The Spring ISD Communications Office represented by, from left, Executive Director Letitia Grounds, Communications Officer Sylvia Wood, Chief Communications Officer Tiffany Dunne-Oldfield and Director Karen Garrison earned 29 Star Awards from the Texas School Public Relations Association (TSPRA).
The Spring ISD Communications Office was recognized with 29 Star Awards from the Texas School Public Relations Association (TSPRA) for excellence in school communications during the 2017-18 school year, including a top Crystal Commendation for its work on increasing parent involvement and volunteers across the district.
The awards were presented Wednesday night during the 2019 TSPRA Annual Conference Star Awards Banquet in Cedar Creek. Every year, the Texas School Public Relations Association recognizes and honors exceptional work in print, electronic and visual communications. Besides the Crystal Commendation, Spring ISD was awarded three Crystal Certificates of Merit, a Best of Category award, 13 Gold Stars, eight Silver Stars, and three Bronze Stars.
“We’re honored and privileged to be able to share so many wonderful stories about our teachers, students and volunteers,” said Chief Communications Officer Tiffany Dunne-Oldfield. “Our success is really a reflection of all of the exceptional work that is happening in our schools and in our community so these awards really highlight the efforts of the entire district.”
Judges evaluated more than 1,400 submissions statewide and determined the winners based on criteria set by TSPRA. School districts were judged among three separate categories: less than 10,000 students, 10,000 to 30,000 students, and more than 30,000 students. With its enrollment of about 35,000 students, Spring ISD was compared against the state’s largest school districts.
For the Crystal Commendation, Spring ISD was honored for “a multifaceted promotional program or campaign employing a variety of media, occurring over a period of time and encompassing well-defined goals, strategies or activities.”
Specifically, the district’s campaign to promote parent involvement resulted in an increase in the the total number of volunteer hours to 63,038 during the 2017-18 school year, up from 59,149 hours for the 2016-17 school year. That increase did not include hours that were dedicated to recovery efforts from Hurricane Harvey, which were substantial. In addition, the number of parent organizations, including PTOs, PTAs and booster clubs increased from 49 to 65 during the same time period.
“We are always looking at ways to bring our parents and community into our schools because we know how much our students benefit from their time,” said Dunne-Oldfield. “We’re grateful that our community is so supportive and generous.”
The Texas School Public Relations Association (TSPRA) is a nonprofit, professional organization dedicated to promoting public schools through effective communications. TSPRA, an award winning chapter of the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA), was chartered in 1962 and incorporated in 1977. With more than 900 members, TSPRA is comprised primarily of public information and communications professionals who serve the public school districts and education organizations of Texas.