KPBSD Key Communicator Collaboration

Hosting a mix of eighty people, KPBSD facilitated five active hours at the Challenger Learning Center on Tuesday, February 2, 2016, following a school board worksession. School board members, high school students, KPBSD Key Communicators, school site council leaders, school principals, district leadership team members, and invited community members and business partners participated in the first Key Communicators Collaboration, an event designed to educate, gather input from the community, and grow advocacy for public education and KPBSD schools. At a time when the state fiscal climate is a top topic, KPBSD gathered a bunch of smart people together to brainstorm and face the challenges in the district, and to offer solutions.

A mix of presentations began in the morning with the State of the KPBSD—highlighting awards and accolades, innovation, funding, and legislation—and in the afternoon, identifying positive #golden stories in the schools and with KPBSD graduates. The interactive day concluded with tips about how to communicate collaboratively, with each person choosing one action they could take during this legislative session that was unique to their own personality, care and concern, and talent.

“I was very pleased that so many of the key communicators were able to attend our meeting that really strengthened our communication lines with stakeholders,” said Sean Dusek, superintendent. “The energy in the room was positive all day and I am looking forward to continued engagement with all of our stakeholders to help our schools improve how they meet the needs of our students.” With people from Seward, Seldovia, Sterling, Homer, Ninilchik, Nikiski, Kenai and Soldotna, and all areas in between, excellent perspective and common themes emerged. The feedback from everyone was, “let’s do this more often,” and “thank you for helping me understand the real issues that the district is addressing.” “A focus on the positive stories in coming months that happen every day is critical, and we need help from everyone to share these stories,” said Pegge Erkeneff, one of the presenters and organizers of the day. “Our Key Communicator network was started two years ago, and is growing. Conversations happen every day—in school parking lots, the grocery store, and with our elected officials. This started as a two-way exchange between the school district and people that each school principal identified in their school community. Now it is expanding to include students, and community partners. It’s a fantastic opportunity to hear from people who care about our schools, and also to share issues the district is facing. We look forward to a continued conversation, and interaction.”

• To learn more about KPBSD Key Communicators, visit the webpage, http://bit.ly/KeyCommunicators
• Links to the February 2, 2016, presentations are online at the KPBSD Communications blog: http://bit.ly/KPBSDCommunicationsBlog
• The Legislature and KPBSD webpage
• Read the KPBSD Highlight story

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Posted in Communications Community Partners by Pegge Erkeneff 1 Comment