Key Communicators Update
What is a Key Communicator?
We are very excited to announce a new MCSS publication, Spotlight, which will begin on February 28!
Spotlight will focus on highlighting awards, recognition, and achievements by our system, schools, students, teachers, and administrators. Spotlight will be published each Wednesday at noon and will include the previous week’s events and activities in our system/schools. Spotlight will be distributed both internally and externally via Google Groups, email, and online platforms. We would like all schools to post the link or share on your social media and via any other ways you communicate with stakeholders.
**In order to make this public relations tool a success we need dedicated participation.
We realize that not every school will have a submission every week and that is fine. However, we encourage every school to start ‘looking’ for opportunities for PR promotion and consciously planning to take video and photos at events and around your school. While we want to primarily focus on special events and recognition, we will also include smaller scale recognition such as students crossing the finish line at your Fun Run, completing an art or video project, or exciting classroom activities. See list below for suggested types of submissions.
What to Submit:
Please follow the basic Who, What, When, Where, and Why when you provide submissions:
Names/grades of all students/staff in photos/videos
Complete title of event or recognition
Dates and other pertinent info
Always include photos or videos! These are the attention getters!
NOTE: Please submit JPGs and PNGs separately from your write-up. I have to download photos first and I can't do this from a Google document.
Some examples of potential submissions:
College signings
College scholarships
Career Tech classes, field trips, etc.
Local, state, and national awards for publications, etc.
Teachers/Admins earning degrees, NBCT certification, winning awards, appointments to programs, etc.
Outstanding students of the month, Good Citizens, etc.
Band/choral/art awards
School recognition- Top schools, etc.
Athletics recognition: championships, individual awards
Academic recognition, awards, etc.
Volunteer events and recognition
Fun Run/5K Photos
Honors inductions/convocations
Scholars’ Bowl/Math Bowl
Exciting classroom presentations or projects
Other- we've surely missed some great examples on our list, so check with us if you have questions
Submit write-ups that are similar to how you would post on your website or social media page. Send or upload JPGs or PNGs separately since I need to download them to import to the newsletter.
NOTE: This publication will not include a listing of upcoming events
or fundraising information.
NOTE: We may post submitted information on the MCSS social media.
In your write-ups, you may choose to list students' full names, only their first names, or no names.
Who Submits Information: KEY COMMUNICATORS!
KEY COMMUNICATORS are responsible for submitting information for SPOTLIGHT.
Who are KEY COMMUNICATORS (KCs)?
The principal at each school
Media/PR person at each school
Anyone designated by the principal to post or provide information on behalf of their school
KCs
Do not have to be employees
May be parents or students
Must be approved by the principal
Must have technology(video/audio/photo/social media) and information gathering skills necessary to provide information
How to Submit:
Submissions should be sent to the MCSS Communications email address:
OR
Uploaded to your school's folder is this Spotlight Submissions Google Folder
Deadline for Submissions: 3 PM on the Monday prior to Wednesday publication. Late submissions will be accepted, but may have to be included in the following week’s publication instead of the current week.
**NOTE: We reserve the right to edit submissions as needed.
**NOTE: Our first edition will be published on Wednesday, Feb 28 and will include recognition and events for all of February. The deadline for submissions is 3 PM on Monday, Feb 26.
2018 Spotlight Publication Dates
Spring Publication Dates
- Wednesday, February 28
- Wednesday, March 7
- Wednesday, March 14
- Wednesday, March 21
- NO PUBLICATION DURING SPRING BREAK
- Wednesday, April 4 (Spotlight to cover previous 2 wks)
- Wednesday, April 11
- Wednesday, April 18
- Wednesday, April 25
- Wednesday, May 2
- Wednesday, May 9
- Wednesday, May 16
- Wednesday, May 23
- Wednesday, May 30 (Deadline: Tuesday, May 29- 2pm) *Send Graduation photos!!
Summer 2018 Publication/Deadline Dates
- Wednesday, June 27 (deadline: Monday, June 25 for all June submissions)
- Wednesday, July 25 (deadline: Monday July 23 for July 1-23 submissions)
Fall 2018 Publication Dates- TBA
Increase Social Media Viewership and Engagement
A good way to increase viewership on your social media is to post often(at least daily, if not several times daily) and to encourage viewer engagement. Posting information and photos from events that are celebrated in our schools is a great PR opportunity!
To assist you, see the March PR Calendar in the Key Communicators Update for March 2018 with helpful links for more information. We will be promoting many of these celebrations system-wide, so you can either share our social media posts or create your own. Looking forward to seeing the photos and posts!
Examples of great March PR Event/Photo Ops:
- Read Across America- guest readers, character days, etc.
- Pi Day- math classes and activities
- Youth Art Month- photos from your art classrooms, artwork, artists that have received awards, etc.
- Poetry Month- Poetry Out Loud winners, poetry lessons, poems written by students, etc.
- Teen Tech Week- teens using technology in the classroom