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.  

2023-24 Dates

Sign up for an annual Tips & Tactics subscription here.

  • October 13, 2023 - Growing the Team of One: Educators are naturally so collaborative, but the school communicator can feel like the odd person out when we are often a team of one in our organization. NSPRA President Trent Allen, APR is fortunate to have a great team now, but spent much of his early career as a single-person shop. This session will offer insights on:
      • How be an effective team of one,
      • How to build our personal brand identities to tell our professional story in our organization and
      • What strategies that can be used to help others see the need to grow your team in creative ways.
        • Location: NIU Naperville, 1120 E. Diehl Road, Naperville, IL 60563
  • December 8, 2023 - Idea Sharing: Unwrapping tips, tricks and solutions for your school PR challenges. Bring your challenges, questions, ideas, and solutions to share at our annual idea sharing session. 
        • Location: NIU Naperville, 1120 E. Diehl Road, Naperville, IL 60560

  • January 19, 2024 - #BetterTogether - Tackling Current Legal Challenges with Your Attorneys. Presented by Kriha Boucek, K-12 Education Law Attorneys.
        • Location: Glenbrook South High School, 4000 W. Lake Avenue, Glenview, IL 60026

  • February 9, 2024 - Strategic Communications Workshop - the RPIE Process (Research, Planning, Implementation, Evaluation). Bring an idea, goal, or project and spend the morning developing your strategic communications plan to achieve your objectives through this facilitated workshop. Presented by  Carla Erdey, APR, Director of Communications & Community Engagement at Homewood-Flossmoor Community High School District 233
        • Location: Homewood-Flossmoor High School, 999 Kedzie Avenue, Flossmoor, IL 60422

  • March 8, 2024 - Uncomfortable Conversations: Centering Student Voice in Your Communications Planning. The March, equity-focused Tips & Tactics will center student voice with a panel of students from Homewood Flossmoor High School. The session will feature a short presentation by students about their experiences in equity-related work at their high school, followed by a panel discussion and question and answer session. This session intends to help communications leaders learn how they can support equity work and bring fresh ideas to their District that prioritize student voice.  Register Now.
        • Location: NIU Naperville, 1120 E. Diehl Road, Naperville, IL 60563

  • April 19, 2024 - Communicating Hope During Challenging Times.
    Presented by CESO’s Jim Cummings, APR. 

    School communicators deal with a variety of crises and how you approach them is the difference between getting your community’s support or losing it. Through proactive planning and collaborative strategies, you can embrace the opportunity to turn challenges into opportunities for growth. By fostering a culture of preparedness and support, you can navigate any crisis with courage and compassion. Join CESO Senior Strategist Jim Cummings, APR, and learn how to communicate hope during challenging times. Register Now.

        • Location: School District 54, 522 E. Schaumburg Road, Schaumburg, IL 60194