By John Fisher
A paper prepared for Public Relations Problems: Cases, Concepts and Campaigns Northwest Missouri State University February 15, 2003
Table of Contents INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................3 BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT PEACE WAPITI SCHOOL BOARD #33.............................................................................................................................3 STRATEGIC PLAN...............................................................................................4
GOALS OR OBJECTIVES.........................................................................................................4 OUTCOMES................................................................................................................................5 PERFORMANCE MEASURES..................................................................................................5 STRATEGIES..............................................................................................................................5
PUBLIC RELATIONS TACTICS........................................................................6
MEDIA CONTACT....................................................................................................................6 NEWSLETTERS.........................................................................................................................6
WEB SITE....................................................................................................................................6
SCHOOL WEB SITES.................................................................................................................7
REPORT CARDS / PARENT INTERVIEWS.............................................................................7
PARENT COUNCILS..................................................................................................................7
ANNUAL SATISFACTION SURVEY........................................................................................7
ANNUAL EDUCATION RESULTS REPORT.......................................................................................................................................8 CONCLUSIONS......................................................................................................8 REFERENCES........................................................................................................9
Public Relations and the School Board Introduction Like most medium-sized school boards, Peace Wapiti School Board in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada does not hire a public relations specialist, yet recognizes that public relations is a key function of its operations. Alberta Learning, the government department charged with responsibility for education in the province, requires that school districts, including Peace Wapiti School Board, have public communications goals and strategies. This paper looks at the public communications goals and strategies of Peace Wapiti School Board and examines how the board fulfills its mandate in this area.
Matera and Artigue (pp. 120-122) outline a five-step process to address organizational public relations needs: a) develop a problem statement, b) set objectives that solve the problem, c) define strategies to achieve the objectives, d) outline tactics to be employed, and e) establish a means to evaluate the plan. Public relations objectives, they state, should be “consistent with both organizational and departmental objectives.” They indicate that objectives should be realistic and attainable, they should state what is to be accomplished, and they should be measurable. All of these elements are found within Peace Wapiti School Board’s strategic plan and approach to meeting its public relations goals.
Background information about Peace Wapiti School Board #33 The Annual Education Results Report for the Peace Wapiti School Board #33 (2002a) indicates the school board is comprised of what were once three different school divisions and also of a part of a fourth. Spread over an area of 30,000 square kilometers in northwestern Alberta (Canada), the school system services approximately 6,000 students located in 28 schools. The jurisdiction extends from Sturgeon Heights in the east to the British Columbia border in the west. It stretches from south of the Wapiti River to the Peace River on the north.
Some of the jurisdiction schools are located in remote settings while others are located in the region’s towns and villages. The board’s largest school, Harry Balfour, is located in the City of Grande Prairie serving kindergarten to grade 8 students from the immediate surrounding area. The board operates seven high schools: Central Peace High School, Beaverlodge, Eaglesham, Ridgevalley, Savanna, Sexsmith and Peace Wapiti Academy. For 2001/2002 Peace Wapiti Academy served students in grades 9 and 10. One grade is being added each year until the full high school program is offered in September 2003. Peace Wapiti Academy officially opened its building in Grande Prairie on January 9, 2003 (Peace Wapiti School Board #33, 2002b). 3
The board also operates schools on four Hutterite Colonies. It provides schooling for students from the Horse Lake Reserve and from the Aspen Grove and Kelly Lake Metis settlements. Excluding the Colony schools, the smallest school has an enrollment of just over 30 students and the largest has over 650 students.
Other interesting facts:
- About 30 students from the Bonanza area attend school in Dawson Creek, British Columbia.
- Just over 120 students living close to Grande Prairie attend non-system schools within the City.
- About 170 students are on home schooling programs and are provided support by the board staff.
- Most board schools operate programs similar to those found in comparable schools anywhere in Alberta. However, to function as economically as possible, when enrollments are low and/or declining in some areas, some smaller schools must provide double, triple and quadruple grading.
- In the smaller, remote high schools heavy reliance is placed on distance education programs to augment the basic in-school offerings. Some specialty programs exist to meet local needs.
- Cree language classes are offered in both Hythe schools. Native liaison workers assist with school programs in four schools.
- The School Board employs the full-time equivalent of over 300 teachers and 398 non-teaching staff. In addition to the 700 regular staff members, the Board employs a considerable number of part-time and casual personnel, making it one of the largest employers in the Peace River Region.
Strategic plan
Peace Wapiti School Board publishes a three-year education plan on its web site. This plan, established in 1996, is updated annually. The strategic plan lists among other things the school board’s mission statement, vision, beliefs, and goals (Alberta Learning, 2003). Peace Wapiti School Board’s mission is “Educating today for success tomorrow” (Peace Wapiti School Board #33, 2002c, p. 6). It also includes provincially mandated goals, corresponding school board goals, a statement of expected outcomes, performance measures, and strategies. Results are reported in an annual report, which includes information from satisfaction surveys.
Goals or objectives
Currently the provincial department of education, called Alberta Learning, mandates five strategic goals. Peace Wapiti School Board develops its own goals that correspond to these strategic goals. In addition, the school board has developed one further strategic goal of its own, “teaching excellence.” The school board specifies outcomes and performance measures to evaluate achievement of the goals. It also lists strategies (or objectives) to accomplish its goals. One provincially mandated strategic goal, relates to school board public relations. Described as Alberta Learning Goal 5, it is titled “Responsible and Responsive Jurisdiction.”
Corresponding Peace Wapiti goals to achieve this strategic goal of “responsible and responsive jurisdiction” are:
- Promote the school system through celebration of accomplishments.
- Develop a plan for the purpose of addressing areas of improvement.
- Demonstrate high standards for communication with the public.
- Provide leadership and clear direction to schools.
Outcomes
Each strategic goal specifies outcomes that can be measured. For the goal of “responsive and responsible jurisdiction,” the school board lists the following outcome: “The jurisdiction demonstrates leadership and continuous improvement in administrative and business processes and practices” (Peace Wapiti School Board #33, 2002c, p. 20).
Performance Measures
The strategic goals also specify performance measures. Performance measures provide data that describe the progress of the school community in achieving its goals and results (Fisher, p. 18). For the goal of “responsive and responsible jurisdiction,” the school board lists the following performance measures:
- Percentage of schools audited each year.
- Percentage of parents who are satisfied with the level of information received from the schools about programs, services and practices.
- Percentage of school-based administrators satisfied with delegated resource management responsibilities and decision-making authority.
- Percentage of parents and public who are satisfied with information received about how money is spent by the local school board.
Strategies
In addition, Peace Wapiti School Board provides strategies for achieving the goals. Strategies are actions that can be used in the medium term (one to five years) to accomplish the goals and to achieve the desired results (Fisher, p. 21). The school board lists the following strategies for achieving its goals:
- Provide accurate and complete information on topics/issues the public requests.
- Lobby the government on matters that impact the quality of educational services in classrooms.
- Encourage frequent communication between our schools and their parents.
- Post achievement and diploma exam results on the system web site.
- Regularly update data on the web site.
- Conduct school audits on a three-year cycle.
- Review the site-based management model currently in place in this school system.
Public relations tactics
The school board has developed a number of tactics for achieving its public relations goals. These include newsletters, a school board web site, school web sites, school councils, report cards and parent interviews, an annual satisfaction survey, and annual education results report. A board communication committee has overall responsibility for district communications and public relations.
Media contact
Most news coverage about the school district is positive, according to Dr. Darwin Eckstrom, the school board superintendent (interview, February 15, 2003). The Grande Prairie Daily Herald-Tribune regularly reports school board meetings, school activities, achievements, and school sports. A number of schools have developed relationships with local weekly newspapers. For example, Beaverlodge Regional High School has a weekly column in the community’s weekly newspaper.
Board Chairman Lynne Phillips and Dr. Eckstrom serve as media spokespersons for the school board. For example, a student recently brought an air pistol to school, generating Canada-wide media coverage. Dr. Eckstrom fielded questions from television, radio and newspapers from across the country.
Newsletters
A school board newsletter, called Spotlight, is published two times a year in hard copy tabloid format and on the web site. The tabloid edition of Spotlight is distributed throughout the community and to parents through the schools. Spotlight contains information about school board activities, highlights student and staff achievements, and reports district financial and achievement data. Schools provide frequent newsletters to parents, sometimes on a weekly basis. These report school activities, student and staff achievements, and school financial and achievement data.
Web site
In addition the latest information from Spotlight, the web site (Peace Wapiti School Board #33, 2002b) includes links to the Three Year Business Plan, the Annual Education Results Report and school web sites. Other links provide information about the school board and its programs and services, the school trustees, and administrations. Information is provided about students, staff, the calendar, online school, and employment. The web site is updated as new information becomes available. A retired school board employee, Paul Renfree, is hired on a contract basis as the web master.
School web sites
School web sites are available for all schools, except those on the Hutterite colonies. Schools develop and manage their own web sites. Some use students to prepare the web pages while others contract out the work. The web sites include news items, faculty web pages, and student web pages. Schools are required to prepare an annual report that includes achievement and diploma examination results. Some of this information is also included on the school web pages.
Report cards / parent interviews
According to Alberta Learning (1998), teachers are required to regularly evaluate student progress, and report how well students are doing in relation to provincial grade-level standards to parents, students and school administrators. Individual teachers may use provincial achievement test results in determining final grades for their students.
Local school boards decide what format to use for report cards and how else to communicate student progress. Many schools schedule parent-teacher interviews as well as issuing written reports on each child’s progress. Parents and school councils may advise schools and boards on the reporting methods they would like to see used.
Schools in Peace Wapiti School Board (2002b) prepare student report cards four times annually and have formal parent/teacher interviews three times. Teachers also hold interviews with parents as the need arises or when parents request an interview.
Parent Councils
In accordance with Alberta Learning policy (1997), Peace Wapiti School Board has established school councils at each of its schools. School councils advise the principal and the board about matters related to the school, including budgets, activities, and community relations.
