Creating and Marketing Effective School Communication Videos

Wednesday, January 22⋅12:00 – 1:00pm

Speakers: Andrew Mudge of Black Kettle Films.

Video content is a must for today's communicators. It is a powerful tool to share important information, highlight school achievements, and foster a sense of community. This webinar will explore the best practices for creating and sharing engaging and informative school communication videos.

MA Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Ed. Update for NESPRA

Wednesday, December 4, 2024⋅1:00 – 2:00pm

Presenter: Jackie Reis, DESE Communications Director (and NESPRA member), and Jenny Cruz, DESE Director of Development and Marketing.

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) will provide NESPRA members an update, followed by an open discussion, on topics at the state level that may impact school communicators in local districts. The presentation and discussion will touch upon:

• The passage of the ballot question eliminating MCAS as a graduation requirement

• DESE's campaign to address chronic absenteeism

• Early literacy

• The Commonwealth's Teacher of the Year

• DESE communications vehicles (superintendents' webinars, Commissioner's Weekly Updates, etc.)

• Feedback from participants

5 Ways to Incorporate AI - Lunch & Learn

Friday, November 22, 2024⋅12:00 – 1:00pm

Speakers: Christina DiMicelli

5 ways to immediately incorporate AI practices that support your work. You'll leave with practices you can implement immediately.

Ensuring ADA Compliance in School Communications

Tuesday, October 1, 2024⋅12:00 – 1:00pm

Presenter: Finalsite

Ensuring ADA Compliance in all school communications can feel like a daunting task. Join experts from Finalsite in this Lunch and Learn session and leave feeling empowered to ensure you are effectively reaching your entire community.

Engaging the Hardest to Reach Families: Tips for Leaders

Thursday, September 19, 2024⋅12:00 – 1:00pm

Speakers: Chuck Paynter, Regional Sales Director at ParentSquare, and Patti Renaud, Director of Communications at Glastonbury Public Schools

How can you ensure that you connect and engage with each and every family, even those that are hard to reach through regular channels? During this session, a Director of Communications in CT will share insights as we walk you through identifying who isn’t being reached, examining barriers to connection, leveraging technology and key stakeholders, as well as deploying empathy in communications.

Using Photography and Social Media to Increase Family Engagement

Thursday, April 4, 2024, from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM

Presenter: Jen Myers, Community Outreach Specialist, Lowell Public Schools

Increasing Engagement Through Digital Storytelling: Love it or hate it, social media has one important advantage – giving us as school communications professionals the ability to craft the narrative we want to tell. Join Lowell Public Schools’ Community Outreach Strategist Jen Myers for this session focused on best practices for selecting and capturing moments that resonate with diverse audiences, fostering a sense of community and inclusivity. Sharing quality photos and stories capturing the fun events, cultural celebrations, and the important work being done in our schools every day is a key tool to increasing family engagement, pride in the district, and morale among teachers and staff. Jen will share examples of what she has been doing the last three school years, what has worked best, and some tips on how to make your content more engaging. 

Communications and Engagement for School Improvement/Turnaround Efforts

Thursday, March 14, 2024, from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM

Fjodor Dukaj, Principal, Clark Street Community School, Worcester Public Schools (MA)

Fjodor will present on how he successfully used proactive communications and family engagement with a focus on social media as part of his school improvement/turnaround effort. Communications and family engagement events, with a focus on embracing all backgrounds and languages, have greatly improved the school’s culture and climate and increased parent involvement. Over the past three years, Clark Street became one of the most improved schools in the district. Mr. Dukaj was named WPS Administrator of the Year for 2023. Clark Street serves 93% “high needs” students, 90% low income students and 69% English learners.

NESPRA Chapter Chat

Tuesday, March 26, 2024, from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM

Lead by Meghan Baule, NESPRA President

Join NESPRA President Meghan Baule for a casual discussion about current events impacting school communications. We’ll be focusing some of our time on communicating school budgets but will also allow time for members to crowdsource a dilemma, hear what others are doing in their organizations, and connect with fellow colleagues in the trenches. 

Differentiated Social Media Strategy

Wednesday, February 14, 2024, from 11:00 AM-12:00 PM

Ryan Langer (she/her), Communications Officer
Maryellen Manning, Chief of Staff
Consolidated School District of New Britain, CT

Learn more about strategizing your district's social media. Learn how to, and why you should, purposefully differentiate content for Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Take a look at how social metrics goal setting can improve your district's branding efforts and increase engagement in addition to how district administrators can support these goals and how school communications can positively impact those administrators. 

NESPRA Chapter Chat

January 2024

Lead by Meghan Baule, NESPRA President

Join NESPRA President Meghan Baule for a casual discussion about current events impacting school communications. We’ll be focusing some of our time on communicating school budgets but will also allow time for members to crowdsource a dilemma, hear what others are doing in their organizations, and connect with fellow colleagues in the trenches. 

NESPRA Chapter Chat

Wednesday, November 9, 2023, from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM

Lead by Meghan Baule, NESPRA President

Join NESPRA President Meghan Baule for a casual discussion about current events impacting school communications. This time is a space to crowdsource a dilemma, hear what others are doing in their organizations, and connect with fellow colleagues in the trenches.

How to Create Engaging Newsletters

Monday, October 16, 2023, from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM

Presented by Esmeralda Casas, Media and Communications Director, Ashland Public Schools

Are you looking to streamline your weekly updates or newsletters? Esmeralda Casas, Media and Communications Director for the Ashland, MA, Public Schools, will share how her district made the switch from scattered emails and blogs to design-forward newsletters with Smore.

Join us to learn how you and your team can create engaging, accessible and on-brand newsletters, whether you use Smore or a different newsletter tool. A copy of the presentation, a technical checklist and a guide with basic tips and best practices will be shared with participants.

Soft Skills: The Engine for Strong Teams

Wednesday, September 27, 2023, from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM

Presented by Dr. Lisa Riegel, Chief Academic Officer and Founder, JAKAPA

Soft skills are critical for shared leadership and strong, effective teams. How many great ideas fail to be implemented effectively because staff complies rather than commits to change?

During this lunch and learn, Dr. Lisa Riegel, the Chief Academic Officer and Founder of JAKAPA, will share information about soft skills and how they can improve your team’s productivity and efficiency. Dr. Riegel is a former Director of Communications and Community Engagement for an Ohio school district, and will tailor this presentation to school communications professionals. She will provide real-world examples and draw on her experiences to provide actionable suggestions you can use with your teams to improve your relationships, move initiatives forward and become more proactive.

Artificial Intelligence is Here: Implications for K12 Education

Wednesday, August 2, 2023, from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM

Presented by Dr. Sarah Kyriazis, Director of Educational Technology, Worcester Public Schools

It took Netflix 41 months to reach 1 million users. For Chat GPT, it took 5 days. Artificial Intelligence is here and will radically change our daily lives, similar to what occurred with the Industrial Revolution or the birth of the internet. Educators and school communicators alike need to understand what’s happening now, what’s coming soon, and how their work will need to adapt to meet these significant shifts head on.