Monthly Workshops - Tips & Tactics

Tips & Tactics provides relevant, engaging opportunities to broaden your knowledge and connect with colleagues. Tips & Tactics provides professionals of all types whose job it is to communicate to school communities with leading professional development, which helps attendees to stay on top of the latest best practices in school communications.

Tips & Tactics session begin at 9 AM and run until 1 PM with the exception of October and April which are full day sessions. These sessions are all being held at NIU Naperville on Diehl Road in Naperville, IL.

  • September 19 - Building an Effective Department to Support District Communications - Whether you're a one-person shop or working with a team, this session will feature school communicators who are building effective cross-department and cross-community relationships to support district communications.
  • October 17 - FULL DAY Tips & Tactics Session - 
    • Morning Session (9-12) - How to Write More Positive and Credible Headlines With Data -This session will be presented by Dr. John Gatta, Northwestern University Professor and national leader in the area of data and analytics. 
    • Afternoon Session (1-3) - Building Mental Health Supports for your Community and Staff with DuPage 88, including Dani Brink, Director of Community Relations; Erica Craig, Assistant Superintendent for Student Programs and Services; Jennifer Dowling, School Social Worker at Addison Trail High School; Shannon Hartnett, Executive Director of Northeast DuPage Family & Youth Services (NEDFYS); and Amit Thaker from ReferralGPS. 
  • December 12 - Annual Idea Sharing - It's the event everyone loves, our annual idea sharing! Show up to admire and acquire from the work of your colleagues, hear their tips and tricks for communicating with communities, and share your own expertise to benefit other INSPRA members. Sponsored by Alboum Translation Services.
  • January 16 - Understanding the New Website Compliance Rules - Ensure your website is ADA and Section 508 compliant and learn strategies and ideas to help future proof your technology.
  • February 20- Learning Lessons from Other Industries - Hear from Communications workers in non-profit, corporate, and public sector spaces and find some new tactics and strategies to support school communications in your district. Sponsored by Qualtrics.
  • March 13 - Communicating with limited English proficient families while staying within budget constraints - More details coming soon! 
  • April 17 - Annual Meeting and Building a Comprehensive Strategic Communications Plan - Prepare yourself for next school year with this session on building an effective communications plan that you can use to keep your communities, students, and staff as up-to-date as possible. We will also have our Annual Meeting featuring a report on the previous year's activities and the installation of the new INSPRA Board of Directors. Sponsored by Parentsquare.