SELLING OUR SCHOOLS: DISTRICT PROMOTING PRIDE IN CAPE GIRARDEAU EDUCATION

Orange and black school flags, signs in yards of school athletes' homes, banners and bumper stickers give notice that people in Cape Girardeau School District are proud of their schools.

Billboards along Shawnee Parkway, Route K and either end of Kingshighway alert motorists that they are entering a school district that is proud of its students and patrons. The billboards, which bear messages like "It's Tiger Time" and "Renew the Vision ... Maintain the Mission," also thank taxpayers for the more than $22 million they have provided in additional revenue over the past five years for new construction and building renovations.

The promotional campaign is part of an annual effort to improve communication with taxpayers, said schools superintendent Dan Steska. The advertising reminds the community that public schools are worth the tax revenue they receive, said Steska.

"We wanted to convey the message to our community that the mission of our schools is providing a quality education," Steska said.

The school board set aside about $20,000 last year for its public-relations efforts, less than 1 percent of the $26.8 million budget, and the investment has yielded a large return in terms of staff morale and community support, he said.

The district is among a growing number that promotes their wares wherever they can. According to a recent issue of Christian Science Monitor, public schools are becoming increasingly aware of the competition they face from private, parochial and charter schools. To retain their enrollments and regain public trust in failing systems, public schools are developing "a new attitude toward recruiting, marketing and service," wrote Craig Savoye, author of the Christian Science Monitor report.

Damage control

Steska said improving communication with staff and the community was a priority when he became superintendent two years ago. The district's public image had been tainted over the previous decade by divisions among school leaders and poor financial management. In addition, staff morale was low as a result of some administrative decisions and comparatively low salaries that at one point were frozen because of tight finances.

To improve the image and morale, Steska created the motto "Renew the Vision ... Maintain the Mission," which the district adopted. The motto was plastered on T-shirts, hats, billboards, school banners and in highly visible places.

He also made regular appearances at community meetings, always bearing fact sheets and brochures highlighting the accomplishments of the district and its students.

"If people feel good about the schools, the schools prosper, the communities prosper and kids achieve better," Steska said. "The billboards, ads all of that work together to cultivate that kind of relationship."

Shelley Newman, a Cape Girardeau resident and mother of two with one child in the school system, said she likes to see the district promote itself. In addition to keeping residents informed about what's going on in schools, the effort promotes school pride, she said.

"I'd rather have a school district that keeps some interest in the community and thanks us for supporting them than to be in one that doesn't care," said Newman. "That's a way to let people know you appreciate them and their help. I don't mind them spending money for that."

Other schools doing it

Yvonne Evans, president of the Missouri Schools Public Relations Association, said about 120 school districts have designated staff who work specifically with public-relations issues. However, many more districts conduct various activities to improve school-community relations, she said.

"This is certainly not a new entity to public-school education," said Evans, who is director of information and public relations for Blue Springs School District near Kansas City, Mo. "It really is a function of creating positive, two-way communication for school districts and students to help them learn more."

Jim Morris, spokesman for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, said promotional efforts are valuable because they allow schools to get positive information to the people who can make or break the outcome of an election.

The state does not regulate spending for most promotional efforts, although districts may not use tax dollars to promote election issues.

Said Morris: "The majority of people don't have kids in school, but just about everybody pays taxes to support them, and they have an interest in knowing what's happening. Communication is a full-time job, and school districts need to be talking and listening with their communities all the time, not just when there's an election issue.".