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Wednesday, May 13, 2009

FCPS Wins Gold Medallion Award From National School Public Relations Association

Fairfax County Public Schools has won a Gold Medallion Award from the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) for excellence in educational public relations programs. FCPS is one of seven winners of Gold Medallion Awards nationwide for 2009. The FCPS Department of Communications and Community Outreach will receive the award at NSPRA’s National Seminar in June.

“This community engagement effort was crucial in helping the (Fairfax County) School Board decide whether or not to change school start times,” said FCPS Superintendent Jack D. Dale. “Staff members in the Department of Communications and Community Outreach, working closely with the School Board’s Linkage Committee, did an outstanding job reaching the public using all of the tools at their disposal.”

The NSPRA Gold Medallion Award competition is the only national competition that specifically recognizes outstanding, planned, total educational public relations programs. FCPS was recognized for its community engagement campaign on changing school start and dismissal times, which used study circles, surveys, and community dialogues to gauge the impact of the proposed changes to the bell schedule on families.

Among the tools used to encourage participation in the community dialogue meetings and online survey were a dedicated web page devoted to the bell schedule proposal with regularly updated information; e-mail alerts sent through FCPS’ Keep in Touch (KIT) system in English, Korean, and Spanish; news releases to all local media outlets; telephone messages to parents who speak Korean; oral and written communications for principals to share with staff members, students, and families; school and PTA newsletter articles; interviews with Dale on television and radio; notices on the FCPS home page and intranet site; articles in the employee newsletter; and stories on FCPS’ cable television channel that were also videostreamed.

As a result, every major Washington, D.C., and Fairfax County newspaper, television station, and most radio stations carried stories on the proposed bell schedule change, online survey, and community dialogues. Media outlets across the country also picked up the story. More than 94,000 respondents completed the online survey, and more than 1,500 people participated in the seven community dialogue meetings. School Board members received approximately 3,000 e-mail messages on this issue.

In March, the School Board voted 10-2 to reject the proposed bell schedule and confirm the existing structure of bus transportation and scheduling.

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Note: For more information, contact Barbara Hunter, assistant superintendent of the Department of Communications and Community Outreach, at 571-423-1218.