School

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School Public Relations
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• The surest way to
• kill a bad
• product is to advertise it.

Mike Flynn, Darcy Advertising
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Not simply publicity!!
Public Relations

School public relations is a solid, long-range
and democratic course of action. It is a
process that attempts to foster understanding
and friendly working relationships between
schools and their communities in order that they
may not only serve educational needs but also
select more intelligently the media and
activities which will keep people informed about
the schools, their purposes programs, progress,
and problems.
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Public Relations

Effective public relations is a planned two-way
program in which educators and the public work
together to meet the educational needs of
children.
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Public Relations

There is a need for Public Relations..
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Public Relations

people must be informed if they are to vote
intelligently there is a predominant complaint
about schools by opposition that they are
neglecting the three Rs the media tends to
focus only on the negative
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Public Relations

Public Relations is an ongoing program..
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Public Relations

public relations goes on actively at all
times whether the school likes it or
not every contact is a PR contact visitors
perceptions are impacted with every contact
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Public Relations

What is the role of the Principal in developing
good school public relations?
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Public Relations
The Principal

takes a leadership role refines and
disseminates school news develops positive
relationships with media establishes open lines
of communication with community formulates
plans and policies

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Public Relations

The principal understands publics
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Public Relations

Each public has its own personality, size,
interest, and organization
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Public Relations
The Principal understands the dynamics of


External public that group that is not in
the building or district
Parents Clubs community service
organizations Parent-teacher association Businessm
en Adults who do not have children in
school Civic groups and leaders
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Public Relations
The Principal understands the dynamics of


Internal public those groups within the
building or district
Students Teachers Support Staff Other School
Sites Central Office
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Public Relations

Principals must understand interrelationships of
various publics, their unique structures,
collective personalities, interests, and
political importance
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Public Relations
Factors

warmth acceptance tolerance understanding coo
perative objective rather than emotional

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Public Relations

The principal must develop a climate conducive
to good working relationships with publics and
media
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Creating a Public Relations Plan

Creating a PR Plan
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• Most public relations efforts
• have as much impact on
• school/district performance
• as a rain dance has
• on the weather

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Creating a Public Relations Plan

Do these sound familiar?
Do these sound familiar?
1. We notified everybody. We sent a
letter/memo out. 2. We tried some PR. We mailed
a press release Press kit. 3. Communication?
Our newsletter goes to over 50,000 people. 4.
Publicity? Lets do a public service
announcement. 5. Marketing Weve distributed
over one Kazillion brochures!
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• Effective marketing is really applied common sense

Nora K. Carr, St. Louis University
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Creating a Public Relations Plan
Remember to

RACE
Research Analysis Planning Communication
Evaluation
RESULTS

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Creating a Public Relations Plan

Research
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Questions to ask

• What makes your school unique?
• How do people find out about your school?
• Do people perceive your school differently than
  you
• perceive your school? Why?
• Why do parents/students choose your school,
  programs? Why do they choose your competitor?
• What are the values, lifestyles, interests of
  your customers? What to they do for a living?
  Educational level? Are they happy?
  Disappointed?
• Who are you communicating with the most? Who
  should you be communicating and relating with
  more?
• Who is critical to your success? Why? How close
  are you to them?

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Creating a Public Relations Plan

Analysis Planning
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• Focus is the secret ingredient in virtually every
  successful marketing plan

Trout Ries, Bottom-Up Marketing
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Analyze data generated from questions or other
collection instruments and develop a plan

• GOAL To impact attitude, opinion,
  behavior or action
• FOCUS ON WHAT THE CUSTOMER (Parents, Community
  etc.) VALUES
• IMPLEMENT STRATEGY Best way to reach, move,
  influence target audience

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Creating a Public Relations Plan

Determine your Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities, Threats
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• Keep it personal focus on opinion leaders
• Segment! Segment! Segment!
• Expand involvement in your school through
  advisory groups, sub-committees
• Use community and district resources
• Try something new! Explore ways to make new
  technology more intimate
• Use several channels to reach each
• audience

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Public Relations Ideas

• Newsletters often mailed to parents at PTA
  expense
• News Tips Sheets brief (who, what, when where)
• Visit local newspaper offices meet reporters
• Publicize teacher inservice ex. Accelerated
  Reader Program
• Courteous personal contacts
• Breakfast with parents
• Pre-registration counseling with students
  parents

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Public Relations Ideas

• Student recognition award, bulletin boards,
  newspapers, etc.
• Senior ID cards free admission to events
• Adopt a student
• Open House have students and parents present
• Evening Meals business and professional leaders
• Parent conferences

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Public Relations Ideas

• Open shop possible one night per week
• Performing student groups
• Computerized assignment system
• Shadow a student
• Outside marquee
• Letters to parents honor rolls
• Publish Honor Rolls in newspapers
• Good conduct awards

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Public Relations Ideas

• Good news cards hand out to parents at evening
  meeting
• Booster club meetings after ball games
• Grandparents Day
• Flowers to mothers on mothers day
• Awards assemblies
• Citizenship and Good Deeds day

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Public Relations Ideas

• Announce student birthdays over morning intercom
• School picnic invite parents in for special
  activities
• Students seen doing something good
• Mini-school for parents entire day follow the
  schedule of their children
• Senior citizen Thanksgiving dinner
• Senior citizen Pen-Pal club

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Public Relations Ideas

• Positive phone calls from teachers
• Career day
• School page in local newspaper
• School web page
• Give out school email addresses to parents
• Web-based grading and homework sites
• Parent-Advisory Committee
• Joining community organizations (Rotary club etc.)

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Public Relations Ideas

• Speaking at community meetings (Homeowners
  Association meetings)
• School renewal day
• School-based enterprises
• After-school day care
• Opening the building after hours for community
  use (scout meetings, computer lab use, library
  use)

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• Strategies that break the mold grow initially
  like weeds.
• They are not cultivated like tomatoes in a
  hothouse

Henry Mintzberg, The Rise and Fall of Strategic
Planning
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Creating a Public Relations Plan

Communication
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Hierarchy of Effective Communication

• One-to-one, face to face
• Small group discussion/meeting
• Speaking before a medium-sized groups
• Phone conversation
• Hand-written, personal note
• Typewritten, personal letter not generated by
  computer
• Computer generated personal letter
• Mass-produced, non-personalized letter
• Brochure or pamphlet sent out as a direct mail
  piece
• Article in organizational newsletter, magazine,
  posters, etc.
• New carried in popular press
• Advertising in newspapers, radio, TV, magazines,
  posters, etc.
• Other less effective forms of communication
  (billboards, skywriters, pens, give-aways, etc.)

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• It is the responsibility of an effective public
  relations plan to force communication up the
  ladder of effectiveness, striving constantly to
  narrow the audience to a manageable size, and to
  deliver the message on a one-to-one basis

Fredrick Volkman, Washington University
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Creating a Public Relations Plan

Evaluation
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Ask.

• Who are we reaching now?
• Using what tools/channels of communication?
• What should we be emphasizing more?
• What is the best way to reach our target
  audience?
• What has been most effective in the past? Why?
• What new avenues should we explore?
• What resources do we have?
• What free help can we get?
• Who can we collaborate with?

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Avoid

• Not using data in making decisions
• Not reporting information or not developing
  reports that encourage other to use information
• Misinformation
• Forgetting to tell people how to use the
  information you collect or discover

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Public Relations

Summary
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Public Relations Essentials

• Effective PR Marketing means building
  relationships
• It is better to have many people involved in your
  PR plan, understanding that efficiency may suffer
  some, than to have one person do everything
  perfectly
• If your PR Marketing program isnt tied to your
  organizations critical issues, you are going
  about it the wrong way
• The best way to kill a bad product is to
  advertise it