22 Texas School Business • March 2013

TSPRA PRESIDENT PROFILE

Incoming President Pawlik-Peralesappreciates good storytellingby Elizabeth Millard

When Patti Pawlik-Perales talks about her passion for story-telling, there’s a natural urge

to lean in and listen. Part motivational speaker, part education advocate, she conveys an enthusiasm for her field that is as refreshing as it is infectious.

“There are so many good things happening in education, so many won-derful stories,” she says. “We should be celebrating those and sharing those. And whatever I can do to make that happen, I’ll do.”

Pawlik-Perales jokingly says she chose to work in public education through “osmosis.” Both her parents were highly respected educators who eventually moved into administrative

positions. Regularly witnessing the in-fluence of their work on others helped Pawlik-Perales to appreciate the impor-tance of excellence in education.

She made communications and broadcasting her specialization, receiv-ing a bachelor’s degree in speech com-munications at Texas Tech University in 1998. She says she always has been drawn to the way people talk about their experiences. The idea of sharing those stories through a medium like television or print materials excited her.

Pawlik-Perales’ interests in educa-tion and communications served her well in her first career opportunity in Browns-ville ISD. She recalls being thrilled to have found “her place” with that job.

“It was the best of both worlds, and I knew then that this is what I was sup-posed to be doing,” she says. “I loved the fact that I could use communica-tions skills within education. That’s the journey I’ve been meant to take since the beginning.”

Pawlik-Perales worked as a manager for Brownsville ISD’s television station, where she developed programming about students and staff. During her nine years there, she also honed her skills in public relations and print media. After Browns-ville ISD, Pawlik-Perales acted as com-munity relations television liaison at San Benito CISD, managing the district’s educational access channel and creating marketing materials for events.

In 2008, she moved to her current position as communications specialist for Alamo Heights ISD, where she pro-motes the news and events of the district through a Web TV channel, website, so-cial media and print media.

Pawlik-Perales embraces every op-portunity to inform and educate through effective storytelling. She is equally hap-py announcing district-wide news as she is chatting with teachers, cafeteria work-ers or bus drivers about their latest chal-lenges and successes. When producing motivational videos for events, she often will include these perspectives to give viewers a sense of the people who make a difference for students every day.

“These people are the heart of the district. They have good stories, they love their jobs, and most of all — they love the kids,” she says. “I’m so blessed to be able to know them and to help them share their stories.”

In February, Pawlik-Perales stepped up as the president of the Texas School Public Relations Association. She says she values the organization’s work in

Alamo Heights ISD Communications Specialist Patti Pawlik-Perales interviews Dick Smith, the district’s director of human resources and communications. Pawlik-Perales says she enjoys shar-ing the stories of the people who work at Alamo Heights ISD. “These people are the heart of the district. They have good stories, they love their jobs, and most of all — they love the kids.” Photo by Norm Collins.

March 2013 • Texas School Business 23

conveying the stories of public educa-tors, administrators, students and parents, and she looks forward to increasing that effort.

“I think that sometimes we can get pulled into focusing on the negatives, but for every wrong thing that’s happening, there are a hundred thousand more things that are right,” she says. “It’s important for people to know that.”

Her mission during her presidency is to transform TSPRA’s annual campaign celebrating public schools into an on-going daily campaign. The group’s new tagline is “Education: It’s Bigger Here,” which is promoted through a TSPRA companion website.

Pawlik-Perales also will assist in cre-ating a Facebook page for the campaign, launching a video contest and developing other content that gets public schools and the public involved in celebrating educa-tion in Texas.

As much as she has done throughout her career, Pawlik-Perales is intent on relaying the seemingly small stories that make up the greater whole of public edu-cation in Texas. She would like to shift the focus of discussion in a positive di-rection, while still addressing substantive issues. In other words, it’s not helpful to talk about what needs fixing without also exploring what’s working.

“This is my mission,” she says. “It’s definitely not one I can accomplish by myself, so I’m looking forward to work-ing with other organizations, as well as districts, to show that there’s so much that’s great about education in Texas.”

ELIZABETH MILLARD also writes for District Administration.

FUN FACTS ABOUT PATTI PAWLIK-PERALESA skill I’d like to learn: I’d love to be able to master all the functions on my cell phone.

A bad habit I’d like to break: Trying to organize everything without an electronic calendar.

Last book I read that I really liked: “Safe Haven” by Nicholas Sparks

Rolling Stones or Beatles? Definitely Rolling Stones.

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