September Member News 2024
ASPRA Member News
Hello, ASPRA Members!
Welcome to the first newsletter of 2024-2025. I hope this newsletter finds you well and with your head above water after some pretty rough weeks.
Your Exec Board has been meeting and working to plan exciting opportunities for members to learn, network, celebrate and collaborate.
I am particularly excited about our Wednesday webinar series that starts this week. Each session will focus on an element of RPIE (Research, Planning, Implementation and Evaluation).
In the past few years, RPIE has become a standard of our profession, though few of us have had training in the concept. In fact, our ASPRA Climate Survey revealed that many of our members report they are not as comfortable as they would like to be in the components of RPIE.
Enter four Arizona school PR professionals who have mastered RPIE through earning their Accreditation in Public Relations. Erin Dunsey, Danielle Airey, Heidi Vega and Jim Cummings will be leading sessions for us this month. Thank you, APRs! The goal is to help each of us learn more about the tools we can use to do better work and have a bigger impact of our students, families and staff.
We have a lot of other great professional development in the works, and we will fill you in as details are finalized.
In the meantime, I want to thank each of you for being a member of ASPRA. I take great comfort in knowing that we are all in this together. Please reach out if you need a hand, an ear, a shoulder. Also let me know if you have any questions, suggestions or concerns. You can reach me at mvalenzuela@amphi.com or on my cell, 520-310-7515.
Thanks for being a part of this organization. I hope you are all doing something fun during your fall break (if you have one)! I saw a funny meme. It said, "How do you know it's fall in Arizona? License plate colors begin to change." It's probably an old joke, but it made me chuckle.
--Michelle
October lunch and learn series
As I mentioned, our webinar series focused on RPEI begins on Wednesday (see Zoom link below). Erin Dunsey, APR and ASPRA Past-President, will focus on the letter R.
Research is a key component of successful school PR projects. Erin will explain types of research, how to conduct research and why it's so important to include research in our work.
Again, this the first of four webinars that will focus on each of the pillars of RPIE. Here is the schedule for the series (all are from Noon to 1 p.m.):
Oct. 2: Research with Erin Dunsey. Here is the Zoom link.
Oct. 9: Planning with Danielle Airey, APR. Here is the Zoom link.
Oct. 16: Implementation with NSPRA President Heidi Vega, APR. Here is the Zoom link.
Oct. 23: Implementation with Jim Cummings, APR. Here is the Zoom link.
We are so proud to support Heidi Vega, APR, as the new president of the National School Public Relations Association. Heidi is a past-president of ASPRA and has been a leader, mentor and friend to our members. She currently works as the Director of Communications for the Arizona School Boards Association.
Heidi has fascinating story -- one of perseverance and determination. You can read about her, how she became involved in school PR and the vision she has for the future by clicking here.
One of my favorite quotes from the article: " I like to think I lead not only with authenticity, but also with a familial angle. If we as school communication professionals all feel like we belong to something greater than ourselves, we can accomplish so much"
Congratulations and thank you, Heidi Vega, APR. Arizona is proud of you!
In case you missed it, our President-Elect Rita Reznick sent an update on the ASPRA*tions Awards process. Check it out here.
In a nutshell: The awards window will be opening soon. We are moving to NSPRA's Open Water platform and are working to more closely align with the NSPRA awards to help streamline both processes for members and improve our awards program for members and judges.
Stay tuned for all the details coming soon, and mark your calendar for Feb. 7, 2025. That's the date for the celebration of our winners!
- The National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) is accepting nominations for the 2024 Superintendents to Watch awards (due Oct. 18) as well as its new Emerging Leaders Award. (due Oct. 11).Read more about the awards and how to nominate an outstanding Arizona school PR pro by clicking the links.
Professional Development Opportunities
- Monday, Oct. 19, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. AZ time. Free to members: October #K12PRChat I Election Day Preparations
- Friday, Oct. 11, 9 a.m to 10 a.m. AZ time. Free to NSPRA members; $89 for nonmembers: Upcoming Webinar: PR Power I Ballot Box Wins
- Now Enrolling: NSPRA Academy I New Professionals Track I Mid-Career Track I Small-District Superintendents Track