Every school administrator plays the role of a public relations director. Building public relations on the campus and in the community does not happen by accident, and should not occur because controversy or difficult times are on the horizon. The good news about activities and achievements of a campus and its teachers and students must be shared on a regular basis. A conscious effort toward PR must become a priority of the campus administrator. The saying, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail” should be the guiding factor in helping schools be proactive. An essential part of any plan must include recognition of faculty. Such bragging helps a community know the campus team better, but also shows teachers and staff how much they are genuinely appreciated. Building support from within the campus and branching out to the community gives direction to your plan. There are multitudes of resources from which to acquire a wealth of tips and to draw ideas and strategies that strengthen relations with all stakeholders.
The following suggestions provide variety and several choices from which to recognize and sell your campus.

• Share as much information about the opening days of school in advance to achieve a smoother opening.
• Use the marquee as a way to publicize positive messages to the public.
• Use the web site link to communicate timely information to parents and to publicize happenings. Keep this positive, up-to-date, and reflective of the culture of the school.
• Use the report card as a means to include important information.
• Create newsletters to promote the programs, successes, and needs of the campus and place them in local businesses. Use this media to cultivate mutual trust with the general public since they have a voice in determining the direction of schools.
• Support for an event, issue or change can be garnered when the school and community are fully alerted to details. It is also important that the community see themselves value as partners. When sufficient information is provided ahead of time, stakeholders are better prepared to give their support for a campus and its initiatives.
• Promote the school by sharing the goals, achievements, history, and community involvement through a brochure that is prominently displayed and available to all who enter.
• Work with students and faculty to develop descriptive statements of things a campus is most proud of. Display these statements everywhere: office areas, classrooms, gym, cafeteria, drop-off areas, newsletters, and web sites. When a crisis or troublesome event arises, remember to bring the focus back to these statements of pride.
• Showcase the history of your school with a wall of significant pictures, photographs, or other pertinent items. Involve the community, former students, and current students and staff in this ongoing project.
• Record major events and campus happenings throughout the year on a DVD and show it at the end of the year. Eventually, this could be preserved as part of the school’s history.
• Establish a permanent and visible location on the campus to display news articles, pictures of students, or news of awards or successes of students and faculty and staff. Keep these happenings current, selecting some to add to a history of the school scrapbook at a later date.
• Regular and clear communication must be shared with the faculty about what goes on in the school, including important decisions. Remember much of the support that is built in the community for a school comes from within.
• Support staff should always be fully informed of what is occurring so they can communicate appropriately to the general public. Make time to get to know the support staff and meet with them to talk about the school. Invite their comments and answer their questions.
• Take time to give recognition to the campus and staff often and sincerely. Acknowledge their contributions through emails, individual notes, mailed postcards, faculty meetings, newsletters, and with public comments made during and outside of school. Taking care of the school’s family is essential!

Campus administrators must continually strive to be strong advocates for their schools and connect with the stakeholders. Building public relations is an integral part of achieving success on a campus, so campus administrators must take the time to broadcast campus news. Regular communication that informs the faculty, parents, and community can benefit the students and the campus, bringing about a renewed level of support, relationships, and satisfaction. Always search for ways to share good news, activities, and accomplishments about your school!

You will need one sticky note for each teacher. On each note write the name of a celebrity, book character, an idea you are studying, etc. Place a sticky note on the back of each teacher. Have each teacher find a partner and read each other’s sticky notes. Allow each person to ask the partner 3 questions about what is on the partner’s note. Once the questions have been asked, the teacher makes a guess as to what the note says. If the answer is correct, the teacher moves his/her note to his/her chest and gives clues to others. If not correct, the teacher has to find another partner and continue to guess the identity.

Instruct everyone on how they should approach parents and students in order to make them feel welcome.

Expect office personnel to warmly greet everyone who enters the office.

Make the entryway of your school inviting. Place such things as benches, rocking chairs, and plants in this area to create a welcoming environment for all who enter the school.

Stand in a visible location to welcome students, parents, and faculty members as they enter the school each morning. Be personable as you greet all by shaking hands, waving, or by saying, “Good to see you”, “Have a great day!”, or “I’m happy to see you today.”

Establish a parent information center in the school lobby. Provide materials that promote the school and highlight the accomplishments of students, faculty members, and the school.

Reading is essential to academic success. Learning to read involves acquisition of complex skills. These skills include understanding how sounds are connected to print, developing reading fluency, and constructing meaning from print. The components of reading include phonemic awareness, phonics, reading fluency, vocabulary development, and comprehension.

How do children learn to read?

Children learn to read by understanding how sounds are connected to print. By making these connections, children are able to decode written words. After children begin to decode words, they must also develop the ability to read fluently in order to comprehend what is read. This occurs as children read large amounts of texts at their independent reading levels. The ultimate goal of reading is for children to understand what they read. This happens as children construct meaning from words and text. Many times the development of this meaning is a result of what children have experienced in their lives since birth.

Why do some children have trouble learning to read?

The causes of reading failure can be environmental or genetic in nature. Limited exposure to oral language interactions, little prior understanding of concepts related to the sounds of language, letter knowledge, and print, and the lack of general verbal skills can cause reading difficulties. Children raised in poverty, with limited proficiency in English, with speech and hearing impairments, or from homes where very little reading takes place can also be at risk.

How can you reach out to the community for help In preventing reading failure?

The foundation for early literacy is established before children begin school and develops in part from the experiences they have at home. It would be helpful to find ways to show parents of preschoolers what they can do before their children enter school. Reach out to those who live in your school neighborhood and find
ways to involve the community in literacy and language acquisition. Build partnerships with non-profit organizations who promote literacy, such as the adult literacy council in your community. Ask these groups to partner with you in hosting community literacy activities or to come to your school and teach literacy classes to parents. Establish a family literacy center on your campus. This center could be a meeting place for parenting classes and could be a resource center as well. Work with the public library in your community to distribute information about what they offer to preschoolers and families. Distribute information about early literacy in places in your neighborhood where people or groups reach out to community members. Search for opportunities to apply for family literacy grants through educational agencies or local foundations. Teach parents how to promote literacy in their homes.

What do young children need?
Young children need to:

• explore their environment through meaningful play
• listen to and discuss books read aloud
• participate in rhyming activities and hear nursery rhymes and poetry read aloud
• engage in language games and meaningful conversation
• understand that print carries a message
• experiment with writing

What can parents do to foster early literacy?
Parents can foster early literacy by:

• sharing books with their children from the time they are born
• talking to their children and extending their play
• engaging their children n songs, rhymes, and oral stories
• asking open-ended questions as their children observe and explore the world
• allowing their children to solve their own problems
• involving their children n household chores (cooking, cleaning)
• providing materials that promote learning for their children (blocks, clay, dress-up clothes, musical instruments, equipment that promotes motor development, and writing materials)
• teaching their children to learn, to think, and to talk

Working with the larger school community can reap many benefits for the students in your school. Imagine what could happen if all children came to school with the skills they need to become successful readers!

Include time for teachers to interact and exchange ideas during faculty meetings. Interacting with peers exposes teachers to a broader scope of the school. Sharing ideas about classroom management will add stability to uncertain new teachers and provide a more objective view of classroom problems. Offering instructional suggestions can lead to teacher and student success. Every teacher can benefit from the ideas and expertise of others on the faculty.

Tips for Today’s Administrators

Teachers desire great leadership! They often look to their principal for inspiration and encouragement. Encouraging teachers with genuine praise can change a teacher’s total outlook. Here are a few simple ideas to help you become an inspirational leader:

1. Always encourage teachers to do what is best for their profession, school, and students. When leaders make teachers feel like professionals, they are more willing to do whatever it takes to be successful.
2. Take the time to visit as many classrooms as possible each day. Teachers truly enjoy administrators coming in their classrooms and observing daily activities.
3. Create an environment in your school where conversations are invited through questioning and sharing of ideas. Look for opportunities to talk personally with staff.
4. Be visible and accessible, spending as little time as possible behind closed doors.
5. Share your beliefs and expectations. People want to know what a leader believes and what he/she expects.
6. Take time to show appreciation by sending teachers thank you notes, or small, tangible tokens of appreciation. (e.g., an apple, candies, bookmarks, etc.)

By Michael L. Lujan, M. Ed.

Have you noticed when people speak of prestigious occupations they usually list them in the order of Doctor-Lawyer-Teacher? Well it’s time to change that often quoted reference according to a recently released survey of more than 1200 adults.

Every year the Harris organization conducts a poll of the occupations with highest (and lowest) prestige in America. With the seemingly deteriorating respect for teachers and the teaching profession, one would expect that doctors and lawyers would command a much higher level of prestige, or that celebrity-obsessed Americans would hold entertainers, athletes, and actors in high regard. Incredible as it may seem, none of those apparent “high profile” occupations hold the same stature as that of teacher.

Only one profession has steadily gained prestige since 1977, and that is the teaching profession. Only 29% of respondents in 1977 (28% in 1982) thought that teaching was a highly prestigious profession compared to a respectful increase of 54% in 2007. The largest decline since Harris began conducting these surveys was with lawyers. In 1977 36% of people ranked lawyer as a high prestige job, but by 2007, only 22% agreed with that assessment.

What is most significant is the data seems to support the notion
that Americans consider professions that help others to be the highest prestige professions. Without regard to fame or money, teachers and administrators are truly the backbone of our society today and the hope of our future. Educators can proudly hold their heads high knowing that they are making an impact on the hearts and minds of children everyday.