The National School Public Relations Association is holding a national meeting in Charlotte this week, drawing about 500 people who speak for schools.
Folks from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools will make presentations on several subjects, including "How to get positive media coverage for schools with bad reputations." There's another session outlining how one 15-year-old student wandering off and passing out at a party in 2007 escalated into an athletic eligibility scandal that dominated CMS's agenda for most of a year.
On Tuesday, a few of us from the Observer, WSOC-TV and WBT radio will give the PR crew a chance to turn the tables and lob questions at us.
I suspect some conventioneers may hoist a few stiff drinks after hours. This has been a tough year. CMS surely isn't the only district that has seen communication staff cut -- and heard harsh remarks from taxpayers who see school PR staff as spin doctors paid to boost their bosses' careers and egos.
The relationship between education reporters and school PR people tends to be thorny, and I've had my share of throwdowns with CMS. But I've also come to respect the communications staff as professionals with goals similar to mine: To keep the public informed about and engaged with public education.
The best of them work from within to promote public access and discourage stonewalling. They coach jargon-loving educators in speaking plain English and give deadline-crazed reporters crash courses in the complexities of education. Ideally, they help people understand what's going on in classrooms where children's futures are shaped.
So welcome to Charlotte, everybody. If you're looking for a city where schools make a lot of news, you've found it.
Monday, July 12, 2010
School PR crowd comes to Charlotte
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8 comments:
Man, what a time not have a few extra wind turbines around for all that hot air!
CMS hears harsh comments from parents because parents rely on publications like the Observer to get their information. If 90 percent of what they hear is negative or controversial, they get a bad impression of the district.
Surely, there's plenty wrong with CMS. But there's more right with it than wrong with it. Unfortunately, the percentages, instead of 50/50 run 90/10 in the CO regarding negative to positive coverage.
CMS hears harsh comments from parents because parents rely on publications like the Observer to get their information. If 90 percent of what they hear is negative or controversial, they get a bad impression of the district.
Surely, there's plenty wrong with CMS. But there's more right with it than wrong with it. Unfortunately, the percentages, instead of 50/50 run 90/10 in the CO regarding negative to positive coverage.
Anon, would that be among the 43 percent of statistics that are completely made up?
Seriously, we don't shoot for any kind of positive/negative ratio, mostly because I don't think those labels accurately describe most of our coverage. Yes, a profile of an outstanding student or teacher is positive, and a report of school violence is negative. But how do you classify a story looking at the pros and cons of a specific approach to school turnarounds or the new administrative reorganization? Ideally, they're informative without trying to tell readers to give CMS a thumbs up or down.
Ann, now that we have the Education PR crowd here in town how would they spin the Butler quarterback and his "innocent" incident and the eligibility issues that have arisen due to suspension? Maybe they could also ask CMS why does a high achieving principal get demoted when his Head of PR wife moves to another school system? The constant turnover of communications and human resources personnel at CMS has been occurring for over two decades and is nothing new.
Like I said, never a shortage of school news here to deal with!
FYI the principal was demoted before the PR chief decided to leave.
Amazing that when the Bill Gates'funded Coalition for Essential Schools (which gave Olympic the grant it used to increase scores 70%) came to town, with hundreds of distinguished guests, CMS couldn't bother to send a single downtown person.
And yet for the Dog and Pony Convention, they are all set. That should tell you everything you need to know about CMS.
Dear Ann,
Thanks for making the time to speak on the panel today. I learned a lot and have newfound appreciation for your job and school communication officers' jobs, too. Very tough to get the scoop, get it right, get it fast and know what you are talking about with any perspective. Keep plugging. Thanks again for sharing.
Bill K (only Anon because I won't make time to figure out how to "choose an identity.")
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