Ossining Wins National Communications Awards

The Ossining Union Free School District took home two awards from the 2014 National School Public Relations Association competition for its outstanding work aimed at keeping community members informed about school district news and events. 
The District, which has pioneered the use of social media to keep the community informed, received an Award of Merit for Social Media, and an Honorable Mention for its videos produced by Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES School Communications Service.
In the area of social media, Ossining maintains Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Vimeo and SmugMug accounts that enable students, parents, teachers and community members to keep up with school events in the way that is most convenient and appealing to them. In fact, Ossining distributes a guide to its social media that explains each network and provides a web address for it.
As for videos, the district was recognized for its video entitled, Thinking Maps, which explained how Thinking Maps are being used across the curriculum to help students better organize their thinking. Ossining produces a wide variety of videos and slide presentations during the school year and makes those videos available to the public using Vimeo.
The National School Public Relations Association is a national organization of school communications professionals that seeks to improve practice by enabling districts to share their best work and learn from one another through workshops and seminars. The annual 
competition is designed to highlight the best work in school communications.
“We’re very gratified to have received these awards because communicating with our parents, teachers and community members is a top priority for the district administration,” said Superintendent Ray Sanchez. “We will continue to seek ways to communicate more 
effectively with our parents, guardians and community members. There are so many great things happening in Ossining and we want our community to know about them.”