June 24, 2019
Transgender student rights have been a controversial topic in schools across the country in recent years. The Arcadia Unified School District was one of the first districts in the country to have a complaint filed against it and to reach a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice. Through this years-long journey, the Arcadia Unified School District learned from its mistakes, learning how to better work with and advocate for transgender students. After a plethora of negative stories about this issue, the willingness for Arcadia to break its public silence and open up to the media led to Superintendent Dr. David Vannasdall being featured on ABC 20/20 with Diane Sawyer. We discuss the journey as well as the detailed process and preparation for this national tv event.
June 18, 2019
Virginia Principal of the Year Dr. Andy Jacks shares his why and how he shares the great stories of the students and staff at Ashland Elementary School through creative videos and social media. Be sure to follow Dr. Jacks on Twitter @_AndyJacks, and his website https://andyjacks.co/. Jacks is leading the way for principals sharing their school stories through innovative ways while utilizing student and staff voice.
April 17, 2019
A credible threat from a Florida woman who flew to Colorado and purchased a gun, forced hundreds of schools to close just days before the 20th anniversary of the Columbine tragedy. Rick Kaufman who served as a first responder and a spokesman for Columbine 20 years ago joins me to discuss this unfortunate news, what can educators do, are schools safer today than 20 years ago, and he talks about what it was like being on the Columbine campus on that terrible day.
April 17, 2019
How to message with emotion and getting to the heart of your communications. Mark Standriff discusses the 6 Moral Imperatives and how to create a lasting message in the instant age. This is from the annual CAPIO conference that was recently held in Newport Beach.
March 29, 2019
Media Relations, Crisis Communications, Roundtable. A complete preview of the CalSPRA Regional Conference for Southern California that will take place in Arcadia on 4/5/19! Register at https://www.calspra.org/event-3295364.
March 7, 2019
Last school year our interns covered 207 events in just 183 school days while capturing more than 10,000 photographs. Four years into our award-winning Digital Communications Internship program, Amber Nuuvali and myself share how to create an internship program to greatly increase the amount of positive stories produced by your district while also providing an incredible opportunity for students. @acnuuvali @ryanpforan
Slides: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1yPg8zN4OLr3qQrUNThJe7lrn3tq5xCC1IlamCKEGJf0/edit?usp=sharing
March 4, 2019
There are a plethora of reasons why we all need to be sharing the great stories of our schools. This is from my presentation at the CalSPRA annual conference in Santa Rosa.
Slides: http://bit.ly/2UaUE66
March 2, 2019
Fresh from negotiations in Oakland Unified, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond speaks at the California School Public Relations Association annual conference in Santa Rosa. Just two months into the job, Thurmond talks about his priorities for education in California, his unique upbringing, and how public education saved his life.
February 22, 2019
From lessons learned being the spokesperson immediately after the shooting at Columbine High School, to running through a crisis communications scenario, understanding why your school staff and parents are essential in your crisis response, and when and how to respond to critical social media posts, Rick Kaufman joins me for a very in-depth and important conversation about crisis communications in schools. Rick provides tangible advice and many valuable lessons that may help you as you navigate your next crisis. You can follow Rick on Twitter at @Rjkaufman. Follow Ryan at @RyanpForan and his PR blog http://ryanprforan.blogspot.com/p/consulting.html.
