Team members from the Fairfax County Public Schools Office of Communications and Community Relations (OCCR) presented information about an award winning calendar communication campaign at the annual National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) conference in July 2022.

The campaign, A Caring Calendar, won a 2022 Golden Achievement Award from NSPRA. 

The information below was distributed at the conference. 

A Caring Calendar Campaign - Conference Presentation 

Research and Planning Tips

Know Your Roots

Knowing the foundational principles of your organization is essential for a campaign that focuses on something as encompassing as a school year calendar. Research your organization’s strategic plan and vision, and related initiatives, such as an equity focus.

Find Commonality Within Conflict

Use the coorientation model to find the mutual viewpoint among publics and the organizations. This is especially important when dealing with potentially conflicting issues. 

Keep Your Legal Friends Close

Your legal team is an extension of the communication team and another communication tool. This is especially important when working on a highly-sensitive campaign. Develop a positive working relationship with your legal team, so you can work together in the best interest of your organization.

Strategy Tips

Build a Framework

As contentious issues develop, you will need to craft a framework that sets boundaries from which to work. Strategic communication planning can provide the foundation for positive organizational change.

The Value of Being Unbranded

An unbranded campaign was a deliberate strategy to avoid the appearance of pushing an agenda and to reflect genuine public engagement. Know when to say "no" to branding.

Student Voice Is Powerful

We often focus on the adults rather than the key public we serve — our students. Bring student voice into your planning and implementation process for a more effective campaign. 

Implementation and Communication Tips

Prime Your Audience

An information strategy gave audiences a better understanding of the framework around calendar development and set expectations for a final decision.

Communicators Are Mediators

When two publics are openly, and loudly, in opposition, playing the role of mediator supports plan goals. Work to bring key community leaders together in support of your plan, and their constituents will follow.

Publics Are Primary and Secondary

This plan identified the School Board as a primary strategic public. While smaller in number than other identified publics, this group had a greater ability to make the campaign successful. Often, we overlook this small, close, but important audience.

Evaluation Tips

Use Data to Show Messaging Impact

Data showed that media coverage included “equity” and “caring culture” as the top line. This showed the key message had permeated despite an eleventh-hour deletion of the terms from the final news release.

Anecdotes Have Value

While not scientifically reliable, anecdotal evidence has value in your evaluation. The change of perspective from even a single influencer provides supplemental evidence that the plan was effective.

One Plan Leads to Another

The conclusion of one campaign may be the beginning of the next. In this case, the success of the calendar development plan provided the foundation for a subsequent plan to increase awareness of religious and cultural observance days.