By Kelly Avants, President, CalSPRA,
Administrator, Communications & Board Relations, Clovis USD

Welcome!

In my school district we have a number of platitudes which define our approach to education. These sayings help shape our attitudes toward kids and our jobs. Some of my favorites include:

• Every child can learn, and we can teach every child.
• A fair break for every child.
• When you do something, only do it first class.
• Win with class and lose with dignity.
• There is no such thing as a “throwaway” kid.
• It’s people, not programs.

While some of these “preachments” may strike you as a bit corny, I think they help put into perspective why public education is so important, and why our jobs as communicators are vital to the success of our districts. Who, if not us, will let the community know the importance of what happens in the classroom every day? Who, if not us, will frame the education debate in terms that include the stories of real children? And who, if not us, will continually question if the decisions made in our district every day are truly the best we can do for kids?

This year hundreds of thousands of California children are enrolled in our public schools. Regardless of these children’s background, the challenge for those of us in public education is to meet them where they are and help each one to succeed. And, for those of us in the world of school communications, it is our job to tell the stories of these students and the men and women who serve in our schools.

There are great things happening around our schools; and this year, CalSPRA’s professional development schedule is designed to help you manage your day-to-day workload in a way that presents opportunities to step back and be more strategic in communicating the good things about education. If you missed our October conference, I hope you make plans now to join us in Sacramento in January, and San Diego in May, where we’ll have agendas packed with tools for you to be successful in your district or county office.

At times, our workloads can seem overwhelming; and those same darling children we love to serve can make choices that cause us to reach for the Advil. On any given day you might find yourself wondering, “When am I supposed to tell the positive stories when my days are spent with the fire extinguisher?!” When this happens, I encourage you to turn to your CalSPRA colleagues for help, and then refocus on the reason we are doing what we do- to give every child a fair break and a chance for success.

My hope for each of our CalSPRA members is your year will bring you many opportunities to share good news, and few opportunities to call for help! I would also encourage us to lean on each other; and to know that while we may be the only one in our “job alike” group at the office, we are part of a big CalSPRA family.