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Partner organizations are encouraged to access this list anytime they need a presenter on a specific school communications topic for a meeting or conference. In addition, school districts without an on-staff communications professional are able to request limited communications counseling from a subject-area expert. IASB Journal Entries
The Illinois School Board Journal is seeking compelling and relevant stories about today’s important public education issues. IASB works with INSPRA to feature the award-winning Practical PR column in each issue.
About the Journal and its Readers
The Journal’s aim is to serve school board members with information and insights to be effective in their governance role. Generally, these are volunteers who wish to do the best job possible for school and community; have little or no formal instruction or experience in education or government; have demands on their time (including a full-time vocation outside education); and seek material that is accessible and relevant.
The school board fills a role different from all the others in public education. The Journal addresses the needs of public bodies whose job it is to set goals and direction for their local systems of education, adopt school district policies, and monitor results.
Specific Guidelines for working together with INSPRA to publish Practical PR
Topics: When considering your topic, look for something engaging and useful to our readers, who are mostly board members. A piece related to the Journal theme or cover story is fine. A completely unrelated piece is fine, too. Some writers appreciate a guideline or a push in a specific topical direction, and we are happy to provide that. Should your areas of interest trend in a different direction, please go with that. It will probably engage our readers as well.
Focus: It’s important to focus on board work, board impact, board-administration collaboration, and/or district/community collaboration. A great thing happening at your school is indeed great, but if the board wasn’t involved, it may not work for our readers.
Remember: Not all districts have a PR person.
Word Count: A range of 700-900 words is your guideline, but only a guideline. Tell your story.
Deadlines: The Journal is published six times annually, starting each calendar year with a January/February issue. Deadlines are the first of the month prior to publication: so December 1, February 1, April 1, June 1, August 1, and October 1. We will, of course accept your submission at any time.
Contacts Theresa Kelly Gegen, Journal editor, or Heath Hendren, INSPRA contact, for more information.
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"INSPRA Experts" is a list of professionals in the school communications field who are willing to share their experiences and knowledge with INSPRA partner organizations including state education associations and other NSPRA chapters. 
The Illinois School Board Journal is published bimonthly by the Illinois Association of School Boards and mailed to approximately 6,000 members of local public school boards and 2,500 school administrators, state and federal government offices, professors of education administration, organization leaders, and interested citizens. Digital editions are publicly available.