INSPRA Experts

"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. 

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.  

Request an INSPRA Expert

 

CURRENT PRESENTATION LISTING:

To schedule one of the presentations listed below for your organization's event, please complete the INSPRA Expert Request Form and include the title of the presentation where requested. 

Dustproofing Your Strategic Plan

School districts spend thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours developing strategic plans. Even with every good intention to address the community’s and employee’s desires through such a plan, all too often these documents end up collecting dust on a bookshelf. Learn how one district earned state and national Golden Achievement Awards by taking its complicated, detailed, and technical strategic plan and branding it so it became embedded into the culture and language of the district. Through simplified documents, social media efforts, “goal champions,” and Board meeting restructuring, lean how this district maximized stakeholders’ awareness of this strategic plan.

Recognizing the Heart of Your District

A supportive educational environment is one of five essential indicators that affect and predict school success. Although hosting a single employee recognition event may bring about good feelings short-term, it most likely will not affect the overall positive culture of the district. Real change requires an authentic evaluation of what is truly meaningful to employees, and district leaders dedicated to the effort. By focusing on the values of being present, celebrating the small things, and modeling gratitude, learn how one district earned state and national Golden Achievement Awards by developing a comprehensive, multi-tiered, yearlong approach to employee engagement. 

Nail Your Presentation: Tips for Success

Presenting well is essential in your leadership role, especially as a school PR professional. As communicators, we are often called to speak publicly on a variety of topics. Your personal brand is shaped by the presentations you give.  Make them count.  Through this session, you'll learn six actionable tips to give a great presentation that will ensure your next public speaking engagement is a huge success.

Managing a Crisis Through Communication: Focus on the Message

We are bombarded with stories about social media threats against schools, lock downs due to a police situation and criminal charges against students and staff.  Sometimes the threat is real, sometimes it's perception and sometimes it's just fake news on social media.  Regardless, you need to be ready to respond and respond quickly.  Learn how preparation, transparency and communication are essential to maintain your credibility and retain your community's trust before, during and after a crisis.

School PR Tech Slam is Your Jam!

You've set goals and objectives.  Your strategies are solid.  When it's time to put your plan to work, you turn to the tech tools in your toolbox.  Can you share your best?  Could you use a few more?  Bring your top tech tips and prepare to share!  Do you have an organizational tool that changed your life?  A creativity app that makes your story shine?  A shortcut that works like magic?  Participants will have three minutes to demonstrate their favorite organizational tools using the presentation MacBook (also can mirror an iPhone).  Everyone will be a judge, voting for the best.

Community Engagement

Learn how to successfully engaged with the community through three district events: A Curriculum & Career Expo for eighth-grade students featuring 90-plus exhibitors; a Principal for a Day program that welcomes community leaders into the school; and a Realtor Breakfast that ensures realtors leave with an accurate story of the district.  A discussion regarding each event will delve into the details, tips, sponsorships, and even a few areas for these three successful engagement programs.

Dynamic Data Dashboards...You Too Can Do!

You too can create meaningful, shareable charts and graphs that engage your stakeholders to understand your school story!  Give viewers an easy way to select the data they want to see on a custom dashboard.  Discover how to transform your raw data into the metrics needed to create easy-to-follow charts and dashboards.  Display your data without writing code or queries and customize everything.  Requires a Google account and experience and access to Google Sheets.

Let's Do a Video: Seven Deadly Sins School Districts Make and How to Avoid Them

The use of video has become common in school communications, as smartphone apps and affordable tools are now at our fingertips.  For better or for worse, many of our stakeholders are addicted to the steady social stream of video posts - viewed, liked, and shared - all on a mobile, high-definition screen that they carry day and night.  However, deciding to produce a video can be perilous.  A video production commands us to commit time and money, looking for a payoff. We'll look at some ways to help ensure your video is viewed, enjoyed, and most of all, effective communicates your message.

Political Campaign Tactics: Influencing Others to Take Action

Prepping your boss for a last-minute media interview on a controversial issue and need to frame the message in five minutes?  Meeting with an influential business or community leader that you need to get on your organization's side?  Participants will discuss basic concepts used in advocacy, organizing and political campaigns that can be applied in a variety of day-to-day situations that cause us to address controversial issues.  The focus of this session is developing a strategic chart, using a message box to frame issues in oppositional situations and holding structured face-to-face conversations that influence others to act.