August 19, 2025

Dear NESPRA Members,

It's the most wonderful — and busiest — time of the year for school communicators: It's back-to-school season!

As you're being bombarded with demands from your districts, remember this advice:

• This is the one time of year the local news media are eager to do positive stories about schools. If you've got good stuff, pitch it and promote it! (The more visual and human-interest, the better!)

• Prioritize and organize! We can do anything but we can't do everything. Set aside time to strategize what you can do in your role to move your district/agency forward when it comes to communications next week, next month, and next year to better serve your leaders, your staff, and your students and families.

• Stay calm! Keep an outward and empathetic mindset with others — who are likely as stressed out as you are!

• Take time for yourself! Whether it's breaks throughout the day, exercise, meditation, sports, or yoga — do what you enjoy to reset, recharge, and stay healthy for your mind and body.

• Have fun! Most of us are lucky enough to love what we do. Enjoy it!

Please take a few minutes to read some important chapter updates. And best of luck as we start the 2025-26 school year.

Thank you,

Dan O’Brien

President, NESPRA
Chief Communications Officer, Worcester Public Schools (MA)

(Photo at left by Kyle Prudhomme, Worcester Public Schools)

Renew your annual NESPRA membership ASAP!

The annual NESPRA membership renewal process remains  open through August 31, and 2025-26 memberships will be active from September 1, 2025-August 31, 2026. These newly established dates will ensure NESPRA is in line with NSPRA’s fiscal year. 

• Annual membership remains a low $50 per year and $25 per year for retirees

• Current members should have received an automatic email from our Wild Apricot platform with instructions on how to renew. If you have any questions, email Membership Coordinator Ryan Langer

• If you pay with a purchase order through your district, please ensure sufficient time to process. 

• Members who have not paid for renewal by October 15 will lose their membership privileges. We are required to submit our official membership count to NSPRA by October 31.

• Check out recent emails from Ryan on incentives to join the national association, NSPRA 

Did you know that you can connect with other NESPRA members through Google Groups!? We launched this functionality for our members last spring. You can communicate with all chapter members or only the members in your state. This is a great tool to ask questions or share advice related to New England school communications.

Paid NESPRA members can send messages to the following Google Groups as emails:

• All Members: members@ne-spra.org

• CT Members: CT@ne-spra.org

• MA Members: MA@ne-spra.org

• ME Members: ME@ne-spra.org

• NH Members: NH@ne-spra.org

• RI Members: RI@ne-spra.org

• VT Members: VT@ne-spra.org 

These Google Groups operate as email listservs. If you feel you are receiving too many messages later on, choose the "filter messages from this mailing list" option on Gmail.

Ensuring that all of our students, staff, and families of all backgrounds feel affirmed and represented in school during these unprecedented times is a primary focus of school communicators. On Tuesday, September 23, from 12:00-1:00 PM, NESPRA will host a one-hour virtual discussion on Zoom for members for a discussion on three short articles:

• The Impact of DEI Bans in Schools: Consequences for Students and Educators (The Educator's Room)

• The Benefits of Prioritizing DEI in Schools (Talkspace)

• Why Districts Should Remain Vigilant About ICE in Schools (K12 Dive)

We ask participants to please read these short articles before attending the meeting.

Thank you to NESPRA's Massachusetts State Rep. Esmeralda Casas and Secretary Elaine Sein for cultivating these resources and organizing this meeting. Please contact them with questions.

For 2025-26, the Executive Board members scheduled their respective member meet-ups and Professional Learning Community meetings well in advance to give you more notice to plan your schedules and to prevent overlap.

Depending on your state or PLC involvement, you likely already received a notice from your State Rep or group leader about upcoming dates. You can also find the dates on our website events calendar.

• Monday, Sept. 15, 12:00 PM: Vermont Tentative Chapter Chat

• Tuesday, Sept. 16, 12:00 PM: Massachusetts Virtual Meet-Up

• Tuesday, Sept. 16, 1:00 PM: Advocacy of the Profession Professional Learning Community

• Tuesday, Sept. 23, 12:00 PM: DEIB: Connect and Collaborate! Conversations That Matter

We anticipate additional events, including chapter-wide Lunch and Learns and Chapter Chats, to be finalized soon!

There was lots of learning, relationship-building, and fun among NESPRA members who attended the 2025 NSPRA Seminar in Washington, D.C. in July.

Eighteen New Englanders attended, the majority NESPRA members, which is our highest number at the national conference in recent memory. From the annual karaoke bash to learning about AI and videos to connecting with school communicators nationally, it was a great experience had by us all. 

On top of the awards that many of our members received for their individual work, NESPRA was honored for the third year in a row as an Exemplary Chapter for membership growth and professional development offerings.

The next NSPRA Seminar will be held in New Orleans from July 19-22, 2026.