Dear NESPRA Members,

May this holiday season bring you joy, connection, and peace. In a challenging world, let's remember the importance of caring for one another, and finding the balance to work diligently and enjoy life with friends and family.

Sending warmth, love and a sense of belonging to all.

Sincerely,

Dan O’Brien

President, NESPRA

Chief Communications Officer, Worcester Public Schools

Photo Caption and Credit: Holiday scene in Kennebunkport, Maine, by Robert A. Dennis.

Did you know NESPRA has lots of resources for school communicators in our members-only resources drive!? 

We’d love for you to contribute resources you have produced as part of our Holiday Resources Potluck! Just email president@ne-spra.org with your resources and we’ll include them in the drive.

Here are examples of some of the resources in the folder currently:

• New: “Let Them Theory” Leadership Development Chapter from Mel Robbins

• New: List of school districts by student population for New England

• New: Digital Accessibility Info from NESPRA and NSPRA

• Employee Recruitment Campaign Strategy for Communications

• School Communications Job Descriptions

• Letters About School District Budget Issues

• Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Articles and Tools

• Crisis Communications Templates

• School Attendance Campaign Materials

• Previous slide decks and professional development webinar recordings

All positions on the NESPRA Executive Board (with the exceptions of Immediate Past President and President) will be open for election this March for two-year terms, from May 2026-May 2028.

Timeline

• January 5-February 27: Any current NESPRA member can declare their candidacy for a role on the Executive Board; a Google Form will be shared on January 5. Only current NESPRA members who have paid their dues for 2026 can run for a position. 

• March 16-27: An election will be held online for any contested seats. Positions with only one candidate (uncontested) do not require elections following the position being advertised for at least 10 business days, per chapter bylaws.

• By April 2: Candidates of contested races are notified of the election results. Election results are shared with the NSPRA Northeast Vice President for certification.

• May 8: 2026-2028 Executive Board members begin their terms and will be recognized at the chapter’s annual conference in Marlborough, Massachusetts.

Positions and Commitment

NESPRA's Executive Board has 13 positions: Immediate Past President*, President*, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, Membership Coordinator, Communications Coordinator, and six state representatives (CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT). 

*All roles are open except Immediate Past President, who is automatically succeeded by the President; and President, who is automatically succeeded by the Vice President.

The entire Executive Board meets for approximately one hour monthly virtually to discuss a range of chapter matters; smaller groups of Executive Board members along with chapter members meet at other times for a variety of projects, planning discussions, and professional development. 

There are varying levels of responsibility and time commitment for these volunteer roles. Read the duties of the officers. We encourage you to speak with the current board members. We have hired a part-time assistant to help with logistical tasks.

We’d like to welcome Monique Jacobs, APR, to the NESPRA family! Monique is our chapter’s first-ever part-time Administrative Assistant! Monique will help Executive Board members behind-the-scenes with logistical tasks around the annual conference, and financial and membership transactions. 

Monique is based just outside of Albany, New York as a freelance communications consultant. She worked for 25 years as Public Information Specialist with the Capital Region BOCES, coordinating internal and external communications for component school districts. She’s also an active runner and does a range of volunteer work. She’s a regular of Cape Cod, where she has a summer home.

The Advocacy Professional Learning Community (PLC) is pleased to report that our new mentorship program for the 2025-2026 school year has five established mentor/mentee partnerships! These school communicators will be working together throughout the school year. We could not be more excited about this new program, and we look forward to hearing about their successes! 

Many thanks to those who stepped up to be mentors, pictured here beginning at the top row, top left: Ben Dickie (Essex Westford School District; VT), Lynn Davis (Plainville Community Schools; CT), Gen Brown (Oyster River Cooperative School District; NH), Patti Renaud (Glastonbury Public Schools; CT), and Sujata Wycoff (Boston Public Schools; MA).

We will begin recruiting new mentors and mentees at our spring conference in May. If you have any questions, please email Patti Renaud.

• Renew or start your membership to the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA)! Discount through December 31 as part of the special 90th anniversary membership offer!

• NSPRA 2026 National Seminar Countdown: Registration will open within the next month to six weeks. The Seminar will be held in New Orleans from July 19-22, 2026.

  • Planning tips

  • Scholarships

  • Now accepting session proposals.