NJSPRA to Honor School Communicators at Awards Ceremony

The New Jersey School Public Relations Association (NJSPRA) will be awarding top honors to some of the state’s best school communicators at its annual School and Communications Awards and luncheon on Friday, June 5, from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Rowan University.

“NJSPRA is very excited to host our 2015 pinnacle event at Rowan University,” said Laura Bishop, President of NJSPRA. “As school communicators, we enjoy visiting campuses, like Rowan University, and fostering the growth of future public relations professionals. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with Rowan into the next school-year and beyond.”

NJSPRA’s School Communication Awards recognize outstanding print and electronic collateral materials in New Jersey educational communications programs. NJSPRA developed the School Communication Awards competition to recognize professional school communicators in New Jersey - and the products they develop - that go above and beyond disseminating important messages to their publics. For the first time this year, schools are competing in new categories including social media and video.

Both members and non-members were able to submit entries. NJSPRA received more than 30 nominations from public districts and communications firms from 13 counties across New Jersey.

In the final event of the membership year, honorees, members, and guests will be able to network at the professional development workshop, held for the first time at Rowan University, with Dean Lorin Arnold, College of Communication at Rowan.

“The College of Communication and Creative Arts is particularly pleased to be a part of this event,” said Arnold. “We believe strongly in the value of public relations to the field of education, as our PR graduate curriculum indicates. The work of NJSPRA is important to both practitioners in the state and to the larger domain of state education.”

In addition to the awards program, a networking session, and lunch, there will be two workshops highlighting “The Value of School PR: How it Contributes Directly to Student and School Success” and the process of becoming accredited in school public relations. The first workshop will be presented by Ed Moore, APR, Associate Professor of public relations at Rowan, and the latter by NJSPRA member Ameerah Palacios, APR, Community Relations/Community School Director of Roxbury Public Schools.

The event is open to members and non-members, but registration and a payment of $75 is required for non-members. To register, visit http://www.njspra.com.

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About NJSPRA – For more than 19 years, NJSPRA, the New Jersey chapter of the National School Public Relations Association, has provided professional development, training, resources and collateral support in all facets of communication to education communities across the state. Members include public relations and communications professionals, as well as superintendents, administrators, board members, principals, teachers, and consultants, all of whom benefit from the wealth of information and networking that is available. NJSPRA is dedicated to supporting the state’s districts, school leaders, district leaders, parents, students, and the community through well-planned involvement, communications, and public relations activities.