CHAPTER I THE IMPORTANCE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

PERCEPTION IS REALITY IMAGE IS EVERYTHING

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE MAJOR AREAS OF PUBLIC CONCERN AND DISCUSSION REGARDING EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES TODAY?

PDK/Gallup Poll Trends

Every year at the beginning of the interview the question is asked about the most pressing problem in education today  1982– Discipline-Finance- Drugs  Drugs-Discipline-Finance  Discipline-Finance  Discipline-Finance  Discipline-Drugs  1998-Fighting and Violence-Discipline- Finance  Discipline-Fighting and Violence- Finance  2000-Finance

 Every year since 2002 Financing of schools is seen as the number one problem in public schools. ..\2012-Gallup-poll-full-report.pdf..\2012-Gallup-poll-full-report.pdf

 NO SCHOOL (PUBLIC OR PRIVATE) EXISTS IN A VACUUM  ANY SCHOOL OR SCHOOL SYSTEM WHICH IS NOT PROACTIVE IN DEVELOPING RELATIONS WITH ITS PUBLIC WILL GREATLY REDUCE ITS CHANGES FOR SUCCESS.

 EVERY ADMINISTRATOR MUST HAVE COMMUNICATION SKILLS AS HE OR SHE DEALS WITH MANY PUBLICS  TWO WAY COMMUNICATION IS ALWAYS THE MOST EFFECTIVE

SOME REASONS WHY EDUCATORS COMMUNICATE POORLY 1.They have a false impression about their ability to communicate 2.Educators are not used to competing for people’s attention 3.Educators operated in relative obscurity for many years. 4.Many educators under valued the opinions of outsiders 5.Most educators have little communication experience and no meaningful training.

THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS (AASA) HAS PUBLISHED NINE SUGGESTIONS FOR EDUCATION LEADERS TO IMPROVE PUBLIC SCHOOLS 1.DO AN EFFECTIVE JOB, AND LET PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT THE SUCCESSES AND CHALLENGES 2.THE PUBLIC’S CONCERN ABOUT DISCIPLINE MUST BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY 3.SCHOOL LEADERS MUST PERSONALIZE THE SCHOOLS MORE TO ENHANCE THE COMFORT OF THOSE BEING SERVED

4. STAFF MORALE MUST BE IMPROVED 5. ALL SCHOOL OFFICIALS MUST USE AND INSIST THAT OTHERS USE COMFORTABLE WORDS 6. EDUCATORS MUST STOP FIGHTING AMONG THEMSELVES AND START BUILDING COALITIONS 7. WORKING WITH THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY IS ESSENTIAL TO ATTRACT NEEDED SUPPORT 8. EVERY EFFORT MUST BE MADE TO INVOLVE NON-PARENTS IN THE SCHOOLS 9. THE COMMUNICATIONS PROGRAM MUST BE A TWO-WAY PROCESS

In our textbook, Moore says “Despite protestations of educators about the money allocated for schools, the United States and Canada outspent European countries by more than two to one and spent almost four times as much per person than the former Soviet Union in the late 1980s and early 1990s.” Do you think about these comparisons? What are the implications here?

LIKE ALL OTHER MEANINGFUL ACTIVITIES, COMMUNITY RELATIONS MUST BE BASED UPON A LOGICAL PLAN

SCHOOL COMMUNITY RELATIONS SHOULD BE DESIGNED TO: 1.PROMOTE A POSITIVE AND CHALLENGING SCHOOL CLIMATE IN WHICH STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND STAFF PRODUCTIVITY ARE FOSTERED 2.ENCOURAGE MAXIMUM INVOLVEMENT OF PARENTS, AT HOME AND IN THE SCHOOL, IN THEIR CHILDREN’S EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT 3.INVOLVE CITIZENS IN COOPERATIVE LEARNING PRACTICES, PARTNERSHIPS, AND OTHER MEANS TO MAKE FULL USE OF HUMAN AND OTHER LEARNING RESOURCES IN THE COMMUNITY 4.BUILD PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE OF THE PURPOSES, SUCCESSES, AND NEEDS OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM, LEADING TO PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING AND SUPPORT