go backVolume11 :: July 2008

Welcome: A message from CalSPRA President, Kelly Avants picture of Kelly Avants
Administrator, Communications & Board Relations, Clovis USD

I recently had someone tell me I have a “candle job.” While I often have people tell me they “sure wouldn’t want my job” (usually said in the midst of an unpleasant situation, when the cameras are rolling), the candle description was a new one to me. So, I asked the gentleman who said it, what he meant. The response was this, “You know, a candle: it burns brightly, but it also quickly burns out.”

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::Be Indispensable!
By Tom DeLapp, President, Communication Resources for Schools

The headlines in the newspaper say it all: hard times ahead . . . billion dollar deficits . . . education funding threatened . . . budget cuts proposed. No doubt, 2008 promises to be a very challenging time for school communications professionals.

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::CalSPRA – A Newcomer’s Perspective picture of Shelly Reilly
By Shelly Reilly, Communications Professional

Leaving the comfort of college and entering the professional world can be intimidating for many, including myself. To smooth the transition, I had internships throughout my undergraduate years in hopes of feeling more prepared upon graduation. My latest internship for San Joaquin County Office of Education’s Public Information Office has provided me with many resources that availed me to see the field of public relations in a new light.

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::Clang! Clang, went the trolley…
By Joan Sieczkowski , past CalSPRA President and NSPRA 2009 Committee Co-Chair

It may never see the ‘Streets of San Francisco,’ but the appearance of the CalSPRA booth had folks doing a double take to see a (faux) cable car in Washington, D.C. Manned by the small, but mighty band of Calsprans on hand, conference participants were handed “tastes” of SF with fortune cookies, jelly bellies, chocolates and heart-shaped lollipops. Maps, postcards and pens further extolled the attractions of the city while daily drawings for small, wooden cable cars filled with Ghirardelli chocolates had people signing up in droves to be on next year’s conference mailing list.

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Golden (Mentor) Nuggets
By Nola Lionberger, Mentor Committee Chair
One of the awesome benefits to CalSPRA members is the combined experience and expertise of its members...

:: Save these Dates

July 6-9, 2008	NSPRA Annual Conference, Washington, D.C.
November 5-7, 2008	Fall Issues in Education Conference
January 14-16, 2009	Sacramento Summit
May 14-15, 2009	Excellence in Communications Conference, San Diego
June 28 – July 1, 2009	NSPRA Annual Seminar, San Francisco

:: "Going Green"

:: Advertisement Supported and/or Electronic Newsletters

:: Lockdown Tips

:: Weekly Staff Development Training

:: www.edsource.org for the latest information on California educational policy and news.

:: www.sscal.com for a variety of public school issues and especially fiscal topics.

:: www.kmtg.com/legalalerts.htm#Education_Law for new educational legal alerts.

:: www.nspra.org for networking and professional help from other school communicators across the country.

:: www.schoolmatters.com for state, district and school-level data on achievement, demographics, and spending.

:: www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sd/cb/state.asp#enr for CBED information.

:: www.fppc.ca.gov for the California Fair Political Practice Commission

:: Other links:
California Department of Education, www.cde.ca.gov

Office of the Secretary of Education, www.ose.ca.gov

Association of California School Administrators (ACSA): www.acsa.org

California Association of School Business Officials (CASBO): www.casbo.org

California Association of Student Councils: www.casc.net/

California Federation of Teachers (CFT): www.cft.org

California School Boards Association: www.csba.org

California School Employees Association (CSEA): www.csea.com

California Teachers Association: www.cta.org

If you know of another link that has been invaluable to you in your work, please help us include in our next newsletter by emailing the CalSPRA eNewsletter Committee Chair Jacqueline Ratto at jratto@sjcoe.net.

Do you have a story idea for CalSPRA’s E-Connection? If so, please help us include it in our next newsletter by emailing the CalSPRA eNewsletter Committee Chair Jacqueline Ratto at jratto@sjcoe.net.