Public Relations and the School Board

By John Fisher

A paper prepared for Public Relations Problems: Cases, Concepts and Campaigns Northwest Missouri State University February 15, 2003

Table of Contents INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................3 BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT PEACE WAPITI SCHOOL BOARD #33.............................................................................................................................3 STRATEGIC PLAN...............................................................................................4

GOALS OR OBJECTIVES.........................................................................................................4 OUTCOMES................................................................................................................................5 PERFORMANCE MEASURES..................................................................................................5 STRATEGIES..............................................................................................................................5

PUBLIC RELATIONS TACTICS........................................................................6

MEDIA CONTACT....................................................................................................................6 NEWSLETTERS.........................................................................................................................6

WEB SITE....................................................................................................................................6

SCHOOL WEB SITES.................................................................................................................7

REPORT CARDS / PARENT INTERVIEWS.............................................................................7

PARENT COUNCILS..................................................................................................................7

ANNUAL SATISFACTION SURVEY........................................................................................7

ANNUAL EDUCATION RESULTS REPORT.......................................................................................................................................8 CONCLUSIONS......................................................................................................8 REFERENCES........................................................................................................9

Public Relations and the School Board IntroductionLike most medium-sized school boards, Peace Wapiti School Board in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada does not hire a public relations specialist, yet recognizes that public relations is a key function of its operations. Alberta Learning, the government department charged with responsibility for education in the province, requires that school districts, including Peace Wapiti School Board, have public communications goals and strategies. This paper looks at the public communications goals and strategies of Peace Wapiti School Board and examines how the board fulfills its mandate in this area.

Matera and Artigue (pp. 120-122) outline a five-step process to address organizational public relations needs: a) develop a problem statement, b) set objectives that solve the problem, c) define strategies to achieve the objectives, d) outline tactics to be employed, and e) establish a means to evaluate the plan. Public relations objectives, they state, should be “consistent with both organizational and departmental objectives.” They indicate that objectives should be realistic and attainable, they should state what is to be accomplished, and they should be measurable. All of these elements are found within Peace Wapiti School Board’s strategic plan and approach to meeting its public relations goals.

Background information about Peace Wapiti School Board #33The Annual Education Results Report for the Peace Wapiti School Board #33 (2002a) indicates the school board is comprised of what were once three different school divisions and also of a part of a fourth. Spread over an area of 30,000 square kilometers in northwestern Alberta (Canada), the school system services approximately 6,000 students located in 28 schools. The jurisdiction extends from Sturgeon Heights in the east to the British Columbia border in the west. It stretches from south of the Wapiti River to the Peace River on the north.

Some of the jurisdiction schools are located in remote settings while others are located in the region’s towns and villages. The board’s largest school, Harry Balfour, is located in the City of Grande Prairie serving kindergarten to grade 8 students from the immediate surrounding area. The board operates seven high schools: Central Peace High School, Beaverlodge, Eaglesham, Ridgevalley, Savanna, Sexsmith and Peace Wapiti Academy. For 2001/2002 Peace Wapiti Academy served students in grades 9 and 10. One grade is being added each year until the full high school program is offered in September 2003. Peace Wapiti Academy officially opened its building in Grande Prairie on January 9, 2003 (Peace Wapiti School Board #33, 2002b). 3

The board also operates schools on four Hutterite Colonies. It provides schooling for students from the Horse Lake Reserve and from the Aspen Grove and Kelly Lake Metis settlements. Excluding the Colony schools, the smallest school has an enrollment of just over 30 students and the largest has over 650 students.

Other interesting facts:

- About 30 students from the Bonanza area attend school in Dawson Creek, British Columbia.

- Just over 120 students living close to Grande Prairie attend non-system schools within the City.

- About 170 students are on home schooling programs and are provided support by the board staff.

- Most board schools operate programs similar to those found in comparable schools anywhere in Alberta. However, to function as economically as possible, when enrollments are low and/or declining in some areas, some smaller schools must provide double, triple and quadruple grading.

- In the smaller, remote high schools heavy reliance is placed on distance education programs to augment the basic in-school offerings. Some specialty programs exist to meet local needs.

- Cree language classes are offered in both Hythe schools. Native liaison workers assist with school programs in four schools.

- The School Board employs the full-time equivalent of over 300 teachers and 398 non-teaching staff. In addition to the 700 regular staff members, the Board employs a considerable number of part-time and casual personnel, making it one of the largest employers in the Peace River Region.

Strategic plan

Peace Wapiti School Board publishes a three-year education plan on its web site. This plan, established in 1996, is updated annually. The strategic plan lists among other things the school board’s mission statement, vision, beliefs, and goals (Alberta Learning, 2003). Peace Wapiti School Board’s mission is “Educating today for success tomorrow” (Peace Wapiti School Board #33, 2002c, p. 6). It also includes provincially mandated goals, corresponding school board goals, a statement of expected outcomes, performance measures, and strategies. Results are reported in an annual report, which includes information from satisfaction surveys.

Date: 2016-01-03; view: 756