We have begun planning for the annual NESPRA conference which will be held on Friday, May 9, 2025, on National School Communicators Day. Are you interested in presenting? Let us know if you are interested in hosting a break-out session.

If you would like to be involved in conference planning, please join the Professional Development PLC. We have not confirmed a conference location at this time, but we will keep it in Massachusetts due to the centralized location and membership feedback. We will get back to you on this soon. 

As President of NESPRA, it is my pledge that our chapter takes intentional steps to focus on the diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) needs of school communicators. Districts large and small – diverse or not – need to focus intentionally on ensuring our students and families feel a sense of belonging. If students and families don’t feel like they belong, they may be less likely to engage with or be successful in school. Communicators play a major role in this effort.

Please take a moment to fill out this NESPRA DEIB Membership Survey. We would like to gauge the needs of our members before launching additional resources to help you ensure a sense of belonging in your districts.

In October, NESPRA issued a survey to members to understand how to best support New England school communicators. Through the survey, we obtained great insights, including salary information, levels of experience, and the topics our members are hoping to learn more about.

We received 49 responses from our 121 members. If you have not filled out the survey, please do so, and we will update the results to be shared around the annual conference on May 9.

You can read the survey results in full.

Here is a high-level summary:

• When asked what aspect of NESPRA members liked the most in the form of a short-answer response, the top choice was networking or some version of networking (in-person or virtual meet ups, including Chapter Chats.)

• 63% of members are full-time communications professionals, while 36% have communications along with other responsibilities.

• Nearly half of our members (47%) have been in their roles for less than 6 years, with 22% in the role less than 3 years.

• 51% of our members work in a one-person department.

• 54% of our members earn between $50,000 and $90,000 per year.

• 54% of our members work in districts with fewer than 3,000 students; 14% of our members work in districts with between 3,000 and 10,000 students.

• The top topics that members want to learn more about are community engagement, artificial intelligence, media relations, social media, and strategic planning.

• 47% of members are interested in volunteering in a Professional Learning Community.

• The top desired locations to hold the annual conference are Boston area, Worcester area, Springfield area, and Portland area.

• Our membership breakdown by state is as follows (from membership registration; not survey):

  • MA: 41% (50 members)

  • CT: 27% (33 members)

  • VT: 17% (21 members)

  • NH: 7% (9 members)

  • RI: 5% (6 members)

  • ME: 2% (2 members)