friday is included in registration. Please visit calspra.org/2023conference for more information. (Goal 4) School leaders share the inside scoop on COVID-19 relief aid in latest report CSBA has released the findings of a wide-ranging survey of superintendents and financial staff from local educational agencies throughout the state, showcasing their priorities, challenges and recommendations for spending state and federal COVID relief funding.Beyond the Spreadsheets: Insights from California education leaders utilizing COVID-19 relief funding highlights the extraordinary efforts of school districts and county offices of education to address the variety of priorities they face in dealing with the impacts of the pandemic. The survey respondents represent LEAs that serve over 1.3 million of California’s K-12 students and represent a wide geographic range of elementary, high school and unified districts as well as county offices of education. APR Interest Meeting Next Month Wonder what the APR means after PR practitioner names? Have accreditation on your list for career development? Not sure if you should pursue the APR or an advanced degree? Join CalSPRA's own APR Chair Heather McGowan, APR for an informal discussion about the APR process and get all your APR-related questions answered! Register today. (Goal 4) Free Webinar - Social Media & the Law Join CalSPRA Partner F3 Partner Gretchen Shipley to learn about how the law and social media intersect and what it means for your organization and social media practices. The session will cover: Social media guidance for for communications professionals and superintendents School site social media pages Guidance for site/district leaders on posting/monitoring/sharing Review of 9th circuit case on board member use of social media And it also includes a question and answer period to discuss your burning social media issues. Register today. (Goal 4) October Office Hours - Presentation Proposals School communication can be a lonely role - not everyone understands what you do and the pressures you face. At our monthly online office hours, you can Stop by and chat with other school PR pros about a challenge, a potential project, career advice or anything else! This month, our focus will be on preparing to submit a conference proposal - we'll talk through it all and have you ready to present! Session is October 28th from 9:30-10:30 a.m. and ongoing sessions are tentatively scheduled for the last Friday of each month. Office Hours are free to members, register here for October and check news and events on our website for future monthly sessions. (Goals 2, 4) Next Virtual Orientation November 18 Make the most of your CalSPRA membership and join us to explore a variety of member benefits and how to utilize them. Bring any questions you have about how CalSPRA can support you and your work! Register today. (Goals 2, 4) Join the Conference Committee It’s that time again! Want to work with a great group of volunteers to ensure that this year’s conference is the best ever? The conference committee and subcommittees are now meeting each week. Fill out this form and mark the conference committee and we’ll be in touch! (Goal 4) Regional Meet-Up Near the Capital The Capitol/Foothills Region is hosting a Fall Meet Up on Thursday, October 27, 2022. Feel to join the fun – we’ll mix, mingle and make valuable regional connections. You do not need to be a Capitol/Foothills member to attend. We'll meet at the Platinum Wine Lounge in Roseville from 5-7 p.m. Register today. (Goal 4) Seeking Conference Sponsors Sponsorships are one of the ways we are able to provide the conference at a lower cost to members and we are adding more options for sponsors this year - from Corporate Spotlight sessions to a new vendor raffle and branding opportunities. It is a fantastic way to expand knowledge of your product or service and develop lasting connections with potential customers and friends. CalSPRA sponsors are invited to participate in the same events as our conference attendees - multiple informal gatherings including cocktail receptions, CalSPRA night out, meals and all conference sessions. If you know a company that might be interested in sponsoring this year's conference, share this link with them and refer them to admin@calspra.org (Goals 3, 4)
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Quick Bites
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We want to hear from you! Send your updates, celebrations, and information CalSPRA members need to know to admin@calspra.org.
Quick Bites Continued
December 2021
As part of our strategic planning process based on member input, our leadership team is pleased to offer CalSPRA's first annual program schedule packed with a variety of new member opportunities. Office Hour Drop-In: Stop by and chat with other school PR pros about a challenge, a potential project, career advice or anything else! CalSPRA Academy Webinar: Missed a good session at the conference? Get another chance in this webinar series with a new topic each time. Membership Orientation: Make the most of your CalSPRA membership and join us to explore a variety of member benefits and how to utilize them. Virtual Happy Hour: Grab your favorite beverage and hang out with the only people who truly understand what you do! Annual Conference: Held in March each year (odd years San Diego, even years Sacramento) offering dozens of hand-picked professional development sessions. COE Quarterly: If you work for a county office of education/superintendent of schools, join in this meet-up co-sponsored by the California County Superintendents Educational Services Association (CCSESA) to talk about unique county challenges and solution Certificate Courses: PR Strategy -Everything you need to know about school communication in a four-week course. Receive a certificate that can be used for APR renewal CEUs. Strategic Communication Plan -Don’t have an organizational communication plan? Don’t worry, at the end of this four-week course you will. Receive a certificate that can be used for APR renewal CEUs. Principal Communication -In this six week train-the-trainer course, you’ll receive instruction and templates to prepare you to train the site leaders in your district. Receive a certificate that can be used for APR renewal CEUs. Additional details will be listed on the News and Events section of our website as event dates approach. (Goals 2, 4)
22-23 Program Schedule
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CalSPRA Listserv A “lifeline” for daily networking and mentoring with colleagues from across the state. Got a crisis or question? Need a parent letter or sample policy? Post your query on the CalSPRA Listserv and you’ll get an instant response. Reduced Fees Reduced registration fees on webinars, regional networking events, conferences, and awards program. Members Only Resources Sample resources in our comprehensive Member Library such as letters, contract, board policies, communication and marketing plans, parent involvement and engagement plans, and much more to make communicating easier. Highlight Your Work Annual Excellence in Communications Awards Program and Ceremony. Connect with Others Network with the people who know the joys and challenges of school communication through regional, statewide and virtual gatherings. See our new program calendar for details.
Are You Using All Your CalSPRA Membership Benefits?
Your CalSPRA Leadership Team
Membership lapsed? No problem, we can help!
President Jessica Hull Chief Communications Officer Carmel USD Treasurer Rob Meszaros Director of Communications Kern County Superintendent of Schools Immediate Past President Kindra Britt Director, Communication and Strategy California County Superintendents Educational Services Association Capitol/Foothills Regional Chair Michelle Eklund Chief Communications Officer Placer COE Nor Cal Regional Chair Jacqueline Dillard Communications Officer Butte COE Bay Area Regional Chair Kelly Wylie Director, Creative Impact and Public Affairs Santa Clara COE Central Coast/LA Regional Chair Jake Finch, APR Public Information Officer Simi Valley USD Orange County/Inland Empire Regional Chair Nichole Picardo Communications Specialist Orange County COE Central California Regional Chair Marie Russell Director, Communications, Family Engagement & Outreach Turlock USD San Diego/Imperial Regional Chair Christine Paik Director of Communications Poway USD
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Executive Director Trinette Marquis, APR President Elect Ryan Foran Chief Communications Officer Arcadia USD Secretary Dina Gentry, APR Communications Director El Dorado COE Communications Chair Kelli Twomey, APR Communications & Community Relations Coordinator Portola Valley & Las Lomitas Elementary School Districts Partnerships Chair Angela Griffin Ankhelyi, APR Director of Communication and Community Engagement Folsom Cordova USD APR Chair Heather McGowan, APR President Sounding Board Marketing & Communications Superintendent Chair Dr. Ed Manansala El Dorado COE Superintendent Chair Dr. David Vannasdall Arcadia USD
CalSPRA 10265 Rockingham Dr Ste 100 PMB 5060 Sacramento, CA 95827 (657) 777-2139 CAschoolPRassociation@gmail