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The course is designed to familiarize school
foundation personnel, foundation board members, school administrators,
and school board members with the critical leadership principles
and best practices of successful K-12 school foundations.
In Friendswood ISD, Superintendent Trish Hanks,
Foundation Executive Director Laura Riveron and Public Information
Officer Karolyn Gephart attended the workshop and received certification.
They were joined by other representatives from the state including
school district/foundation representatives in Ysleta, Lewisville,
Cedar Hill, Navasota, Sherman, Ganado, Sanger, Tyler, Goliad,
Duncanville, Round Rock, San Antonio, Weatherford, Hays, Frisco,
and the Greater Houston Metroplex area.
Other Galveston County attendees besides Hanks,
Riveron and Gephart, included Julie Schmid from the Educational
Foundation from Galveston ISD, Jeanne Thielemann from Dickinson
ISD Education Foundation, Denise Walker and Clarissa Silva from
the LaMarque ISD Education Foundation, and Angela Jenkins from
the Clear Creek ISD Education Foundation.
Leading the workshop were three individuals
with expertise in foundation work. The group consisted of National
School Foundation Association (NSFA) Project Director Jim Collogan
of Des Moines, Iowa; Michelle Lange, president of Silvertree
Marketing in Michigan; and Darrell Slabaugh, McKinney ISD Education
Foundation Executive Director. TSPRA Director Judy Farmer worked
with Collogan in coordinating the workshop.
The workshop was sponsored by Texas School
Public Relations Association (TSPRA) and the National School
Foundation Association (NSFA). Both groups work closely together
and TSPRA members are affiliate members of NSFA.
The Education Foundation Division of TSPRA
started four years ago. Each year membership in the division
continues to grow. Farmer has been seeking a way to offer the
foundation members professional development programs that would
meet the need of both the new directors and those with many years
of experience.
"Working with Jim Collogan and NSFA is
a great benefit to our TSPRA Education Foundation Division members.
This certification workshop has been a terrific opportunity for
their ongoing professional development. We hope to provide additional
opportunities for further study," Farmer said.
TSPRA's background is centered around the
public relations field. The addition of the foundation division
has been a seamless addition that fit.
"Based on a national benchmark study of K-12 education foundations,
foundations that have regular and frequent communications are
10 times more likely to be satisfied with their awareness levels
in the community," Lange said. "So the importance of
foundations working with their public relations staff is vitally
important."
Topics included leadership, operations, marketing,
fundraising and support.
At the workshop, participants examined the
purpose, performance and growing value of K-12 foundations, analyzed
the desired leadership qualities of school foundation directors,
studied the value of strategic planning as a key to success and
the value of constructing a mission and viable vision to help
set directors for the organization.
Also discussed were the challenges in the
community facing foundations and their boards, the structural,
legal and organizational principles of K-12 foundations, and
the effective marketing principles matched with the foundation's
community.
"To join so many people from foundations
all across the State to receive State and National accreditation
was a great experience," Riveron said. "Everyone learned
so much from one another and Michelle Lange was wonderful in
team building exercises. Jim Collogan gave us a national perspective
along with information we can use to make our Foundations more
successful."
The presenters gave positive feedback about
their audience.
"I was totally impressed with the knowledge
and ability of TSPRA attendees at our Texas K-12 foundation training!
Attendees were anxious to learn and may demonstrated a passionate
desire to continue to serve their district's academic needs through
the work of their foundation," Collogan said.
For more information on TSPRA, log on to www.tspra.org. For information
about NSFA, log on to www.schoolfoundations.org.
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