::Don’t be too busy for professional development
By Cindy Sabato, past ClaSPRA President and CalSPRA eNewsletter Committee Chair
As school public relations professionals, we are easily so consumed by our work that we forget to take time for our own professional development. Professional development comes in many forms, and we can be creative in expanding our own skills as well as the perceived value of our profession by going beyond the usual workshops and seminars. You may love your job, but the quality of the job you do hinges on your ability to grow, to learn new things, to present new things, and to stay continually energized. Professional development is the key.

The Usual Suspects:
It’s no secret that a day or two away from the office to attend a professional growth workshop gives us a welcome mental break from the daily emergencies at school and a chance to fill up with new ideas and approaches to old problems. We usually return to the office feeling a little more energized and a lot more excited. CalSPRA offers several workshops each year that address the unique issues we face in the California public school system, while NSPRA offers the collective thinking of hundreds of school public relations professionals from across North America. Make it your priority to attend as many of these workshops as you can.

Many Minds Are Better Than One:
Our roles as school communicators are unique, but public relations professionals in other industries, the corporate world, and non-profit organizations can open our minds to innovative approaches to our own challenges. In addition, getting to know other PR professionals in your district can open doors to partnerships you might never have expected. Make it a point to introduce yourself to the PR people for your local hospitals, public safety organizations, non-profits, and private businesses and corporations. Make a lunch date, or get a small informal group to meet and discuss issues and resolutions to PR problems. And don’t forget to hook up with your local PR organizations like PRSA, IABC, and so on. And definitely participate in CalSPRA’s Regional Networking Luncheons this October. These will replace last year’s Cyber PR Institute and will be informal luncheons at a nearby County Office of Education with other school communicators just like you.

Lend a Helping Hand:
It will serve your career well to make sure people in your community know who you are, what you do, and the caliber of your work. If you lock yourself behind your office door and limit your conversations to the media and your principals, you could miss out on some big opportunities. Build your résumé and your reputation by offering to assist another school district or organization with a crisis communication program or public relations counsel. Perhaps a local organization is looking to create a new PR position or revise a job description before hiring the next person. Perhaps you’ve come across a non-profit with limited resources that could use to well-conceived PR help. Perhaps one of your own schools or programs, or a nearby community college, or even a civic group or committee needs you on an advisory committee. Consider all of these opportunities that can’t be ignored.

Teach Them What You Know
Amid the daily grind, the fast pace, and the ongoing crises of our business, sometimes our own people – superintendents, board members, principals, teachers, and others – forget that thing that made them choose us for the job. That charisma, that experience, that assertiveness, that project, that personality, or whatever. Every now and then, remind them what you are capable of by offering workshops to train them on your business. They’ll be impressed with your initiative and your wisdom, and grateful (even if they don’t want to admit it) for the help within things like handling a media interview or writing a crisis-type letter to parents. Plus, you’ll be energized by the process of developing the workshop.

::CalSPRA’s Mary Lester Scholarship Winner, Myla Grasso, speaks about her first NSPRA experience
By Myla Grasso, public information officer, Pleasanton Unified School District
NSPRA was everything it was advertised to be and so much more! My first NSPRA conference was enlightening, enthralling and totally entertaining. For someone who is a real “rookie” in the field of school public relations, the experience has already paid off and will, I am sure, continue to do so in the future.

I was hired about a year ago as the Public Information Officer for the Pleasanton Unified School District. This was a 90 degree turn from my previous career in technology (with a degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering). Jerri Long, my extremely knowledgeable predecessor (and lucky retired person) advised me to make every effort to attend the NSPRA conference in Boston. I was lucky enough to be selected as CalSPRA’s Mary Lester scholarship recipient, so off I went to Massachusetts!

Lucky enough to work for a superintendent who appreciates the importance of school public relations, I was able to attend the New Professionals program over the weekend before the conference actually began. Bob Noyed of the Elk River Independent School District in Minnesota and Southwest Regional Vice President Janelle Albertson facilitated a wonderful introduction to the topic. The “new professionals” in the room were from all over the country. I met Denise from the Chicago area who will be helping with next year’s conference, and I was assigned a mentor—Rochelle from Louisiana—who has a wealth of knowledge and experience and is willing to share (she was a former Crawfish Festival Queen!). It’s hard to write about everything I learned, but some highlights were:

• RACE (Research, Analyze, Communicate, Evaluate)
• “When it comes to breakfast, a chicken is involved; a pig is engaged."
• “Find your way through the crapometer."
• “Don’t throw them a book; give them a page.”

• It is always “show time"
• Change is not a way of life; it is life
• The 8/16 rule—if you do a good job, they’ll tell 8 people; if you do a bad job, they’ll complain to 16

The skill sessions encompassed a wide variety of topics and speakers. Highlights of sessions I attended included information about how research can help get a “win” at the polls; how to stage an effective crisis response; and how to get everyone involved in the public relations effort (whether they know it or not). Finally, I walked away from the “Gold Mine” session with a wonderful resource packet of hints and contacts.

And . . . it was Boston. A little hot and humid, but there is the Freedom Trail, Cheers Bar, and Legal Seafood. I can definitely recommend the lobster macaroni at the Scollay Square restaurant on Beacon Street, cannoli from Mike’s in the North End, and a martini at the Oak Bar at the Fairmont!

Thank you to CalSPRA for your help in getting me to Boston. I look forward to meeting you all at future events. If you’re ever in Pleasanton, please stop by!

::Customer Service Complacency: Victim or Perpetrator?
By Shirley Burkhardt, public information officer, El Monte City School District
Stan Alleyne and Jeff Nash launched their workshop with these questions: Do you spend your time cleaning up customer service crime scenes? Or causing them?

Few of us in school public relations would be surprised to hear that many situations that cause unhappiness or dissatisfaction for our “customers” (staff, parents, community members and others) are really created by our own actions or comments. Although I already knew that, the workshop was a great reminder that I need to be an example of quality customer service for the district employees around me by “practicing what I preach.” The session also made it clear to me that developing quality customer service isn’t something I can do alone, but requires system-wide commitment, support, and follow up. For example, I had not considered the need for a customer service element in the evaluation process for all employees.

During the workshop, presenters Alleyne and Nash emphasized some of the major contributors to customer service complacency. Employees might err as a result of their own experiences: “I haven’t had a complaint in days,” and “I always receive great service” are attitudes equally misleading, giving a false sense that customer service is okay. Some employees purposely ignore customer service with the “my job description doesn’t include that,” and “I don’t want to know” attitudes. And finally, some employees might want to give attention to customer service, but “have too many other things to worry about.”

Alleyne and Nash suggested some of the best complacency busters. They suggested conducting an annual customer service audit and having an “unknown” outsider or “personal shopper” conduct it. They also suggested comparing one’s own organization’s customer service with that in other districts and organization. Customer service training should also be a regular and ongoing program for employees; a customer service handbook that puts generalities and specifics in writing allows an organization to hold people accountable. And finally, adding a customer service component to all employee evaluations lets employees know that customer service is an important value to the district.

On a personal note, I would also like to add that one of the best resources related to this topic is the new NSPRA product, Unlocking Sensational Service. I purchased it while at the conference and am using parts of it already with principals and site secretaries. I am excited about incorporating it into our on going training for ALL employees. It has so many options for use---and is all on a disk so you can personalize it and use it in a variety of ways that work for your circumstances.