DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 025 829 EA 001 854

By-Preusch, Dee, Ed.Public Relations Gold Mine, Volume 10.National School Public Relations Association, Washington, D.C.Pub Date 68Note-65p.Available from-National School Public Relations Association, 1201 Sixteenth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.20036 ($2.00).

EDRS Price MF -$0.50 HC Nut Available from EDRS.Descriptors-*Administrative Personnel, *Communication Problems, Depressed Areas (Geographic), EducationalFinance, Educational Innovation, Educational Problems, Minority Croups, *Public Relations, *Public SchoolSystems, *School Community Relationship, Training

Fourteen articles present an overview of ideas expressed about school publicrelations. Some of the topics discussed include: (1) Training in communication, (2)school problems as seen by public relations men, (3) financing and improvingcommunications, (4) making decisions about adopting innovations, (5) problems inghetto communities, (6) public relations programs, (7) school public relationspersonnel, and (8) methods of communication. A biblio(,- -aphy lists recent significantliterature in the field. Related documents are EA 001 920 (Volume 8) and EA 001 921(Volume 9). (HW)

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PUBLIC RELATIONS

Published by the

National SchoolPublic Relations

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION & WELFARE

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THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REPRODUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED FROM THE

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Permission to reproduce this copyrighted work has beengranted to the Educational Resources Information Center(ERIC) and to the organization operating under contractwith the Office to Education to reproduce documents in-cluded in the ERIC system by means of microfiche only,but this right is not conferred to any users of the micro-fiche received from the ERIC Document ReproductionService. Further reproduction of any part requires per-mission of the copyright owner.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The articles appearing in Public Relations Gold Mine, Volume

Ten, present an overview of ideas expressed about the many facets

of school public relations during the past year. These articles, in

companion with those appearing in earlier volumes of the PublicRelations Gold Mine series, have been especially selected for theirreference value to all members of the staff of an educationalorganization whose responsibilities include school public relations.

We are particularly indebted to the following persons for per-mission to include material appearing in this volume: JamesFarmer, professor of social welfare, Lincoln University; ClaudeW. Fawcett, professor of school personnel administration, Uni-versity of California at Los Angeles; Carroll B. Hanson, directorof the publications and information department, Seattle, Washing-ton, Public Schools; and David E. Smoker, administrative assistantfor dissemination, Southwestern Cooperative Educatiorai Laboratory, Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Several chapters appeared originally as articles in Trends, aschool public relations newsletter published by the National SchoolPublic Relations Association and edited by Robert Olds. DeePreusch serves as editor of the Gold Mine series.

Copyright 1968National School Public Relations Association

Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 63-15530

Single copy, $2; 2-9 copies, $1.0 each; 10 or more copies, $1.60 each.Stock No evi1-12722. Address communications and make checks pay-able to the National School Public Relations Association, 1201 Six-teenth Street, N.W., Washington, D. C. 20036. Orders for $2 or lessmust be accompanied by payment. Postage free if prepaid.

CONTENTS

s The Unbelievable PR Training Gap

Recent studies among superintendents and universities reveal lack

of adequate training in educational communication.

6 Problems Seen by the School PR Man

Survey among participants in National School Public Relations

Association Seminar points up 12 top problems facing the schools.

10 The School Finance Story

James B. Conant's statement complains about the way poor com-

munication has affected school financing.

la New Forces Shaping Public Education

Leading educator warns there is no longer a Tomorrowland for

improved school internal and external communications . .. . it is

Now, and the chips are down.

24 Behind the DecisionsResearch by two Iowa State University sociologists reveals how

decisions are made to adopt innovations.

25 Playing with Poverty Dynamite

Attempts to improve education in poverty areas can have back-

lash effect, unless far more attention is given to effective communi-

cation and school-community relations.

27 Your Image Is Showing

Civil rights leader discusses the ferment in ghetto communities

and how schools must learn to "hear" and "understand" reasons

for the ferment.

33 Changing TimesFor Stag CommunicationOutdated administrative thinking is often source of inadequateprogram for internal communications. -

35 Thus Spake Dostoevski!"If the people around you are spiteful and callous and will not hearyou, fall down before them and beg their forgiveness, for in truthyou are to blame for their not wanting to hear you" . . . outlineof the public relations program in the Seattle, Washington, PublicSchools.

44 Meet the School System PR ManA survey report by the Educational Research Service contains aprofile.

45 Strategic Aspects of Innovation DisseminationWarnings to educators who persist in communicating via the"floating bottle" technique.

58 Who Really Decides the PR Program?Some school district PR philosophies are being challenged by in-creased sophistication of school board members and by experiencesin school integration, financing difficulties, and employee groupnegotiations.

58 Don't Ignore Community NewcomersHigh population mobility is creating large numbers of newcomers,whose attitudes toward schools can soon have tremendous impact.

Bo Slide-films and FilmstripsOne shortcoming of the slide-lilm presentation is that, from amechanical standpoint, it is too easy to make.

02 Communication Guide

THE UNBELIEVABLEPR TRAINING GAP

At least two major studies in re-cent months have revealed the

startling scarcity of adequate com-munication training provided forschool administrators and for keystaff public relations direc, Drs.

For instance, superintendents areneck-deep in serious problems forwhich they are unpreparedwithinternal and external communica-tions near the top of the listandwho is giving them help? Well,

scarcely anyone, including the uni-versities, state and federal agencies,according to a report, Issues andProblems in Contemporary Educa-tional Administration, by KeithGoldhammer and others of the Cen-ter for the Advanced Study of Edu-cational Administration, published

by the University of Oregon Press.The purpose of this study, in-

, Diving conferences with 47 super-intendents in 22 states, was to get afirst-person view of superintendentproblems and to learn somethingabout the quality of preparatory andinservice training programs for ad-ministrators. The superintendentstalked with candor.

"One of the biggest problems formany superintendents is maintain-ing good human relations with boththe organization and the commu-nity," said the study. "Many ad-ministrators admit they lack skilland confidence in their ability todeal effectively with people. Theyindicated that their training did notprepRre them adequately in this

1 area. Something needs to be donein order to provide them assistanceand fill in the gaps which so ob-viously exist."

Superintendents expressed theirconcern about "the public's growinglack of faith in educators," free andeasy criticism by parents and massmedia, demands for facts and hardproof of educational results and not"traditional glittering generalities."Lacking good means of evaluationand strong communications chan-nels, the administrators feel helpless,said the report.

Internal communications in largeand growing systems pose similarproblems. Verbal and written mes-sages become distorted in transmis-sion. "In large districts, the super-intendent doesn't even get to knowall the principals or his central officestaff," the report said.

With growth and lagging commu-nications know-how, communitiesare being less well-informed, with

the administration being forced torun greater risks of misunderstand-ing and loss of community support.Inner-city PR problems have becomeparticularly baffling. Some districtshave created human relations de-partments for face-to-face work butit is doubtful that adequate staffingis possible, the report said.

The report was sharply critical ofuniversity training quality. "Manyuniversity professors are so far re-moved from the level of what isgoing on in actual practice that whatthey attempt to teach is of little-alue," the report said. "Also, many

of these professors are frustrated orunsuccessful administrators."

In addition to an overhaul of pre-service education, the report calledfor more emphasis upon quality in-service programs. State and nationalprofessional associations should stepup the glality of their publications,conferences, and conventions, saidthe report. The U.S. Office of Edu-cation should put some muscle be-hind inservice training, includingthe providing of funds, it said.

Superintendent M. B. Nelson,Bonham, Texas, queried 39 superin-tendents in four metropolitan areas,asking them to report how theyspent their time on majc r duties.Topping the list were functions in-volving financial administration, co-ordination, and carrying out variousPR and communication functionsareas in which they had receivedlittle or no training. He suggestedthat teaching experience is not thebest way to develop the kinds ofadministrative skills needed today.The superintendent must be flankedwith specialists in PR and otherareas if he is to perform success-fully, said Nelson, whose report ap-peared in the Texas School BoardJournal.

THE UNIVERSITY MIRAGE

The idea that the university is theplace to go to learn about schoolpublic relations and education re-porting is essentially a delusion.This is the gist of The Present State

of Neglect, a report on a nationalsurvey of graduate school programsin educational public informationmade by Lindley J. Stiles, North-western University professor of edu-cation, for Project Public Informa-tion, an Elementary and SecondaryEducation Act Title V program togtrengthen state department of edu-cation information programs.

Officials of 131 institutions pre-paring school superintendents wereasked by Stiles for information; 45did not even respond. Sixty univer-sities sa.6 they made some effort toacquaint their students with PR.With few exceptions, the picture wasone of a low level of interest andemphasis in PR.

"The inadequacy is reflected notonly in the small number of pro-grams offered but also in the desig-nation of instructional responsibilityfor those programs,' he reported."Almost without exception, it is edu-cators who teach educators aboutcommunication. Occasionally, com-municators teach communicatorsabout education. All too seldom dograduate students in one field learnabout the other field from experts."

Only 21 of the 60 institutions re-ported specific plans for expandingPR emphases. "Schools of educa-tion favor present practices of meet-ing needs in this area with units ingeneral courses in educational ad-ministration, taught by professors ofeducation," said Stiles. Only seveninstitutions said they prepared schoolPR personnel. Interest in providingsuch programs was low among jour-

nalism and education colleges.Campus indifference to the ap-

propriateness of program offeringshas a bizarre quality when con-trasted with Stiles's candid pointingup of the realities of education to-day. There is intense hunger foreducation information on all sides.Fast change, growth, and complex-ity of educational organization andmanagement have tended to restrictcommunication. Many school ad-ministrators are immobilized be-cause of their lack of understandingabout the role of information andPR. There is a critical shortage ofschool information person_id andfast-expanding demand.

The unreality of the universitystance becomes more appalling withthe awareness that those who trainschool administrators were fully ad-vised more than a decade ago aboutthe critical communication needs ofeducational leadership. The multi-miffion dollar Cooperative Programin Education Administration, fi-nanced over a five-year period bythe Kellogg Foundation, exhaus-tively studiee administrative behav-ior and the needG for preparationof administrative leadership. Eightregional study centers were oper-ated. Many persons closely associ-ated with the traiaing of administra-tors were involved. Out of theresearch projects and studies cameclear evidence that communicationskills and understanding how towork with groups and individuals,inside and outside the schools, werekeys to administrative success.

PROBLEMS SEEN BY THESCHOOL PR MAN

What are the public schools'most pressing problems? The

major problems of working withnews media? Major obstacles ingetting community involvement inschool programs?

Participants in the 1967 NationalSchool Public Relations AssociationSeminar had the opportunity to reg-ister their views about these ques-tions in an opinion poll conductedin advance of the Seminar by aleading PR firm, Harshe-Rotman &Druck, Inc. Kalman B. Druck, thefirm's president, and Sidney Kraus,vice-president for research and edu-cation relations, discussed the find-ings at a general session. Thosetaking part in the survey included126 of the 150 participants (71 PR

a directors, 16 other administrators, 6teachers, 33 others, mostly state as-sociation PR directors).

Top problems facing the schools,in order of response, were said bythe participants to be:

1. Increasing power and mili-tancy of teachers organizations.

2. Shortage of qualified teachers.3. Community tension caused by

the school integration and open oc-cupancy issues.

4. Low salary scale for educa-tors.

5. Inadequate school facilities(crowded classrooms, etc.).

6. Public fear that integratedschools will provide poorer qualityof education than segregated schoolsand also create serious social prob-lems.

7. Difficulty of urban schools inmaintaining education status of sub-urban and private schools.

8. Public uncertainty about thequality of public school instruction.

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9. Poor image of the teachingprofession.

10. Juvenile delinquency.11. Poor communication be-

tween school officials and commu-nity.

12. Lack of public interest in theschools.

Major obstacles to effective com-munity involvement in school pro-grams were regarded to be:

1. Public's lack of understandingof the techniques and goals of themodern school.

2. Apathy of news media towardschool events and achievements.

Considered to be no problem atall or only a slight problem in se-curing involvement were such factorsas attitudes of teachers and adminis-trators, lack of mutual respect be-tween parents and educators, diffi-culty in getting people from differentsocioeconomic groups to work to-gether, and inadequate schoo' fa-cilities.

Most important PR roles beingassumed by the participants, m their

opinion, were:1. Justify greater financial sup-

port for schools.2. Stimulate public interest in

the schools.3. Produce written materials for

dissemination to news media, gov-ernmental bodies, and local groups.

4. Produce other material fordissemination to news media andlocal groups.

5. Encourage news media to de-vote more time and space to schools.

Interestingly, participants saidthey had virtually no problems indealing with news media. They wereequally divided about whether lackof depth reporting was a problem.They were extremely confident abouttheir knowledge of news media op-erations and their close relationshipswith news media representatives.Reporters' lack of understanding ofeducational methods and goals wasregarded to be a minor problem.Keeping news media informed aboutlatest school developments was notviewed as a prcblem.

s

THE SCHOOL FINANCE STORY

Athough James B. Conant, in his

studies of U.S. education, has

never evidenced much sensitivityabout the role of effective commu-nication in obtaining quality pro-grams, he complains about the way

poor communication has affectedschool financing in his book, TheComprehensive High School, pub-lished by McGraw-Hill.

Conant said he believes one of

the main reasons for the "chaoticstate" of school financing is that no

one has ever given a clear pictureof the situation. "Judging from my

many talks to lay audiences in re-cent years and many conversationswith private citizens, I am sure not

many Americans realize the almostaccidental way in which public

schools are financed in most states,"

io he said. "A surprisingly small num-

ber of otherwise well-informed citi-

zens know that in some states the

local school districts receive overtwo thirds of the funds from thestate, while in other states the figure

may be as low as 6 percent."He could have added that most

school employees and school boardmembers also are in the dark. Fur-thermore, none but the most super-ficial steps have been taken by mostschool systems to enlighten them

about the dollar side of education.

One giant move in this direction

was taken by the Albuquerque, New

'Mexico, schools, which staged a one-

day inservice workshop for all school

employees on school finance. A staff

committee, named by Superinten-

dent Robert Chisholm, proposed the

project because existing internal

media needed reinforcement.In advance of the workshop, dis-

cussion and background materials

were prepared. Principals werebriefed at a special workshop a week

,

ahead of the all-employee meetings.Teachers association leaders alsowere briefed. The day-long work-shop was kicked off with a 30-minuteTV overview watched by employeesat meetings in individual schools.Discussions followed. Principalswere asked to relay to the centraladministration questions which couldnot be answered at the buildinglevel. It was planned that thesequestions would be answered duringa second TV program conducted inthe afternoon.

No one was prepared for the ava-lanche of almost 400 questions sentin by the principals. Some werehandled via the telecast. The re-mainder had to be answered viaother media. Staff and public reac-tion to the project was highly favor-able. One newspaper columnist,concerned that the affair might be"a lobbying school," learned other-wise and reported in detail about thecontent of the workshop.

Superintendent Homer 0. Else-road, Montgomery County, Mary-land, Schools, took special pains toreport to citizens a summary of pro-pcsed operating and capital budgets

"in the most intelligible manner wecan" in a special issue of the news-letter, Report to Parents. He usedsuch terms as "the cost of peo-ple," "the cost of furniture andequipment," etc.

School budgets arouse mixedemotions, said Elseroad, becausethere is a desire for both good edu-cation and prudence with tax funds."We are confident that this conflictwould be minimized if every citizenunderstood where his money is be-ing spent and for what," he said.He explained the budget adoptionprocedure and told readers wherethey could review complete budgetdocuments.

Superintencknt Stuart S. Phillips,Oakland, California, polled all schoolemployees to ask for views aboutwhich services cut back or droppedbecause of a financial retrenchmentshould be restored in case thereshould be a substantial increase instate school aid. There was a 62percent response. A general pay in-crease was regarded to be more"urgent" than restoration of classsize or any services or personnel.

Adapted from the annual W. Harold KingsleyMemorial Lecture by Claude W. Fawcett,professor of school personnel administration,University of California at Los Angeles.The Le;ture was presented at the 1967 NationalSchool Public Relations Association Seminar.

NEW FORCES SHAPINGPUBLIC EDUCATION

Anightmarish quality surroundsmuch of the conduct of pub-

lic education today. The situationis like a group of friends so pre-occupied with the exchange of chit-chat that they have paused in themiddle of a freeway oblivious tothe traffic hurtling toward them.

Almost no one seems to be fullyaware of the vast implications foreducation represented in the eco-nomic, social, and political forcesnow bearing down upon the publicschools at tremendous speed. Therehas been fragmented and speculativerecognition of some of these forces.Too little attention has been givento their combined impact. Certainlypart of the problem is that we ineducation have never before beenconfronted with a ';ke situation.

An important clue was offered byClark Kerr, former president of theUniversity of California, in the May15, 1967, issue of Look magazine,when he pointed out that we havemoved to a culture best describedas a "meritocracy." In a meritoc-

12 racy, position, prestige, and rewardsgo to those who can perform. Per-formance is dependent upon educa-

tion which now changes from a"servant of the public" to the "mas-ter of the public."

In fulfilling a role of master, manychanges in education from kinder-garten through the Ph.D. are takingplace. In our political tradition thepublic wants to participate, and isparticipating, in decisions concern-ing the many adaptations that arebeing made. The participation canbe orderly, providing dissent withincommon purpose. Or it can be dis-orderly through vigilante groups andrevolution.

Whether it is orderly or disorderlymay very well be determined by theextent to which we can redefine andreorient school-community relationsofficers and information programsto provide the kind of communi-cations essential to orderly gov-ernment and spontaneous, reasonedemployee response to educationalpolicies.

EDUCATIONALCOMMUNICATIONSPROBLEMS

The difficulty of securing orderlydissent within common purpose is

underlined in an examination ofsome of the pressing communica-tions problems that beset public edu-cation. Public schools are forced tocompete with other local, state, andnational governments for scarce taxdollars. Growing national demandsfor new educational accomplish-ments force constant reevaluationof educational goals and activities.Growing metropolitah school dis-tricts force development of moresophisticated communication sys-

tems. Urbanization has providedthe central city with new populationsmore difficult to educate.

National business activity has pro-vided a shifting, moving population.Greater mechanization has movedthe uneducated workman out of thelabor force. Political democracy hasprovided a climate for the growthof organizational democracy leading

to employee associations and collec-

tive negotiations.As each new cultural problem has

forced itself upon our attention,change has become imperative and

its obvious necessity has forced at-tention to the participation of thepublic in educational deliberadons.A brief examination of each prob-lem is instructive in assessing thedimensions of the educational com-munication problem.

COMPETITION FORTAX INCOME

New activities in government atall levels have forced t1%, public

schools into fierce competition for

the tax dollar. The schools are

forced to compete with needs forhighways, welfare, city government,national defense, and public works.

The need for a firehouse, a city park,

or a freeway is a visible, tangi-

h1 ;. entity; the long-range need for

a responsible citizen is much lessobvious.

The competition between the tan-gible and the intangible is difficult

enough even if we were not in aperiod of great tax difficulty. Ac-

cording to the U.S. Statistical Ab-

stract of 1966, in the 15 years be-tween 1950 and 1965 the grossnational product more than doubled

from $284.8 billion to $676.3 bil-

lion. Federal receipts in nationalincome accounts almost tripled from

$42 billion to $119.6 billion. Thefederal debt rose almost one fourthfrom $257.4 to $317.3 billion. State

and local government income morethan tripled from $23.1 to $77.1

billion. State and local governmentdehc more than quadrupled from$;24.1 to $99.5 billion. Congress is

faced with raising the federal debt

limit; the federal deficit for the fiscal

year 1967 is estimated to be $13.5billion.

The growing size of federal, state,

and local debt and taxation suggeststhat tax moneys are scarce indeed.

The tripling of state and local taxes

and the quadrupling of state andlocal borrowing, prime sources of

support for educational programs,suggest that they are particularly

scarce at the governmental level 13

most significant for education. Incompetition for scarce state and lo-

cal moneys in 1965, public schoolssecured a little less than a third ofall general expenditures, $22.4 of$75 billion. Federal expendituresfor education were only 1.6 percentof the total administrative budgetexpenditures of $96.5 billion.

If the public school share of fed-

eral, state, and local income is toincrease proportionately, it will bethe result of a communication pro-gram securing public conviction thatthe investment in a long-range., in-tangible, educational end is moreimportant than investment in a visi-ble, tangible object or service. The

development of such a communica-tion program is the responsibility ofthe school-community relations orinformation officer.

CHANGING EDUCATIONALGOALS

Another pressing public schoolcommunication problem is a prod-uct of the introduction of at leastthree new public purposes for edu-cation by the federal government,The National Defense EducationAct, the Elementary and SecondaryEducation Act, and the various eco-nomic opportunity acts have intro-duced new national educationalgoals for education. These are:(1) national defense, (2) economicgrowth, and (3) societal change.

The old persistent goals of appre-ciation of right and wrong, citizen-ship, and social mobility have guided

14 our curriculum planning, finance,and instructional activity so longthat the new programs have had

grave difficulty penetrating the op-erational processes of our publicschools.

The federal government's policyof providing funds for its new pur-poses only through categorical aids

has fostered the belief that these

new programs are impermanent andsomething ?Aided to an already ade-quate program of education.

The public approves of these newnational goals and expects they will

become integrated into the conductof public schools. The stage is setfor major controversy. The con-troversy will be stronger because

the new national goals are in thespirit of "meritocracy." They pro-vide specific ends that are to be

accomplished. Specific ends requirespecific planning.

In 1930 there were 69 millionpeople living in metropolitan areasand 54 million in rural communities.

In 1960 there were 125.2 millionin metropolitan areas and 54 mil-lion in rural communities. In thedecade between 1950 and 1960

white populations in central cities

increased from 42 to 47.6 million.Nonwhite populations increasedfrom 6.3 to 10.3 million. White pop-ulations in urban fringe areas almostdoubled from 19.8 to 36.1 million.Nonwhite populations in fringe

areas increased from 1 to 1.7 mil-lion. There are 25 cities of morethan 100,000 population in whichthe density of population is morethan 10,000 per square mile.

These conditions clearly makeimpossible any major reliance upon

face-to-face, informal communica-tions about education among peopleknown to each other.

Big size produces diversity ofpopulations and opinions concern-ing role and function of schools. Bigsize produces bureaucracy, whichforces urban populations to losetheir educational identity and senseof cooperative participation in publiceducation.

It is the function of the schoolinformation officer and program toprovide the conditions under which acominunity of undcrstanding amongdiverse opinion is so strong thatthlre is identification with schoolpurpose and an understanding of themanner in which orderly dissentwithin common purpose can lead toa balance of achievement.

Schools must indeed become goal-seeking, planned organizations. Se-quences of instruction will have tocover the entire 13 or more yearsof public instruction. Teachers willhave to develop specific skills, atti-tudes, and knowledge known to beessential for accomplishing plannedand specified changes in the be-havior of students. Program bud-geting will be needed to relate spe-cific costs to desired results. Thepublic school wik have to becomea rational organization.

The public will necessarily expectto develop confidence in its capa-bility to produce desired results.This task of developing public con-fidence is the responsibility of theschool information officer.

METROPOLITANIZATION OFEDUCATION

Increased size of school districtsproduces major problems of com-munications. The relatively ruralschool district with a stable popu-lation carried on its communicationthrough multiple, face-to-face dis-cussions by people relatively well-known to each other. This kind ofschool district is rare indeed thesedays. According to the U.S. Statisti-cal Abstract of 1966 eiere were127,422 school districts in theUnited States in 1932, and only34,768 in 1962. This decrease innumbers occurred while enrollmentswere growing from 26.3 to 44.5million students.

SHIFTING POPULATIONAchievement of a community of

understanding among diverie popu-lations becomes increasingly difficultin our population because of con-stant shifts in residence. The U.S.Statistical Abstract of 1966 showsthat more than one of five personsin the United States changed resi-dences from April 1, 1964, toMarch 31, 1965-37.9 of 188 mil-lion. Of these, 25.1 million changedresidences within the same county;6.6 million changed residences with-in the same state but to a differentcounty; and 6.1 million moved fromone state to another.

Each new resident moving into aschool district brings with him hisexperience from another schooldistrict. He tends to view the prob.lems of his new educational or-

ganization with the old prejudices,habitual reactions, and proceduresof cooperation gained within anotherorganization. If he is to become aneffective, cooperative, contributingmember of the new organization, hemust be provided an opportunityto carry on a full dialogue concern-ing purpose, procedures, and valueswithin the new school district.

Frequent moves are commonamong employees of national cor-porations. These individuals con-stitute a highly vocal, well-educatedgroup within eny school district.They constitute an unstable, buthighly effective leadership groupoften :gnored in school administra-tion. All movers are, however, im-portant to any school district. /t isthe responsibility of the school com-munity relations or information staffdirector to provide the conditionsunder which orientation to theschool district is quick, complete,and accurate. Each new residentshould be invited to partinirate inthe development of a corn:I-unityof interest to achieve educationaljustice.

MODIFICATIONS OFEDUCATIONAL GOALS

The more clearly defined educa-tional communications problemsmentioned are accompanied by dif-ferent communication problems thatare the result of slow and inexora-ble cultural changes. An example of

18 cultural change requiring increasedcor: -nunications is the disappear-ance of occupations calling for little

or no educational background. TheU.S. Statistical Abstract for 1966points out that the labor force in-creased from 59.6 to 72 million inthe period from 1950 to 1966. Dur-ing that period white collar occupa-tions increased from 22.4 to 33million.

Accompanying these changes inthe labor force was a phenomenalincrease in the number:, of collegeenrollments In 1950, 8.3 percentof 20-year-olds were in college; in1966 the proportion was 23.5 per-cent. In 1950, the proportion of18-year-olds in college was 21.2 per-cent; in 1966 the proportioli was50.6 percent.

This is a period of significantcultural change requiring constantreexamination of instructional goals.The public school system can sur-vive only to the extent it is sensitiveto changes which occur. The firstclassic responsibility in public re-lations is to find out what is to bedone. In a period of rapid changethe school information director isrequired to establish the communi-cation system sensitive enough todetect changes in purpose soonenough for the generation in schoolto respond while it is in school.

EMPLOYEECOMMUNICATIONS

If it is true that the first task incommunications is to find out whatis to be done, then the second isto get it done. The work of schools isdone by the people who teach andothers who are given assignments

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supplemental to their work. Thismeans that organizational commu-nications must provide the opportu-nity for complete dialogue so thecooperative effort of all employeesis possible. Since the information orschool community relations officeris deeply involved in the dialoguewith the public, he cannot fail to bethe center of the organizationalcommunication.

In this era of organizational com-munication, some special require-ments are present. These are de-

f.cribed },,, P;ofessor Joseph W.Garbarino of the University of Cali-fornia at Berkeley, as follows:

"Perhaps the most important char-acteristic of the 1980 industrial re-lations system is that group bargain-ing will be much more pervasivethan it now is. Administrative andmanagerial authority will be limitedin all types of organizations. The

'consent of the governed' principlewill be extended to employer-em-ployee relations and bargaining outof decisions will be generalized overmost of our organizations.

"Operation of this employee re-lations system will require a high

degree of administrative skill andthese skills will be in short supply.

Successful industrial democracy, like

successful political democracy, re-quires that both governed and gov-

ernors work at their job." 1

Garbarino's statement is correctlydescriptive of the organizational cli-

mate of our times. It applies equally

to educational and industrial em-ployees. Governmental employees,

however, have special problems inthis process, and they offer majorchallenges in communications. Don-ald Wollett, chairman of the Ameri-can Bar Association committee onlaws relating to government employ-ment, identifies the special problems

as follows:1. A governmental employee as-

sociation has grave difficulty in se-curing a firm commitment from apublic official who is bound by ac-tions of elected representatives who

may themselves be recalled or de-feated in the next election becauseof an unpopular decision.

2. Insistence by public employ-ees Ca benefits or changes in work-ing conditions when income may be

fixed by legal restrictions causesemployee associations to communi-

cate an apparent willingness to

place selfish considerations over

public good.3. The eventual resolution of the

apparent impasse caused by thesetwo conditions sums not to rest inlegal procedures, but in the accep-tance by employee associations ofthe responsibility to develop a com-plete communications system in

terms of the public interest as it issupported or defeated by currentpersonnel procedures.2

If the analyses of Garbarino and

Wollett are correct, it is possiblethat the school information officer

may soon be faced with a compet-ing public communication systemconducted by the employee associa-tion, and it will make every effort todemonstrate a zeal for the public

I

weal in excess of that demonstratedby elected and appointed officials ofthe school district.

In response, the school informa-tion officer will be required to in-stitute and maintain an organiza-tional communication system com-plete and free enough to encouragefull communication with each em-ployee, and a public informationprogram providing full communityparticipation in the activities of theschool district.

In responding to these challengesto school communication problems,the information director will needto assume a central administrativerole in the development of the lan-guage of organizational communi-cation, in developing an externalcommunications program, and indevelopirrg an internal communica-tions network.

THE LANGUAGE OFORGANIZATIONALCOMMUNICATION

An educational organization, likeany other organization, has a lan-guage which is peculiar to its ownobjectives and ways of doing things.If full participation in communica-tion is desired from employees andthe public, the details of the organi-zational language must be madeclear. These involve not only aclear presentation of the criteria bywhich decisions are made, the tasksaccepted by the organization, the

18 courses of action chosen to carryon its work, and the assignments toindividuals within the organization,

but also the standard practices bywhich each course of action is im-plemented, the cost of proceduresadopted, and progress achieved inreaching desired ends. If these or-ganizational dimensions are notclear to employees and the publicalike, communication about schoolproblems becomes an endless mo-rass of double-talk, frustrating allparticip ants.

The most common response ofschool districts today for the needof decision criteria is to write a"philosophy" which is neither a phi-losophy nor a guide to decision-mak-ing. More often than not it is aquotation lifted from the writing ofsome college professor, or a choicebit of prose from the publications ofanother school district. Always theeasiest things on which to securepublic agreement, the criteria shouldbe stated as guides to educationaldecisions. Following are some ex-amples of criteria:

1. Educational justice demandsthat each child in the school dis-trict receive educational opportunityto the maximum extent possiblefrom the support received.

2. Educational taxation will beimposed in the light of the totalimpact on the taxpayer of local,state, and national taxes.

3. The district will provide com-plete opportunity for communityand organizational democracy in theconduct of its governmental andorganizational affairs.

4. Precise educational tasks willbe accepted by the school district

and it will organize itself to accom-plish those tasks.

S. Progress reports wili faith-fully communicate not only to em-ployees but to the public the precise

progress made in performing thework it has agreed to do.

These and many others need tobe established by the consultativeprocedures at hand in both internal

and external communications pro-

grams. Whatever the processes ofconsultation, the end result should

be common agreement among em-

ployees and among the public thatthese represent the best ways of

making decisions 0 Jut the school

system.Organizational language requires

a knowledge of decisions that havebeen made. Tasks accepted by tile

district must be known. Courses of

action designed to do the work im-

plied by task acceptance must be

clear. These two items are oftenincluded in documents entitled pol-

icy manuals. The only difficultywith current policy manuals is thatthey are so filled with standard op-

erating procedures that the mostimportant items of task acceptanceand chosen courses of action arehidden among the verbiage.

The statement of tasks accepted

should be no vague generalization.Since they are the precise educa-

tional intent of the organization,they should be specific enough togive precise guidance to organiza-tional operation. If a district is go-ing to accept the task of teaching

complete reading skills to its ableststudents, for example, then it shouldspecify the 25 to 30 different pat-terns of skill it intends to develop

over the 13 years of its contact withthe student. It should also specifyits chosen course of action in de-veloping those skills. If it has chosen

to require the teaching of readingin each different kind of classroom

over 13 years of school experience,then this should be stated.

Policy in this sense is no state-ment of an intention to do good;it is a statement of intent to performand the manner in which the in-

tent is to be built into the operationalsequences of the organization.

Both the employee and the public

in school government need to knowhow the courses of action are to beimplemented by standard proce-

dures. We have commonly provided

employees and the public with

standard practices in connectionwith business affairs, employee bene-

fits, supplies, and purchasing. They

have not normally been available in

the instructional realm because ofsome vague concept of academicfreedom. Now we need to developstandard procedures not only in theinstructional realm but also in the

administrative arena. These shouldbe flexible to encourage creativityon the part of the staff, but com-plete enough to give the public ndthe employees confidence in theability of the organization to reachdesired ends.

Good internal communicationsmakes it necessary not only that

I

each employee in the organizationknows precisely what the institu-tion is trying to accomplish, but hisprecise contribution to the co-operative effort, and the precisecontributions of others. Only acomplete understanding of this willprovide the framework for buildinghis confidence in his own work andin the work of others. The publicneeds to know this information tobe reassured that the district has achance to accomplish its stated ends.

Most often ignored in this com-munication process is the responsi-bility assigned to administrators andthe nonteaching staff. This over-sight has given rise to many attacksupon administrators and some de-

plor able personnel managementamong nonteaching employees. Theend of communication in assign-meuts is clear; the manner in whichit is to be done is not. Assignmentstc different divisions of the organi-zation is a start. Assignments todifferent kinds of workmen is help-ful. Complete inCormation aboutassignments to individuals in a divi-sion made available to every otherperson in the division is possible.We need to be creative in experi-menting with ways to accomplishour ends of securing confidence inthe working capability of a staff ofan educational organization.

The language of organizationalcommunication requires precise, pe-riodic reporting concerning successes

20 in reaching stated ends. Our prac-tice in the past has been to reportmedian scores on achievement tests

or the number of outstanding stu-dents attending prestigious collegiateinstitutions, or to deplore the num-ber of dropouts. We need to reportperformance in terms of specificends sought. An example of our fail-ure in this respect is found in the saleof 1.5 million copies of Why JohnnyCan't Read. We had been reportingfor years our steady progiess in de-veloping the teaching of reading todifferent kinds of students. Wefailed to note to the public that ourprogress in teaching of reading wasproceeding in an arithmetical pro-gression; the ability of the societyto consume people with reading skillwas ptogressing in a geometricalratio. Finally, the disparity betweenour accomplishment and the de-mand of the society provide',:i aready market for the book and anational educational crisis. Out ofthe crisis came money for researchwhich could have been availableyears before if we had been com-pletely candid about the problem.

We may very well be in the sameuntenable position in connectionwith citizenship, economic partici-pation, and acceptance of social re-sponsibility if we don't soon learnto report successes and failuresfaithfully.

We aiso must learn to conrectcost with stated intent. The toolsfor this kind of reporting are nowavailable in the form of programmedbudgeting. The techniques are avail-able. Our problem is necessarilyprecise statements of tasks accepted.Until this is done, alternate costs of

different courses of action cannotbe estimated. Alternate costs of dif-ferent procedures cannot be calcu-lated. Alternate economic costs ofdifferent goals cannot be made clear.We can no longer present budgetreports for decision that are statedin comparative terms of expendi-tures of other years, or other dis-tricts, or other governments. Wemust provide the precise cost in-formation so that decisions can bemade in terms of choices of ends tobe achieved.

The school information officer

occupies a strange role in relationto the language of the organization.He is at the same time the con-servator of the language because heis responsible for the documents inwhich decisions are recorded andmade avpilable to the employeesand the public; and he is the con-science of the process in ttat hemust provide leadership to the en-tire organization in causing the de-cisions to be made that provide thelanguage for communication. As aconscience, he occupies a strategiccentral administrative role in theorganization.

EXTERNAL Cl#,,IMUNICATION

The administrative role of the in-formation directot is well known inpreparing publications, in maintain-ing working relations with represen-tatives of mass media, in conductingcommunity opinion surveys, in de-veloping community educationalleadership through advisory com-

mittees, in conducting bond and op-erating tax campaigns, and in super-vising the staff in his own office.Not SO well known and recognizedare his administrative responsibili-ties in providing leadership to theentire staff and community in publicrelations.

The leadership role requires himto plan for and secure the accep-tance of the task of achieving demo-cratic public participation in schooldecisions. In doing so he will needto secure acceptance oi the goalsof the communication program; de-fine the responsibilities of each per-son in the organization and in thecommunity in the process; evaluate,encourage, and develop capacitiesfor participation; constantly remindall parties of the decisions that needto be made; evaluate and innovatein tile program to keep it operatingas designed; maintain records essen-tial for making experience effectivein redirecting the program; coordi-nate the school communicationsprogram with other community pro-grams also dealing with educational.problems; maintain complete infor-mation about the program amongparticipants in it; develop personalsatisfaction about communicationactivities by those who participatein them; and maintain a coordinatedwork schedule for participants sothat no aspect of the communica-tion is over- or under-emphasized.These are central administrative re-sponsibilities once handled by su-perintendents of schools exclusively.Now, even though communication is

22

always a central part of the trainingof superintendents, chief administra-tors seldom are able to find theworking time for this process.

INTERNAL COMMUNICATION

As the administrator in charge ofpublications, the school informationdirector is immediately involved ininternal communications. As thespecialist in communications, he isrequired to perform the same plan-ning, evaluating, training, and co-ordinating functions with internalcommunication that he performs inthe external communications pro-gram. In performing these activitiesin internal communications, he will,however, encounter some unusualproblems.

Unique among these is the neces-sity that he participate in the estab-lishment of a rationale for admin-istration that involves mutual respectand confidence. This means selec-tion by management of personnel to"fit" the working group of the or-ganization. It means the organiza-tional adoption of a personnel sys-tem that provides ample opportunityfor employee self-direction in mas-tering more difficult skills, rarer at-titudes, and more complete use ofknowledge. It means the develop-ment of collegiality among admin-istrators and employees based onmutual confidence in accomplish-ment in the organization. It meansorganizational design of work as-signments related to capabilities andchanges of assignment as capabilitieschange. It means organizational

justice in compensation.If these conditions do not exist,

the administrator becomes a poorchannel for internal communication.These characteristics of administra-tion mean the adoption of a style ofmanagement not too common inpublic schools.

Other unique problems consist ofopening up alternate feedback chan-nels for employee communicationthrough suggestion systems, griev-ance procedures, improvement ofgroup meetings so communicationtakes place, committee procedures,communicative evaluation inter-views, and employee opinion polls.

The most difficult administrativeproblem for the school informationofficer is work with the employeeassociation. In addition to keepingassociation officials informed, help-ing them with association publica-tions, and securing formal feedbackfrom them periodically, the infor-mation officer must participate in-tensively in the collective bargainingprocess.

The significance of collective bar-gaining is less the threat of sanctionsor strike than it is the intensivecommunication of the employee as-sociation with the public. Sinceeach employee association, likeevery other organization, has its owncommunication rationale, intensivecommunication tends to put the em-ployee association's meanf...; on allquestions under discussion. In theschool district interest, it is impera-tive that the information director,being in charge of school district

communications, be directly involved

in all collective bargaining proce-dures so that the district can presentforcefully and timely its way of look-

ing at the problems under discussion.

SIGNIFICANCE

The significance of this new role

to education can hardly be under-

estimated. Local government of

schools is at stake. The schoolboard started out as a committee of

the town meeting. It has alwaysdepended upon a complete commu-nication system for its very exis-

tence. Now that informal communi-cation is impossible in large districts,

their very existence may depend

upon the skill with which a moreformal and complete communica-

tion system is developed.Not much time is available be-

cause we are in a period of historyin which we are seriously evaluating

the relative responsibilities of fed-eral, state, and local governments in

education. The one man one vote

reapportionment has given ready ac-

cess to state legislators. In urbancommunities the state or federal

legislator is often more accessible

than the local school board member.

In Los Angeles, for example, there

are now seven city school boardmembers, 17 state assemblymen,

and 151/2 state senators. There also

are more congressmen than school

board members in the Los Angeles

City School District. If we are pru-dent and swift, we may give the local

school district a fighting chance for

survival.Garbarino was right in declaring

that this is the era of organizationaldemocracy. We are going to have

employee associationsstrong em-ployee associations. We are going to

enter into collective bargaining with

them concerning wages, working

conditions, and benefits. Discussions

between educational governmemsand employee associations will either

be constructive dissent within com-

mon purposes, or they will be vigor-

ous controversy under divergent

purposes. If they are to be the for-

mer, it will be because we have been

able to develop an internal com-

munications system adequate to theenlistment of the hopes and desires

of individual employees in the goal-

seeking activities of the district.

We stand at a decision point con-

cerning the future. The leadership

role in communications, unless it is

exercised promptly, skillfully, and

vigorously in school districts all

across the nation, may someday be

regarded by historians to be the dif-

ference between what public educa-tion was and what it might have

been.1 Garbarino, Joseph W. "The Indus-

trial Relations System." ProspectiveChanges in Society by 1980. (Edited byEdgar L. Morphet and Charles 0. Ryan.)Denver, Colo.: Project Office, 1362 Lin-coln St., 1966. Chapter 9, pp. 153-72.

2 Wollett, Donald W. "The Public Em-ployee at the Bargaining Table; Promiseor Illusion?" Journal of the College andUniversity Personnel Association 17:

20-27, February 1966.

BEHIND THE DECISIONS

you've seen the typesthe guywho grabs the new idea and

runs, the fellow who insists on arespected person's approval before

acting, and the one who swears he'll

never change, no matter what. These

kinds of individuals and others were

the subject of a fascinating presenta-tion at the 1967 National School

Public Relations Association Semi-

nar by two Iowa State Universitysociologists, George M. Beal and

Joe M. Bohlen. They discussed ma-

jor research findings about how de-

cisions are made to adopt agricul-

tural innovations. Although this

type of decision, they said, was usu-

ally made on an individual basis and

much easier to diagnose than "social

system decision-making" as in .thecase of a bond issue vote or insti-

tutional innovation, there appeared

to be interesting parallels.

Six major "adoption groups" have

been identified. For example, saidBeal and Bohlen, there is one small

group of "innovators" (who makeup only 21/2 percent of the farmspectrum) which makes the earliest

decision to try a new agricultural

product or procedure. They hove a

24 high degree of awareness; they de-

pend upon universities, agricultural

agencies, and other far-flung sources

of information. They make deci-sions to try without any local con-

sultation; they are unconcernedabout what neighbors might think

of their decisions."Early adopters," constituting

about 131/2 percent of the total, re-ported the researchers, have theirown characteristics. They tend tobe younger than average, better ed-ucated, heavy subscribers to maga-

zines and government bulletins, and

are likely to be neighborhood orformal leaders like church trustees,

school board members, etc. Unlike

other groups, the "innovators" and

"early adopters" both appear tohave a high degree of ability to deal

with abstractions. Said Bohlen:"They are able to look at the world

through different windows fromthose who cannot relate on the basis

of word symbols alone and musthave sensory experience."

Other groups, the "early major-

ity" (171/2 percent) and "majority"

(51 percent) are much less secure

in their decision-making. They look

to opinion leaders and for consider-

ably more assurance about what the

innovation can do to provide per-

sonal benefits and how it functions.

The "laggards" and "nonadopters"completed the groups identified.

i

1

1

PLAYING WITHPOVERTY DYNAMITE

When educators and schoolboards try to improve edu-

cation in poverty areas withouttaking heed of the tremendouscommunication requirements in-volved, they actually may be stimu-lating community tensions and fi us-trations. This is the warning ':on-tained in a survey report presentedto the California State Board ofEducation.

In a sense it was a "front line"warning, because the conclusion wasbased upon the views of 250 teach-ers, teacher aides, and administra-tors who work in poverty neighbor-hoods in 14 California cities. Thestudy, known as Project SEAR (aSystematic Effort to Analyze Re-sults), was carried out jointly bythe office of Wilson C. Riles, direc-tor of compensatory education forthe California Department of Edu-

cation, and the Lockheed Missiles& Space Company. The companydonated its part of the study andemployed an aerospace type of sys-tems analysis in getting the infor-mation. The objective was to ex-plore the impact of compensatoryeducation projects in key locationsand to secure extensive informationfeedback from those involved in theprojects.

Although schools offer a promis-ing vehicle for the improvement ofneighborhood stability and havethe potential for exerting a muchstronger force, present efforts canhave a backlash effect unless farmore atte,.tion is given to effectivecommunication and school-commu-nity relations, SEAR concluded.

At the top of the list of essentialsnow required to put schools on thepositive side, according to those sur-

veyed, is a two-phase operationaimed at raising the competence andpublic relations levels of staff per-sonnel and moving forward on abroad school-community program ofimproved communications.

"The overriding indicator was thecry for increased, more effectivecommunication between school andcommunity," said SEAR. "The lackof visibility into the school programand accompanying gap in under-standing the needs of the communityis so great that it is difficult toassess the damage caused by it orthe requilements for correcting thesituation."

First, much more attention needsto be given to teachers working in

poverty areas. Often they are in-experienced. They are uninformedand poorly prepared to handle par-ent and community relations respon-sibilities. Upgraded internal com-murications and inservice work toimprove staff sensitivity and skillswere seen as vital. "Beim therecan be effective communicationsthere must be the ability to commu-nicatethe ability to understandthe feelings and problems of neigh-borhood residents and to relate theseelements to school activities," saidthe SEAR report.

Re

A key to far stronger school-community ties was offered in thereport's recommendation that theschool broaden its role. "The schoolcan be a liaisona catalysttoidentify and communicate the needsof the poverty neighborhood to thecommunity at large," the report said."As environmental conditions andproblems of the neighborhood affectthe school's ability to carry out itseducational functions, so the schoolmust work with other agencies in acoordinated effort to correct the fac-tors that impede learning. Theschool, because of its continuingcontact with neighborhood youth, isviewed as a central location whereAesidents can seek assistance in find-ing solutions to their problems."

Strong endorsement was given toPR strategies which result in the in-volvement of parents and nonpar-ents in projects aimed at neighbor-hood improvement as well as theeducation of children. Increasedparent participation in schools andhome visits by teachers and teacheraides have already helped breakdown many school-home barriers,SEAR was advised. But genuineachievement may hinge uponwhether the schools will assume therole of focal point for improvementin impacted urban areas.

Adapted from an address by James Farmer,professor of social welfare, Lincoln University.The address was presented in Washington, D. C.,

at a special seminar exploring "The Role of School-Community Relations in Improving the Education ofthe Disadvantaged." The Seminar was sponsored bythe National School Public Relations Association.

YOUR IMAGE IS SHOWING

I n order to understand the pub-lic relations dilemma which in-

stitutions in our society face today,including the schools, we have tounderstand something about the

ferment that is taking place in theghetto. We have to understandhow people who live in ghetto

communities see the schools, how

they perceive of their schools in theircommunity and elsewhere in the

city. We have to understand how

they see themselves, what kind of de-

bates and dialogues are taking place.

Today there is a great debatetaking place within the ghetto com-munitythe deprived people's com-munity, especially the minority de-

prived. The issues that are being

debated today within the ghetto

community, and which will deter-mine the direction which the move-ment will take in the future, arebeing debated among students intheir classesthose classes where

they can speak freelyat LincolnUniversity and, I am sure, at How-ard University. The issues are also

being debated on the street corners,in the pool halls, and in the ginjoints of the ghetto community.

The question of the debate in theghetto community is: What does itmean to be black and American?That may sound like a meaninglessquestion, but I think the answer tothat question is what the ghettocommunity is searching for. Andthe answer will determine the atti-tude of the minority poor toward allof their environment.

The Negro, of course, is an Amer-ican, in spite of the fact that thereare some in the ghetto communitywho insist he is not. Those whohold this view are not isolated; theyrepresent other groups of personswho think similarly. The late Mal-colm X, for instance, insisted theblack man is not an American andshouldn't call hims;If that. In adebate once, with a Negro opponent,Malcolm said, "Why do you callyourself an American?" The an-swer was, "Because I was born in

this country." Malcolm grinned andasked, "If a cat has kittens in theoven, does that make them biscuits?"

Obviously the fact that the Negrowas born in this country is not the

only thing which makes him anAmerican. The fact is that his sub-culture which has developedandin many cases he has not even beenaware of ithas been his indige-nously, and it has grown out of hisexperiences in this country. That

28 indeed, has made him an American.In additiol, _o being an American,

he is also Negro. And that sets him

apart. The debate that is takingplace is running along then lines:What does integration mean? In myview, integration of schools is stillvalid, although there are many whodo not share that view. A greateremphasis within the ghetto commu-nity now is on getting the highestquality schools for their children.This is part and parcel of the bur-geoning attempt within the ghettocommunity of people to find anidentity, to find out who they are,and to answer that question: "Whatdoes it mean to be black andAmerican?"

Things today are changing so fastthat what seems meaningful andrelevant this week, one month latermay, as a tactic, have to be changedin order to meet the rapidly chang-ing thinking, desires, aspirations,and developments within the minor-ity communities. Now there aresome who sayand I see this as aswing of the pendulum followingthat first swing of the pendulumafter the Supreme Court decision of1954, "We don't want integration;what we want is separation. Give

us our own schools." I see thisswing of the pendulum at least asunrealistic as the first swing.

integration is valid, and we mustachieve as much of it as we can.In some cities, such as Washing-ton, D. C., where minorities makeup 90 percent of the school popu-lation, complete desegregation of theschools is impossible; there are notenough whites to integrate withinthe school system itself. But we

must continue trying to achieve asmuch of it as we can. At the sametime, the emphasis today, , in order tobe relevant, should be upon thehighest possible quality of ducationin schools in the minority commu-nities. I think that the highest pos-sible quality education in thoseschools involves participation of thecommunityfull participation.

I believe that the minority poor,Negroes specifically, will not be-come active or involved in theschools until they see the schoolsbecoming involved in the commu-nity, facing the problems of thecommunity, and endeavoring to dealwith, to cope with, and to solve

some of the community problems

Up until quite recently, there was

almost total apathy about the schools

among the black poor in the cities.There was apathy and a great deal

of fear. The fear was based uponthe assumption that the schools were

part of the "establishment" and apart of the "officialdom." Many

people who have migrated to North-

ern cities from towns, rural areas,or cities in the South have seen offi-cialdom as a terrifying or frightening

thing because officialdom has oftenbeen used as a vehicle for furtherexploitation and to preserve the

status quo which has been antago-nistic and hostile to them. So, many

persons have in the past, fewer to-day but still a significant number,

considered tht schools to be partof an officialdom and that official-

dom to be frightening. They haveexperienced the terror of filling out

forms, the terror of visitation in thehome by someone who representsofficialdom. Often they didn't know

what the form meant, and the words

that were uttered sounded terrifyingbecause the person who came to visitrepresented that awful power thatresides downtown in city hallthatofficialdom.

We are passing over that now,and I think one thing that has helped

us to pass through it and over it isthe anti-poverty program with itsemphasis on maximum feasible par-ticipation of the poor. We find nowthat many of the poor, black poorespecially, are bursting with exis-

tence, a kind of existential feeling.

They are discovering that they do

exist, and they are demanding to be

heard. Those who have been silentin the past are no longer silent.Those who have been invisible nowdemand to be seen. The roads andstreets have skirted and bypassedtheir communities. In New York,they have gone under it. In Chi-cago, they have gone over it. So

the people remained invisible, sweptunder the rug.

Now they have crawled out. They

are showing themselves and atespeaking upand their voices aresometimes raucous, sometimes in-

consistent, often shrill. But it is thevoice we will be hearing more and

more. It's a voice that we mustlearn how to listen to and how tounderstand what that voice is saying.In other words, there needs to be

much more dialogue between theschools and the minority commu-

Inity. That dialogue is especially

difficult to achieve because the mi-

nority poor communities still con-sider the schools to be hostile and

to be adversaries, rather than to be

helpers. The tendency, especially

for the advanced young thinkers inthe ghetto community, is to see their

plight and the plight of their com-munity as being in many ways iden-

tical to the plight of underdevelopednations of the worldindeed, co-lonial nations of the world. Onehears this analogy almost every day

among students and among people

in the ghetto communities. They

see all outside forcescity hall,boards of educationas being a partof the imperializing force, the colo-nial power. That is the way the

board of education is often viewed;

that is the imagc it has.The ghetto community also sees

paternalism. Often wh it is seen isvalid; sometimes it is assumed to

be there when it is not. But thereis some paternalism, and there is astrong and growing feeling that pa-ternalism is, by definition, a hand-

maiden of the status quo. The point

is that the people who live in the

ghetto community think that they

see paternalism; consequently it is

something that has to be dealt with.

If there is anything that poor peoplewho have been stepped on develop,

it is highly sensitive antennas,

sometimes overly sensitive anten-

nas. Sometimes the antennas pick

30 up waves that are not there; but if

the waves are there, they will bepicked up, and they will be seen as

a kind of paternalism.There must be, therefore, some

real efforts at greater communica-tion between the schools and thelittle people in the community. Onething that could help would be tohave a town meeting in the ghettocommunity where the board of edu-

cation would go itself. Why should

the board always meet downtown?

The very fact that it is downtown

ties it in with that establishmentwhich, for the ghetto people in theirpresent mood, is a hostile adversary.

Let it come to the community andmeet in a town meeting, preferably

not in the school building becausethat again will tie it up with the

hostile establishment. Meet at theYMCA or at some of the halls where

people gather. Invite the commu-nity. I think the people will come

out if they know they are going tobe able to speak their piece.

Before the board and the officials

go to the ghetto community, how-

ever, they should understand that

it may be an extremely difficultmeeting. Once again, it will be rau-

cous. The poor people in the ghetto,

the grass roots as the antipovertymovement refers to them, do nothave the middle-class virtu of po-liteness. They will not become po-

lite, they will make no effort to be

polite. They will speak bluntly and

often angrily. There will be accusa-

tions, and there will be charges andcountercharges. Face it. Let them

talk and raise their gripes and know

that "downtown" came here "to talk

to us and hear what we have to say,

',

so that we don't have to go on justtalking to ourselves." I think todaywe have no choice but to confrontthis kind of situation in order to getdialogue in an age of polarization.

There are many other things thatneed to be done to change the image

the schools have in the minoritycommunity. The minority families,

the mothers especially, are now be-

coming greatly concerned about the

education of their children. Yearsago, that was not true, but now itis a fighting issue. The minorityfamilies see that things are not go-ing to change unless their kids canget a better start in life, and can geta better education. They sense andbelieve that our schools today arenot teaching the minority pupils

well. I say this categorically, real-

izing that no generalization is com-

pletely true. But the fact is thatfar too many youngsters are coming

out of the ghetto schools unable toread or to compute. When they

graduate, they are reading at the

third- and fourth-grade levels in

many of our large cities. The kidsget a diploma and say, "Now I'vegot it made; I've got my education."Then they find they Pre unemployed

and unemployable, because they

don't have the skills required.Why is this happening? Not all

the fault lies with the schools, of

course. It's due also to the fami-lies, to the neighborhoods, to every-

thing else. But it's been due in part,I think, to the fact that many parentsand children do not feel that thematerials used in school are relevant

to them and their lives. The accu-sation is not new: school books with.pictures of little bungalows withpicket fences around them and apatch of grass in the yard. That'sa housethe kind of house ghettokids have never seen before. Thusthey cannot relate to it. Also in thebooks the faces are all white, and

it's difficult for the black kids torelate to that.

Perhpps even more important is

the lack of enough ethnic informa-

tion in the textbooksNegro his-

tory, history of Puerto Rican people,Mexican-Americans, and AmericanIndians. Either there is a lack ofthis information in most of the ma-terials or a distortion of the history.

This is not only true of public

schools, it's true of colleges.Perhaps using teacher aides from

the ghetto community itself can take

some of the nonteaching duties offthe teachers. Teachers can concen-trate upon doing an even better job

of teaching. Furthermore, those

kids can relate to those indigenous

folks from their own community

who can talk their languageand it'salmost a different language some-times, bilingual. I look with interest

to the fact that Howard Universityis teaching many of its students to

be bilingual: to learn the ghettolanguage, without which one cannotcommunicate, and then to learn the

very different downtown language.It is important to become or to bebilingual in order to have the closest

kind of communication.Now after saying all this, I do

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not attack the schools because ofthe failures I speak of. They arefailures of all of us. They are thefailures of our society, failures ofthose of us in the civil rights move-ment. They are the failures of all

of us not to move rapidly enoughand to understand that for peoplein the minority poor, ghetto com-munity we cannot use the sametechaiques and methods that wehave used among middle-class whitechildren. Nor is it relevant todayto seek to make those children whitemiddle-class children. They will i ft-sist it. We must, instead, help themto encourage their own subculture,their language, their art, their dance,their music, their history. But hav-ing done this, it is not enough.

The function of the school is far

greater than any of these individualthings, however. The black man isnot only black, he's also American.And he's also human. What isneeded is for some major institu-tion, after becoming involved in theaffairs of the community and aftergetting the community involved inits affairs, to serve as a link in thegeneral sense of the total commu-nity. Otherwise, blackness mightbecome an isolated factand thatis destructive. The white man andthe biack are both Americans. To-gether they must explore the mean-ing of that fact, and having foundthe ways to communicate, they mustexplore such meaning. Then per-haps they can explore deeper mean-ings and help the world. That is themeaning of being human.

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CHANGING TIMES FORSTAFF COMMUNICATION

Internal communk:ations programsin school systems which seem to

be inadequate may reveal outdatedadministrative thinking, according toClaude W. Fawcett, professor ofschool peisonnel administration,University of California at Los An-geles, who spoke at a Seminar onInternal Communications held bythe National School Public Rela-tions Association at its Center forCommunkation Studies at Santa

Barbara, California.Up sharply from just a few years

ago is the education level of teach-ers, Fawcett told participants. "Theidea of a school staff composed ofcollege graduate teachers is a rela-tively new thing," he said, and this

1neans new styks of administrationand requirements for internal com-

munication. It is natural and in-evitable that today's teachers wantto offer ideas about the operationof the schools in which they areemployed. "They will be heard. If

choked off, they will go elsewhere

to talk," Fawcett warned. Becauseschool systems are lie "original de-

centralized organization," he said,

"effective internal coinmunicatioubears a vital relationship to qualityperformance. Teaching is a lonelytask. Of necessity, we must rely

upon seli-motivation and must offerreassurance that things done wellare worth repeating."

How do you know if you have

internal communications troubles?Richard W. Maxfield, director of

classified personnel, Los AngelesCity Schools, pointed to these signs:(1) instructions don't seem to getfollowed, (2) there is little evidencethat instructions are read, (3) lack

of respect for management, (4) nu-merous work postponements an:i in-

terruptions because of misunder-standings, and (5) ar excessive

number of questions are being asked.Like the i..aching staff, the non-

teaching employees also respond torecognition and good communica-tion. "See that employees getstraight answers to the questionsthey bring to their supervisors,"Maxfield said. "If this is 1-tot done,you can be sure employees will gosomewhere to get them answered."

Don't make easy assumptionsabout what will happen to your com-munications. He said notices about

Los Angeles classified job openings

f .equently never reached classified

mployees via the school mail be-

cause it was assumed that secre-taries would know proper routing.This problem disappeared after

33

notes were written to building secre-taries asking for help in getting simi-lar communications delivered to theproper persons. Help of the secre-taries association also was enlisted.

THE SEARCHERS

Although the role of effective in-ternal communication in institutionalsuccess has rarely been carefullyidentified or understood, some lead-ers are very alert to this factor andbusily seek ways to solve commu-nication problems.

"Even in a relatively small dis-trict of some 120 employees, I foundit was difficult to communicatewith all personnel concerning schoolboard actions and decisions," re-ported Superintendent Kenton E.Stephens, Riverside, Illinois. Boardmeeting minutes were sent to eachbuilding, but this was not effective.Solution: a two-page summary of

actions sent next day to every

employee.At Salem, Oregon, where less

than half the staff has been with thesystem as long as five years, a spe-cial committee has been set up tofind better ways of internal com-munication. "Perhaps some of us'old-timers' too often assume, be-cause periodic explanations of theresponsibilities of central office staffmembers are made, or district poli-cies are discussed, that everyone is

34 'tuned in,' " observed Superinten-dent Charles Schmidt. "We are find-ing that this is not the case."

Superintendent Robert L. Chis-holm, Albuquerque, New Mexico,told administrators recently thatstaff and community communica-tions have become increasinglyimportant. "Principals especiallyshould be responsive to persons inthe community if they hope to re-ceive the cooperation necessary toimprove the schools," he said."Principals should ask themselves,'How do I hear my community?' "

So important is good school-community relations to successfulinnovating that the Suffolk County,New York, Educational Center forSupplementary Services has estab-lished an inservice course of 14 two-hour sessions for teaching personnel.The assistant to the superintendentof Hauppauge, New York, schoolsis the instructor.

More than 500 teachers and otherLos Angeles schools employees haveenrolled in an experimental inservicecourse in Spanish designed specifi-cally to help improve communica-tions between schools and parentswith little or no knowledge of

rmglish.A free "Dial for Education In-

formation" service permits any Illi-nois teacher to direct dial a numberat Hinsdale, Illinois, and get ataped phone report on some aspectof innovative educational practices.Material is developed by the IllinoisState Department of Public Instruc-tion and recorded by a well-knownradio-TV announcer. Illinois BellTelephone Company cooperated indevelopment of the service.

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Adapted from an address by Carroll B. Hanson,director of the publications and informationdepartment, Seattle, Washington, Public Schools.The address was presented at a conference ofscnool administrators in Portland, Oregon,sponsored by the Oregon State Department ofEducation in cooperation with the OregonAssociation of School Administrators.

THUS SPAKE DOSTOEVSKII

Itis important to define the rela-tionship of the public relations

director to the superintendeat. Un-der the systems approach to admin-istration, the public relations directoris only one member of the superin-tendent's team. The public relationsdirector should, as he does in mostdistricts, report directly to the super-intendent, and he should, like otherteam members, contribute whateverspecial skill he has to the solutionof the many prob/c ns which beset asuperintendent today.

The public relations director isnot a policy makeralthough hemay make policy suggestions fromtime to time. He is not the captainof the ship. He is, by comparison,somewhat like the navigator. Inother words, he does not determinethe cargo, the ports of call, or thepayroll of the crew. But he watchesthe winds, the tides, and the stars.He raises questions. He plans. Hewaits. Finally, he recommends tothe superintendent how and whenthe case for the school board andthe superintendent should be pre-

sented to the public and the schooldistrict employees.

There is not complete agreement,by any means, on the role of theschool public relations practitioner.The National School Public Rela-tions Association (NSPRA) is wellaware of this. A committee onstandards was appointed to studythis and to bring recommendationsto the 1968 NSPRA Seminar in SanFrancisco.

What does the public relationsman think about? He thinks aboutquestions which are likely to vexthe superintendent and the schoolboard. Here is a sample list:

CHANGES IN CURRICULUMAND TEACHING METHODS

When we look toward tomorrow,with its social problems, politicaldemands, and worldwide businessopportunities, it is clear that to-morrow's citizen will have to bebetter equipped than we are in for-eign languages and in the basic abil-ity to seek out, analyze, and solvecomplex problems. University stu-

dents have already pushed into to-morrow's world, with consequentupheavals on many campuses overacademic, moral, and social issues.High school students will not befar behind.

In telling the story of curriculumand instructional needs, public re-lations programs will have to bemore sophisticated than in the past.Curriculum changes are difficult todramatize because their effect, likegood teaching, is almost impercepti-ble except over a very long periodof time. There is no explosion.Rather there is slow growth, like theacorn becoming an oak.

In Seattle, right now and for somemonths, we have been thinkingabout ways of explaining the con-tinuous progress concept and an ex-perimental learning center.

SCHOOL BUILDINGS

The changing curriculum andteaching methods will force radicalchanges in buildings and raise ques-tions.

For example:"Why not multistoried instead of

single?""Why is so much land needed?""Why carpeting?""Why swimming pools?""Why computers?""Why flexible space?""What is a learning center?"These and many other questions

38 must be answered over and overagain through the public relationsprogram.

TEACHER NEGOTIATIONS

A new kind of teaching corps willbe needed to, handle the new cur-riculum. The nom teachers will beprofessional in every respect.

Tomorrow's teachers will operatein a greatly expanded hierarchy andsalaries will be somewhat greaterthan they now are for the top teach-ers. It will not be necessary for ateacher to become an administratormerely to get a decent salary.

Negotiati-ons will accelerate de-cision-making in education, with theschool board members and the su-perintendent on one side of the tableand the profession on the other.

The public must be constantlyreassured that, despite negotiations,the school board is not abdicatingfinal authority for policy makingvested in it by voters and the state.

DE FACTO SEGREGATION

This is a cancer in our land. Itmust be removed or it will destroydemocracy and turn America intoa police state. How to reduce segre-gation and start integration is one ofthe most crucial questions of the day.Its solution will require the closestcollaboration between school boardand other governmental bodies. Thepublic relations office can assist byissuing teacher inservice informa-tion; by pointing out that the whitepopulation has as great a stake inthe solution of the problem as doesthe Negro; by highlighting theachievements cf Negro teachers andstudents; by invol ving Negro citizens

in school affairs; by backing up avoluntary transfer program; by keep-ing communication channels openbetween the white and the Negrocommunity.

THE EDUCATION-INDUSTRIALCOMPLEX

This topic deserves an entirespeech. I can only touch on it here.Such a partnership is roughly com-parable to our military-industrialcomplex, and it presents the publicwith this very tough question: Shallthe federal government assume themajor share of financial support andpolicy direction for our schools?

The answer will depend largelyupon how much strengthlocal,state, and natio nalschool boardscan maintain and how well they cankeep their constituents informed.

Following is a description of whatthe school board and superintendentare doing in Seattle about publicrelations and school support.

THE LABORATORY

As background, let me sketch inthe laboratory situation. Seattle isa booming city of more than half amillion people, with a public schoolenrollment of around 95,000, anda staff of about 6,400, operating118 schools.

The school district has a budgetof more than $70 million a year, ofwhich about 20 percent depends onthe annual passage of a special mill-age levy. The Washington state con-stitution requires a 60 percent ma-

jority to pass a levy, and also re-quires a voter turnout equal to 40percent of the number which votedin the preceding general election.

So far as I know, the requirementsfor passing a levy in Seattle are themost rigorous faced in any largecity of the nation.

We have been fortunate, however.Since 1957, when the annual speciallevy was adopted as a regular effortto finance quality education, the levy

has always passed, with one excep-tion, either the first or second timearound. For instance, voters passeda $43 million bond issue in Septem-ber 1966 by a 60 percent plus ma-jority; a $15 million operating levyin January 1967 by an 84.2 percentmajority; and a $171/2 million oper-ating levy in November 1967 by a67 percent majority.

With this background in mind, itis not surprising that the public re-lations program in Seattle has thesolid support of everybody con-cerned with quality education, fromthe school board and the superin-tendent to the staff in every school,as well as virtually every major or-ganization in Seattle.

POLICYNOT MAYBE

Nothing happens in a school public relations program unless it is astated policy of the school boardand the firm conviction of the su-perintendent that the public shall beinfooned and that the school systemshall give full support to the publicrelations department. I cannot stressthis fact too strongly.

Lacking this policy, it would beimpossible to:

1. Adequately staff the depart-ment.

2. Clothe it with authority tomake decisions.

3. Give direction to school em-ployees.

4. Acquire the funds to conducta program of publications, slidepresentations, motion pictures, re-search, and special events.

The long-range purpose of thepublic relations program is to makean impact on a substantial majorityof the voters in Seattle and maintain,if not increase, the normal commit-ment that our citizens hold towardquality education. The immediatepurpose is always to pass the annuallevythat slender thread which sus-pends disaster.

There are three phases to the totalSeattle public relations program.They are: (1) an institutional city-

wide program, (2) a decentralizedcommunity relations program, (3 )a levy information program.

All of the programs are planned,budgeted, and put into writing forthe superintendent's approval aboutsix months before the beginning of

the next fiscal year.Once approved, it is the responsi-

bility of the director of the publica-tions and information department toexecute the programs outlined, withthe help of staff, outside consultants,and a variety of school employees,

38 PTA members, and other citizens.At this time the public relations

group of Seattle schools is com-

posed of nine people, full or part-time, including a supervisor of in-formation, a conference coordinator,the editor of the Seattle Schoolsnewsletter, an artist and productionmanager, and five secretaries.

The central public relations staffoperates in Seattle as a silent part-ner to the superintendent. I saysilent because in education it is es-sential that the superintendent orschool board president speak to thepublic on major issues. No one cansubstitute for them.

The central public relations staffplans, creates, services, assigns, andevaluates across the whole gamut ofpublic relations activity.

But if its name were "Legion" itcould not begin to carry out all theprograms that it sets in operation.

There is some danger, not tomention inefficiency, in a public re-lations office trying to do more thanit should. Walter Lippmann's state-ment in The Good Society is appli-cable. He said: "It is generallysupposed that the increasing com-plexity of the social order requiresan increasing direction from offi-cials. My own view is, rather, thatas affairs become more intricate,more extended in time and space,more involved and interrelated, over-head direction by the officials has tobecome simpler, less intensive, lestdirect, more general."

Now a word about the ..aty-wideinstitutional communk..uons pro-gram. Its main purpose is to in-crease support for the school system(as distinguished from a single, local

school) by building civic pride inthe program and confidence in the

school board and superintendent. Itpresents a concept far beyond th,local do-it-yourself school; a con-cept which might be summed up as

"Big Schools, Big Business." Thefocus is on the interrelationship of

the schools with the total commu-

nity, particularly the fact that a good

school system means a better eco-

nomic climate, attractive to new

industries, beneficial to property

values, and conducive to full em-ployment, trained manpower, and

a higher standard of living. This

concept appeals strongly to indus-

trial and labor organizations, and

other city-wide organizations.We like the line in Look maga-

zine's story on Seattle's business

education program. It said, "Local

businessmen love Seattle's business

education program."But in order to disseminate this

concept we have to report more fre-

quently to civic organizations and

citizens in general and submit ourschool system programs and budgets

to much closer scrutiny than we

ever have in the past. We expect

to have tough questions asked, and

the board and superintendent expect

to live 'a the glare of publicity. Re-

porting to the public is =tine fOrsuccessful corporations One of them

reports 12 times a year to million::

of stockholders at a cost of thou-sands of dollars.

The institutional progam deals

witi material of a systemwide na-

ture, such as board policy, the

budget, board and administration

views on state legislation, and lately,

fedefal programs, professional nego-

tiations, and de facto segregation.

Material is sent to Seattle daily

newspapers, four television stations,

several magazines, a dozen radiostations, 15 weeklies, and 20 special

area publications.Researchers tell us that the usual

instruments of mass communication

(television, radio, the press, and

magazines) cannot by themselves

change opinion. It is interesting to

note, also, that Walter Cronkite re-cently stated that "the public needs

to know a great deal more than we

in television can communicate tothem. Someho w or other, we have

to teach the American people to seek

more information. . . ."

In practice, therefore, we are

placing less reliance on the massmedia than we used to. However,we do not discount the mass media

and we welcome all the time and

space we can get. But in the past

several years, in Seattle, we have

paid more attention to weekly news-

papers, and we have built up our

own supplementary communicationschannels which can be focused atwill on special publics and can carry

raews which is important to the

school board but not sufficiently dra-

matic or immediate to gain accep-

tance by the mass media.We need our own channels of

communication, for example, to the

teaching corps and other personnel

in the school system; we need our

own channels to key citizens; and

we need our own channels to reacha nationwide audience of potentialemployees in the teacher traininginstitutions of America. Schoolsneed to fight much harder for theirshare of priceless talent.

We, therefore, send to each schoolhome, each month, a copy of SeattleSchools newsletter. We also senda copy to every member of theSeattle schools staff, as well as tokey citizens, and leading teachertraining institutions. Our total print-ing each month is 80,000 copies.We send out a weekly Guide to theentire staff. We also prepare filmsand color-slide presentations on avariety of topics of public interest,such as "The Knowledge Explo-sion," "Business Education," and"Let's Go to Kindergarten." Theseare usually 20 minutes in duration.and can be booked for service clubsand lodges. The slide presentationsare complete with a script and aprojector. Last year we offered sixdifferent presentations, which wereviewed by nearly 10,000 civic lead-ers. We are now planning to gofurther with sound and color mo-tion pictures. This is expensive butnecessary.

We also prepare news conferencematerials, speeches, and statements;operate a clipping service and aspecial photo service.

We also arrange for superinten-dent's luncheons with the officers ofcity-wide organizations. These

40 luncheons are off-the-record. Theyhave done a great deal to bring keyleaders into intimate contact with

the school system and have had thegeneral effect of creating an atmos-phere of trust as well as clear com-munication.

The superintendent's luncheonprogram this past year included thetop officers of the Chamber ofCommerce, the King County La-bor Council, Seattle Council ofChurches, the Municipal League, theBar Association, the TelephoneCompany, the presidents of nearbycolleges and universities, the Ameri-can Institute of Architects, theLeague of Women Voters, and thechairmen of our Area Citizens Com-mittees, to name a few.

We work with "mediating" groups,such as the Junior Chamber of Com-merce. We have just finished ourfirst big Fine Arts Festival withthem, and the Chamber just spon-sored and completed distribution of200,000 copies of our 1967-68Handbook.

We have a speaker's bureau whichdistributes, at the beginning of eachschool year, a program booklet,complete with pictures of availablespeakers and topics.

We are currently reviewing ourorganizational contacts, setting uplate spring and summer citizenbudget sessions.

So much for the institutional pro-gramthe city-wide effort to buildunderstanding and a commitme^f.

The decentralized community re-lations program is based on thetheory that each school must be ingood shape on its communicationsor the whole system will suffer. In

addition, this program reaches those

persons who are loyal only to theirlocal school and do not comprehend

the total school system.We have divided Seattle into 12

areas, using the senior high school

attendance boundaries, for the most

part. The heart of the programcenters around citizen advisory com-

mittees. We are now considering

some expansion of this "grass roots"

citizen involvement.We may establish twelve Area

Citizens Advisory Committees, each

composed of about a dozen leading

citizens, appointed by the schoolboard, on nomination of the prin-cipals. Each committee would elect

its own chairman and plan its own

program. This would include school

visits and independent study. Every

other month, the 12 chairmen would

have breakfast with the superinten-dent and school board. Since one

third of the membership wouldchange each year, a new mediating

group would be formed each yearand, hopefully, its influence would

permeate the community. We would

select citizens who are prominent in

business and labor.We also have a Program and Ex-

hibits Committee of principals, who

are busy all during the school yearbooking and showing color-slide pre-

sentations to the Rotary, Kiwanis,Lions, and other service clubs and

lodges in its area. We frequently

have five showings a day throughout

the city. In addition, this committee

books youth groups into retirementhomes during Christmas to sing

carols and give readings.This committee periodically sets

up and services counter exhibits in

such places as banks, beauty parlors,

drug stores, and medical offices for

such booklets as "Where the Money

Goes," "A World of Learning,""Problems tnd Progress," and "Peo-

ple Are A..ing."We have a Roster Committee of

high school principals who screen

new names in the area, delete thenames of persons who depart thearea, and constantly keep our IBMmailing lists up to date.

The Special Levy Committee of

principals goes into action about two

months before the date of the annual

levy election.It is obviousand important

that no one principal or committee

has a very burdensome assignment.

This is desirable because the public

relations work of the principals

comes on top of their other work.But by splitting up the program into

small, manageable segments, the

total job gets done and, in ple opin-

ion of many citizens, the commu-

nity relations program is effective.

But we are constantly evaluating it.

I am certain that we can make ma-

jor improvements in the future.My own observation is that many

of our principals are finding in com-

munity relations a whole new field

of interest. Most of them are re-vealing a genuine talent for involv-

ing their communities in the school

enterprise.I would venture to predict that

(1) public relations will become

part of the principal's regular re-sponsibilities to an increasing de-gree, and (2) it is only a matter oftime before our schools of educa-tion will offer substantial prepara-tion on public relations to its ad-ministration majors.

At the moment, our schools ofeducation are very weak in this field.A recent study sponsored by ProjectPublic Information revealed thatonly 60 out of 131 institutions thatprepare superintendents give themany courses in public information.Those that do, offer courses taughtby educators and not by specialistsin communication. Only seven in-stitutions of higher learning prepareeducational public information offi-cers. In November 1967, a con-ference, including deans and schoolpublic relations personnel, wascalled at Stanford University to con-sider this matter. It was unani-mously felt that school administra-tors, particularly future superinten-dents, should receive a solid coursein public relations as an integral partof their graduate school program.

But clearly, today, it is the prin-cipal who is the key man in publicrelations. It is the principal who isclosest to the people and who cangive us the most reliable feedback.

THE LEVY PROGRAM

The levy information program iscarried out by a coordinator, againa talented principal or vice-princi-

42 pal, who is brought in for twomonths immediately before the levyelection. Six months prior to his

arrival, a citizens committee hasbeen established and a campaigntimetable has been prepared. It isthe duty of this coordinator to putthe campaign into motion.

The timetable calls for a rapid,and somewhat frantic, succession ofevents: fund raising, briefing fieldworkers, securing endorsements, pre-paring materials, and giving undi-vided attention to a thousand-and-one details. Endorsements are im-portant, if only because they wouldbe conspicuous by their absence.They are also important becauseresearchers are finding that it is im-possible to communicate with anindividual in isolation from thegroups to which he belongs or wouldlike to belong. We use "mediating"groups, which finance and run theirown subsidiary campaigns. We mayalso mount a subsidiary campaigninvolving all the school districts inPuget Sound area.

After the campaign, there is ananalysis of the vote. There are also"thank you" letters to hundreds ofindividuals, particularly to PTAmembers, who are the real backboneof our campaign. I would considerthe campaign to be a "booster shot,"so to speak, to increase the effect

of the year-around programs justdescribed.

"We 6., not use every knowncampaign technique in any one cam-paign, because we have to have anelection every year. I believe thatalmost any tax or bond electioncould be won once by an all-outeffort. But an all-out campaign

every year would hurt us over th.tlong pull.

THE MESSAGE

This brings me to the nature of

the message that we try to commu-nicate through all the network of

organizations and contacts and

through all the media at our disposal.Facts alone are not enough. There

must be an intimation of faith, hope,and pride in their association with

the individual citizen. There mustbe an emotional ingredient as well as

an appeal to reason.The quality in a large city school

system is so complex tlit the aver-age voter cannot fully comprehendit. And he can only grasp it partially

with a great deal of study and at-tention by reading in-depth coverageand visiting classrooms.

Only the school board and the

superintendent can really have thetotal picture of a quality school sys-

tem clearly in focus.Therefore, the board and the ad-

ministration must ask the voters toaccept the stamp of approval given

by key leaders who have becomeinvolved in depth in some part of theschool program and have seen its

quality with their own eyes.The board and administration

must ask the voter to accept thecommunication of isolated achieve-ments in the school system as anadequate token of the total quality

of the system.The board must ask the voter to

accept the endorsement and find-ings, for example, of a board-ap-pointed citizens study committee onthe budget, the integration program,or the validity of a special levy.

The public must take the boardand superintendent in good faith on

many issues, and this is why a much

more intensivr ""-rt must be made

in many scho ricts to acquaintthe public with board members and

the superintendent.The time is upon us when the

school community relations pro-

grams must create a climate of faithas well as a flow of fact.

The most delicate and importanttask of public relations is to keepthe channels of communication open

to both the staff and the generalpublic. No matter how acrimonious

the debates may become, no matter

how tempers flare along a widebattlefront, the public relations arm

of your organization must neverbreak off diplomatic relations with

either inside or outside groups.

Thoce groups which oppose you to-

day may join you tomorrow if the

way is left open.A quotation from Dostoevski con-

veys, better than I can, the general

idea underlying all effective public

relations programs. Dostoevski said:

"If the people around you arespiteful and callous and will nothear you, fall down before them and

beg their forgiveness, for in truthyou are to blame for their not want-ing to hear you."

MEET THE SCHOOLSYSTEM PR MAN

The stature of public relations inU.S. school districts has reached

the point that the largest are muchmore likely to have a full-time PRdirector than not. A recent surveyof 198 school districts, including thebig ones, revealed that 60 percenthad full-time directors. An addi-tional 18 percent had part-timedirectors.

The information is contained inThe Administration of PR Programsin Local School Systems, 1966-67,published by the Educational Re-search Service, 1201 SixteenthStreet, N.W., Washington, D. C.20036.

Ninety percent of the full-timedirectors stated that they report di-rectly to the school superintendent.

44 As might have been expected, thesurvey revealed that very few of thepersons actually have a "public re-

lations" label in their position titleseven though there is a commontendency to apply the term "publicrelations" to almost any activity de-signed to interpret the school pro-gram to the community.

The survey disclosed a tremen-dous spread in salaries of schoolPR directors and coordinators in thelarger districts (25,000 enrollmeinup)--from a top of $24,000 to alow of $6,500. Most full-time di-rectors had staff assistance but afew said they had no help. A goodmany of the PR men said they werenot expected to provide PR counsel.Only one half said they advised theschool board. One third gave ad-vice to the superintendent's council(although 45 percent said they heldmembership in such a council).About 22 percent provided advisoryassistance to curriculum councils.

Adapted from an address by David E. Smoker,presently on leave from his position as publicinformation and publications director for theAlbuquerque, New Mexico, schools, to serve asadmini3trative assistant for dissemination,Southwestern Cooperative Educational Laboratory.The address was presented at a seminar in SantaBarbara, California, on "Effective InformationDissemination of Educational Innovations," sp)nsoredby the National School Public Relations Assoc _dation.

STRATEGIC ASPECTS OFINNOVATION DISSEMINATION

The old admonition to "mindour P's and Q's" has numerous

indirect and several very direct ap-plications to the strategies of inno-vation dissemination.

A study of the origin of the ex-pression re% ealed three explanations,each somewhat analogous to com-munications problems.

One explanation is that "mindyour P's and Q's" was a warninggiven to printing apprentices as theysorted letter type back into the cases.In lower case type, it is very easy toconfuse the two letters, since theyare identical except for the directionof the loop. Since one major dis-semination tool is the printed ward,the warning to mind our P's and Q'sin conncction with printed materialsis appropriate.

A second explanation of the ex-pression goes back to the Frenchdancing-masters of the time ofLouis XIV. They had to teach peo-ple to bow and curtsey as part ofthe minuet. At that time, the wear-ing of large periwigs was in vogue,so one had to be careful not to bow

so low as to lose the wig. Dancestudents, therefore, A ere admon-ished to watch both their pieds(their feet) and their queues (orwigs). This second explanationmight be related, with its bowingand curtseying, to the good humanrelations and the face-to-face com-munication needed for an effectivedissemination program.

Finally, the third source of theexpression dates back to the Eng-lish and early American publichouses, or pubs. It is said that thepuhkccper would tally the evening'sdrinks by making marks under eithera P (for pint) or Q (for quart),dependint :Ton the size of the alewhich one ordered. Thus, if onedid not want to be overcharged, itpaid him to mind whether the pub-keeper marked under the P or the Q.

This analogy is broad, out per-haps the most important of the three.It reminds me of bottles, and bottlesremind me that there are variousmeans of disseminating information--ranging all the way from messagesin floatiag bottles to bouncing high

frequency signals to the other sideof the earth via Telstar satellites.

It is important to explore themany shortcomings of the floatingbottle method of dissemination. Forone thing, it is unbelievably slow.For another, the bottle may neverreach anyone; or it may reach some-one who feels that the only fit placefor floating debris is the trash can.It may drift to someone who doesn'tspeak the same language as the oneused in the bottled message. Finally,if we are trying to reach a largenumber of people with our message,an awful lot of bottles are going tobe wasted.

It is with a mixture of horror andsadness that public relations profes-sionals observe large numbers ofpresent-day educators, who claim tobe educating young people to livein the twenty-first century, but whoare still in the floating bottle erathemselves when it comes to com-municating. With no attempt what-ever to identify the audiences theyare trying to reach, and with no de-termination of the best media forreaching their audiences, they hope-fully set their bottles adrift in thesea of humanity and optimisticallyassume that everybody is going toget the message.

There are five P's and three Q'swhich I think are specifically es-sential to strategic disseminationprograms. The five P's are: plan-ning, publics, person-to-person Lp-proaches, publications, awl the press.

413The three Q's are: questicns, quick-ness, and quality.

Before I elaborate on these P'sand Q's, let me stresr one very im-portant point. By talking aboutsome of the essential principles ofeffective dissemination, I do notmean to imply that all that needs tobe done is to put the nuts and boltstogether according to a diagramand the result will be instant com-munication. For while there is a

science to communication, there isalso an art. The P's and Q's are agood base upon which to build, butthe real success of the dissemina-tion program wili depend, in largemeasure, upon the imagination, cre-ativity, and artistry of the peoplewho are directly responsible for pro-ducing and carrying out the pro-gram. This is creative dissemina-tion. It is the art which undergirdc,strategic innovation dissemination.

Those of you who are responsiblefor dissemination related to educa-tional innovations need all of thestrategy you can mustcr. You face

at least four big handicaps, simply

because you are concerned with in-novations. First, you are flying inthe face of one of the major psycho-logical barriers to communication:Human beings have an unwilling-ness to absorb ideas that conffict

with their secure attitudes. Peopledon't like the boat to rock. Yetthore of us who are concerned witheduk ational innovations, are deliber-ately trying to rock the boat.

A second severe problem is thatwe are disseminating informationabout things which are not veryfamiliar to people. This unfamil-

iarity with the subject of your dis-semination effort is another big bar-

rier to real communication.Third, innovative projects develop

a jargon understandable only tothose directly involved in the proj-

ect, and the temptation is to makewide use cc that clever jargon in thedissemination effort. This is a mis-

take. Instea I, I heartily recommend

a simple solution to this barrier:Use English in your dissemination.

Fourth, and hopefully this is adiminishing problem, all of us who

are attempting to disseminate in-formation about federally funded

proiects still face some inherentresistance and resentment about fed-

eral aid to education.These kinds of special communi-

cation problems related to dissemi-

nation about innovations simply add

emphasis, I think, to the admonitionthat all of us have got to mind our

P's and Q's.PLANNING

The first P on my list is planning.

It is at once the simplest, and yet

the hardest, step in developing stia-

tegic dissemination programs. With-

out advance planning, however, it is

impossible to have an effective dis-

semination program. Good com-

munication doesn't just happen.

Good communication, good PR,come from careful, strategic plan-ning and then lots of hard work.

This planning must include ananalysis of what it is we are trying

to do. Why disseminate? For whatpurpose? To whom? If we refer to

the Title HI guidelines, they sug-

gest the answers to some of thesequestions: "To assure that educa-

tional improvements are shared andpitfalls avoided, to stimulate coop-erative efforts, and to gain publicsupport for, and understanding of,Title III activities (there's the pur-pose, the answer to 'why dissemi-nate?' ) the educational community

(there's the 'to whom?') should

know about the existence of anysignificant innovations, creative ap-proaches, or exemplary programs,and the public (another 'who')should be informed of activities

which are being planned or operated

under Title III. (And here comesanother answer to 'why dissemi-

nate?') Public interest and supportare not only desirable but essentialto realization of the goal of phasing

out federal participation in Title IIIprojects through local funding."

Planning, then, must concern it-

self with what we have which needs

to be disseminated, whom we must

reach with our communications pro-

gram, and what communication tools

will best do the job at hand. Andthe job at hand is not just to giveinformation. If local sources are to

take over these innovative programsand continue them when the federalpump-priming is ovet, the job is togain acceptance and active support,

not just understanding.

PUBLICSThe first Pplanningalso in-

-hies the other four. The secondpublics, is perhaps the most im-

,Jortant consideration in planning for

dissemination.

Notice that the word i:; pluralpublics. There is no such thing asa general public which can bereached with a single communica-tion medium. There are a lot ofpublics, and the most effective toolfor communicating with one of themeducators, for examplemay notbe the same as the one for effectivecommunication with another publictaxpayers, for example.

At this point, I cant ot underlineheavily enough the public which isof first priority in our planning ifwe want to reach any goal, and un-fortunately, it is the public mostoften neglected in our communica-tions effort. I am speaking of theinternal publicstaff members andemployees, the people Idirectly re-lated to the center, or project, orschool system. If our own membersdo not fully understand our goals,and if they do not fully support thosegoals, any attempt to win the sup-port of external publics is almostcertainly doomed from the start.

This most important segment ofthe public is often overlooked be-cause we assume communication istaking place within the organization.One of the nation's leading PR menhas made what I consider to be avery profound observation. He said"the great enemy of communicationis the illusion of it." A newsletteris published, a staff meeting is held,and it appears that we have com-municated. This is often an illusion.

Study after study shows that thetop executive in any organization is

often suffering from the illusion of

communication within the organiza-tion. He assumes that his super-visory hierarchy provides a clearchannel of vertical communication,both upward and C.ownward, andthat lateral interdepartmental com-munication is equally reliable. Ac-tually, as Robert N. McMurry ob-

served in an article in the HarvardBusiness Review, "most levels ofsupervision are less communicationcenters than communication bar-riers. . . . In effect, the typical chiefexecutive is the prisoner of his posi-tion communications-wise. He islargely insulated from the everydayrealities of the enterprise he leads."

In considering publics for dis-

semination, then, the internal public

the organization's employeesmust be placed at the top of the list.

To illustrate strategic planningwith regard to which publics need

to be reached, and how, I am going

to use one Albuquerque, New Mex-ico, program as an example.

After 35 years on a 6-3-3 planfor our elementny, junior high, andsenior high grade levels, we begana pilot 5-3-4 program involving 12

schools. It was begun smoothly,because of a planned communica-tion program designed to get tocertain publics. The planning tookplace more than a year earlier.

The superintendent's cabinet,whiLl meets every week for a freeand open discussion of problems,current events, and advance plan-ning, saw the opportunity to try adeparture from the 6-3-3 plan with

/

the anticipated opening of a newhigh school in the fall of 1966. Wehad long wanted to try a "middleschool" pilot on a 5-3-4 plan, buthad not been able to do it becausepopulation growth had kept thebuildings jammed to capacity. Open-ing of the new high school gave theroom necessary to house four gradelevels at both the new school andthe one which it relie.fed, and wewanted to take advantage of thisopportunity.

Immediately we recognized a bigcommunication problem: rockingthe boat on something which hasbeen an accepted way of life for 35years.

We identified publics, and theprobable reactions of each of thesepublics to a proposal, and then weplanned a dissemination program.

For starters, we had a clear con-sensus among the top administra-

tors. All of us could see manypotential advantages to getting theninth graders out of the junior high,along with their Carnegie unit prob-lem, and of getting the sixth gradersinto a middle school situation offer-ing far more comprehensive facilitiesthan we have in our elementaryschools.

The superintendent then soundedout another publicmembers of theboard of educationon an informalbasis, and found them eager to sup-port the pilot program.

The cabinet then discussed theother publics which needed to bereached, in what order, and throughwhat media. We felt the key to the

whole idea was an acceptance bythe middle school principals andtheir faculties, since this level wouldinvolve the greatest departure fromstatus quo. We agreed that if wedid not have the eager commitmentof this group to do the necessarypreparation for such a change, wewould abandon the idea.

The superintendent then talked,individually, with all junior highschool principals in the feeder areasof the two high schools in question.He asked them to consider the ques-tion wi th their faculties, and makeit clear that they were under noshadow if they or their faculties didrot wish to be involved.

After several weeks of discussion,three junior high schools indicatedthey were willing to give it a try.We then went to work in earnest toreach all of the publics involved.The total administrative group, bothcentral office and principals, was in-formed as to what was under way.One of the knottiest problems, weknew, was going to be discontinuingthe interschoo1 athletic prograi, qtthe three middle schools, with all theimplications this had for displace-ment of coaches, disappointed ninth-grade football players, and angiyparents of disappointed ninth-gcadefootball players. The athletic direc-tor began to work with the coaches'group, and the principals began todisseminate informatioi, to parentsabout the proposal, stressing theadvantages which they saw in themiddle school approach.

Knowing that the word would

begin to spread rapidly at this point,we began to make use of the massmedia. The three junior high prin-cipals prepared printed announce-ments to all parents in their com-munities, agreed on a given dateto send them home with students,and the information office prepareda news release for the newspapers,radio and television stations whichquoted from the parent announce-ments.

This first public release notedthat the possibility of such a pilotprogram was under study, listed theadvantages which might be gainedfrom such a change, and franklydiscussed some of the problems. Itw-is designed to encourage somefeedback, some reaction, from theparents and students. We got plenty:

concerns about the disappearance offootball, cheer leaders, etc.; fear anddisappointment from ninth graderswho, instead of being the top dogat Ernie Pyle Junior High, were go-ing to be low man on the totem atRio Grande High as freshmen; con-cerns from parents about sixth grad-ers having to ride the bus all theway to the middle school instead ofstaying in their neighborhood; ques-tions about what the sixth-gradeinstructional program would be like.

Because we already had the com-mitment of the three faculties, theyhad the answers to these concernsand could talk about the many ad-

vantages which they saw. PTA

so meetings and student councils servedas public forums to discuss the pos-sibilities; school newspapers began

to discuss the pros and cons.Having prepared the various pub-

lics for the next step, and having inhand some concrete proposals forthe pilot instructional programs (fol-lowing their development by thefaculties concerned), we were readyfor the next step in dissemination.We worked out the timing so thatwe could have the decision to imple-ment discussed at an open board ofeducation meeting, and then followup quickly with our own publica-tions, and a student press confer-ence with the superintendent.

The board approved the pilot,and the mass media which coveredthe meeting carried complete storiesabout the approval. Editors of all26 junior and senior high schoolnewspapers had been invited to apress conference with the superin-tendent and were able to ask himand the three middle school prin-cipals for full details of the project.

Implementation itself went fairlysmoothly, because a planned dis-semination r rogram, aimed at all ofthe public,., involved and using all ofthe communication tools at hand,had gained acceptance of the project.

In addition to this example ofstrategic planning and the identifica-tion of publics, I would like to referto a growing body of research whichmay help in the effort to reach spe-cific publics. One extensive studyentitled, "The Structure and Processof School-Community Relations,"conducted at Stanford Universityunder the direction of Richard Car-ter and William Odell, provides

.

1

some preliminary conclusions suchas the following:

How would you like informationabout the kinds of people who arereceptive to innovations? Accord-ing to the Stanford research, here

are some groups who like educa-tional innovations: (1 ) parents ofchildren who attend private schools,(2) to a lesser degree, parents ofchildren who attend public schools,(3) persons with strong satisfactionin the education they received, and(4) some of the people with highereducational achievement, althoughthe remainder of the highly educatedgroup strongly dislikes educationalinnovation.

How would you like to knowwhich communication media are ef-fective with each of these groups?The Stanford study indicates con-clusions such as these: (1 ) of allthe agencies available for aiding

citizens in learning what is happen-ing in schools, only the newspaperis seen as helpful by as many as halfof the people interviewed, (2) citi-

zens who are financially hard pressedmake especially high use of radioand television, (3) parents of post-school children are uninterested inschools generally, and appear not tobe reacheC on school matters throughany presently utilized medium.

Who is likely to support innova-tive projects with local resources?

Some of the preliminary conclusionsin this study show that the higher

educated person favors stimulusfunds to improve future public edu-cation, but that he prefers local

sources for increased funds; that theless educated person prefers nationalsources for increased funds for pub-lic education; that persons satisfied

with their own educations prefer

state funds for schools; and thatthose dissatisfied with their owneducations favor federal funds for

schools.This is just a sampling, but it is

indicative of the kinds of research

available in ever-increasing amounts

which may help those engaged in the

dissemination process. I emphasize

may help us because, despite somehelpful conclusions, Carter andOdell also obseive that "we ate not

likely to be able to prescribe anyone communication technique which

would be necessary and sufficient

to achieve influence in any givensituation."THREE COMMUNICATIONTOOLS

The next three P's in strategic

dissemination are symbolized by

these communication tools: person-to-person approaches, the press, and

publications.With regard to person-to-person

approaches, the rule of thumb isthat these are the most effective

kinds of communication tools. Tooversimplify, and state that ourpurpose in dissemination is basically

to get acceptance and support of

innovations in education, I thinkperson-to-person approaches take oneven more significance. Unless Ihave read the wrong things, andbeen completely blind during myentire career as a communicator,

there is only one way to motivatepeople to support innovation: Theymust be involved directly in it, eitherin planning, implementing, or in-tensive visitation opportunities. Peo-ple do not become committed tochange as the result of reading anewspaper, or looking at a brochure,or being ,ven a report. These canstimulate interest, arouse curiosity,and inform people about the inno-vation; but it takes personal involve-ment to motivate people towardcommitments to change.

What about the press? The strat-egy we use in Albuquerque in ourrelations with the news media isbased upon, chiefly, the desire toprovide them with the best possibleservice we can. Our relationshipwith the news media is based onmutual trust, a trust which has beenearned by both participants over along period of time. They expect usto keep them informed of all thenewsgood and badwhile it is

still news, and in a form that theycan use. We, in return, expect them

to exercise judgment and ethics inthe use of this information. Whatkind of service will they get fromus? They'll get daily, personal con-tact from the schools informationoffice. They'l' get news releaseswritten in their styles, as far aheadof their deadlines as we can getthem. They'll get as even a breakas we can provide on major stories.They'll get tips on feature stories

52 which will net an aggressive reportera byline (and net us front-pagespace which we wouldn't get if we

wrote it ourselvs). They will getcomplete agenda of our board meet-ings three days ahead of time anda press conference with the superin-tendent an hour before the meeting.If they have another hour's worthof questions after the meeting, theywill have someone on hand to tellthem what they want to know.They'll get invitations to every openhouse, science fair, special tour, con-cert, art show, dramatic production,and special event that attracts visi-tors into our buildings. They will

get prompt attention to every re-quest for information, or interviewswith any member of our staff theywant to talk with. We count ourcity's newspapers and broadcastmedia among the best friends Albu-querque's children and educatorshave, and we don't intend to haveanything we have done (or failedto do) spoil that friendship.

What about the last Ppublica-tions? Our stra egy with our pub-lications is simply this: First, writeand design the publication for theaudience at which it is aimed. If itis aimed at employees of the schoolsystem, try to keep it full of infor-mtion which they are interested in,in language which appeals to them.If it is aimed at the lay public, tryto keep it free of educational gob-bledygook, and write it in laymen'sterms. Try to follow the simplerules of good design and typography.And lastly, in Albuquerque we stealevery good idea we can spot in the

hundreds of publications which weexchange with other educators

around the nation, and we're flat-tered when we find they have stolen

something from us.

THE FWE P'SIN A CAMPAIGN

ln order to illustrate how all five

P's fit together into a strategic,

planned dissemination program, let

me discuss one of the AlbuquerquePublic Schoois' entire bond issue

campaigns.The planning for the 1966 bond

issue election began almost as soon

as the 1965 election was over, be-

cause one of the first things we do

is analyze the election results on a

district-by-district basis with previ-

ous year's returns to see if there are

any trends developing in the public's

acceptance of bond debt questions.By the time of our annual nre-

school conference in late August of

1965, we had already set a tentative

date for the 1966 election and were

able to announce to staff members

that we could expect to have a bond

election on March 1.At the same time, we were able

to inform PTA units that there

would be a special visual presenta-

tion available to them betwet Feb-

ruary 1 and March 1, so that their

program chairmen (who plan pro-grams in September for the whole

year) would include it in their

planning.The superintendent's annual re-

port, issued in September, took note

of the fact that the district still had

many unmet building needs and that

citizens would be called upon dur-

ing the 1965-66 school year to vote

additional bond funds. This annual

report is made available to em-ployees and is also mailed to com-munity leaders and the press.

Between September and Decem-

ber, the appropriate staff membersgathered data about out system's

building needs: enrollment trendprojections, class sizes, unmet build-

ing needs carried over from theprevious year. etc. In December, at

a public meeting of the board of

education, these building needs were

fully explained to the board, to thepress, and to interested citizens.

They were given full treatment in

our weekly Staff Newsletter for em-

ployees, in the daily newspapersand over television, and in the Janu-

ary issue of our Albuquerque PublicSchools journal, which is mailed tocommunity leaders and distributed

to all employees.Reacting to these explained needs,

the boaid in January formally called

for a bond election on March 1.Again, this board action receivedfull coverage in all of the printedchannels and through the press.

Later in January, having care-fully assessed specific needs and as-signed priorities to the most press-

ing, and having determined how

many projects could be built fromthe bond issue amount, the admin-istrative staff presented the boardwith the recommended list of proj-ects to be constructed if the publicapproved the issue. Again, therewas full reporting in all availablemedia.

At the same time as the prioritylist was being developed, the man re-sponsible for developing our visualprogrampromised to our staff andto PTA program chairmen back inSeptemberwas putting together anarrated slide program. Others wereengaged in selecting a team of re-source people who would take thevisual program out into the com-munity. These people were selectedon the basis of their speaking abil-ity, their knowledge of the schoolsystem as a whole, their ability tofield tough questions intelligentlyand calmly, and their willingness todonate one or two nights a weekfor four successive weeks.

About the first of February, thevisual program was premiered foran invited audience. It includedmembers of the board of education,the administrative staff of the schoolsystem, the 12 resource people re-sponsible for taking it to the com-munity, and members of the press.The group offered suggestions forchanges and improvements in thepresentation.

One person was responsible forreceiving bookings of the program,which had been advertised in all ofour publications and in the newsmedia, and for assigning membersof the resource team to cover therequests. The program was shownto nearly 100 community groups,including school faculties, PTAchapters, civic and service clubs,

54 church groups, and the executivecommittee of the AlbuquerqueChamber of Commerce (which pub-

licly endorsed the issue immediatelyafter seeing the presentation). Ateach showing, there was ample op-portunity for questions about theschool system's building needs andthe bond issue. Members of the re-source team kept in close touchthroughout February, keeping oneanotl er posted on the kinds of ques .tions and reactions. Since this is asclose as we can come to face-to-facecommunication with large numbersof community leaders, and is ouropportunity to get two-way commu-nication with them, we make maxi-mum use of the opportunity.

The entire issue of the FebruaryJournal was devoted to the bondelection, including a complete list-ing of the projects to be financed,complete data on the effect the bondissue would have on property taxes,and all of the information relatedto the election itself--polling places,times, method of balloting, etc. TheStaff Newsletter carried a series ofarticles related to the election.

On election eve, more than30,000 two-page leaflets (actuallyreprints of the first two pages ofthe Journal) were carried home bythe youngest elementary student ineach family. The news media pro-vided full reminder stories about theelection, and gave editorial supportto approval of the bond issue.

Finally, and perhaps most impor-tant, many of our schools plannedopen house activities for electionday. In analyzing our publics, wehave found that our primary targetin the bond issue campaign needs

to be the potential "yes" voter whois apathetic about going to the polls.

Our analysis of the previous elec-

tion returns from a 16-year periodhas indicated that the number of"no" votes remains almost identical,precinct by precinct, year after year.The big fluctuation in our bond elec-tion returns has come in the "yes"

votes. We also kn3w that our poten-tial "yes" voter is the parent of

children in school. Open house pro-gramsscience fairs, spaghetti sup-pers, art shows, classroom visita-

tionsbring these parents into the

school building. We just happen tolocate the polling places where they

will have to walk right by them onthe way to the school activity. Thislittle strategy has a tremendous ef-

fect upon election returns.This concludes a rather detailed

description of how one organizationthe Albuquerque Public Schools,

with the help of other organizations

such as the classroom teachers asso-ciation and the PTAplans a dis-

semination campaign and tries to

bring to bear all of the communica-

tion tools available.The three Q's I mentioned earlier

were: questions, quickness, andquality.

I have read that the last conversa-tion held by Gertrude Stein, as she

was dying, went something like this:She was asked by Alice Toklas,"Gertrude, what's the answer?" The

response was, "What is the ques-tion?" Much the same thing has

been said by some of our nation's

leading scientists. Finding answers

is no problem, they say. The trickto progress is knowing enough toask the right questions.

Questions must be part of a dis-semination program if it is to have

any hope of success William T.Jerome has posed thr:4 questionsfor continuous concern to anyonewho is involved in public relationsplanning. The questions are: "What

are we trying to do?" "How wellare we doing?" and "How can wedc better?" Continuous evaluationof this kind is an essential part of

PR strategy.Questions also should be used to

trigger two-way communication.How much better off we might allbe if we used more of our commu-nications tools to ask questions,rather than give answers.

The second Qquicknesssim-ply means: Treat all communica-tions as urgent. Try to get therefirst with the most, which is a goodway to keep rumors and unfair criti-cism from occurring.

The last Q is quality, and it should

speak for itself. The dissemination

program should have as high a qual-ity as you can give it, in terms ofthe manpower you can get for it,and in terms of the planning andstrategy which go into it.

One last admonition, especially tothose who may not have an orga-nized dissemination program as yet,or who suspect that the presentprogram may still be a little primi-tive. Don't delay; and just get someof those floating bottles out of the

way.

WHO REALLY DECIDESTHE PR PROGRAM?

The superintendent's public rela-tions philosophy may soon be

on trial in many school districts.What he believes about PR, as wellas the kind of PR program (or lackof one) he has advocated, will be-come a matter of analysis and dis-cussion. The pressures for this ex-posur t. come from many differentdirections. They stem from experi-ences in school integration, financingdifficulties, employee group negotia-tions andmost significantlytheincreasing sophistication of schoolboard members.

There will be a rubbing off ofcriticism of industrial managers who

56 have been content to equate publicrelations with publicity clippings. Ina recent poll of major corporations,

77 percent of the managers saidthey measured the effectiveness oftheir PR programs by clippings. "Itwasn't a shortage of clippings thatbrought the automobile industry thekind of legislation it most feared,"snorted PR columnist L. L. L.Golden in Saturday Review. "Thecountry is in the midst of immensechange," he observed. "Public dis-content is deep. All our institutionsare affected, and business is facinga future full of hazards that roomsfull of laudatory newspaper clip-pings and magazine stories will notremove."

Being challenged also is a widelyheld belief among superintendentsthat public confidence and supportof school systems are based upon

.,

evidences of pride and progressthat the public wants to back awinner.

"A sensible school PR programwill give as much attention to itsdeficiencies as it does to its achieve-ments," declared a full-page letterin School Boards, published by theNational School Boaids Association."Public confidence in the systemwill be strongest when educationalleaders are known to be aware ofthe deficiencies and determined tocorrect them," wrote Charles B.Saunders Jr., Montgomery County,Maryland, board member.

"Not only does the propagandisticapproach affront the intelligence ofthe informed citizen, but also itfails to make any impression on theuninformed citizens who have littleinterest in school problems (andwho make up the bulk of the votingpopulation).

"When it comes time for the su-perintendent to propose budget in-creases, the greatest resistance is sureto come from the community that hasbeen lulled with happy 'messages.'The taxpayers will rightly ask: 'Ifthe schools are already so good, whydo they need so much money?' "

A big drive was launched to em-phasize the role of school boardmembers in public relations by theNew Jersey State Federation of Dis-

trict Boards of Education. This re-sulted from a public opinion pollmade by the group in New Jerseytwo years ago. It revealed a tre-mendous citizen "knowledge gap"about how schools are financed andoperated. For instance, nearly 40percent of those interviewed eitherdidn't know or were misinformedas to whether their loca! schoolboard was elected or appointed.

Now being circulated to New Jer-sey board members is a 36-pagePR Primer which is rather pointed.Example: "Many boards operatewithout written policies in PR. Ad-ministrators are left to do whateverthey think necessary to inform thepublic about the schools . . . manylike it this way. Such programs areusually limited both in effort and ineffect, and are certainly not wellunderstood by members of the staff.Such programs, if they can be calledthat, are really visible only in a timeof crisis . . . their effects then areapt to be more detrimental thanhelpful."

Another public relatIons tool bythe New Jersey board group is TheSchool Board and YOU, a 63-trameslide-film which explains the funda-mentals of school operations. OtherPR audiovisual aids are in pro-duction.

57

evidences of pride and progressthat the public wants to back awinner.

"A sensible school PR programwill give as much attention to itsdeficiencies as it does to its achieve-ments," declared a full-page letterin School Boards, published by theNational School Boaids Association."Public confidence in the systemwill be strongest when educationalleaders are kilown to be aware ofthe deficiencies and determined tocorrect them," wrote Charles B.Saunders Jr., Montgomery County,Maryland, board member.

"Not only does the propagandisticapproach affront the intelligence ofthe informed citizen, but also itfails to make any impression on theuninformed citizens who have littleinterest in school problems (andwho make up the bulk of the votingpopulation).

"When it comes time for the su-perintendent to propose budget in-creases, the greatest resistance is sureto come from the community that hasbeen lulled with happy 'messages.'The taxpayers will rightly ask: 'Ifthe schools are already so good, whydo they need so much money?' "

A big drive was launched to em-phasize the role of school boardmembers in public relations by theNew Jersey State Federation of Dis-

trict Boards of Education. This re-sulted from a public opinion pollmade by the group in New Jerseytwo years ago. It revealed a tre-mendous citizen "knowledge gap"about how schools are financed andoperated. For instance, nearly 40percent of those interviewed eitherdidn't know or were misinformedas to whether their loca! schoolboard was elected or appointed.

Now being circulated to New Jer-sey board members is a 36-pagePR Primer which is rather pointed.Example: "Many boards operatewithout written policies in PR. Ad-ministrators are left to do whateverthey think necessary to inform thepublic about the schools . . . many

like it this way. Such programs areusually limited both in effort and ineffect, and are certainly not wellunderstood by members of the staff.Such programs, if they can be calledthat, are really visible only in a timeof crisis . . . their effects then areapt to be more detrimental thanhelpful."

Another public relations tool bythe New Jersey board group is TheSchool Board and YOU, a 63-frameslide-film which explains the funda-mentals of school operations. OtherPR audiovisual aids are in pro-duction.

57

: 1

DON'T IGNORE COMMUNITYNEWCOMERS

Many school districts shame-fully are turning their backs

upon potentially strong support byfailing to take the initiative in con-tacting new residents. High popu-lation mobility these days createsthis opportunity in large numbersof communities. In some changingcommunities, attitudes of new resi-dents toward schools can soon havetremendous impact.

At Alhambra, California, the cityand high school districts havelaunched a systematic procedurewhich promises to assure a continu-ing method for reaching larger num-bers of newcomers. A 16-page book-let has been prepared which extendsa welcome from the school boardand provides basic information aboutthe districts needed by new arrivals.Chambers of commerce in two com-

ae munities served by the schools sup-ply names and addresses of newresidents each month and the book-

let is mailed by the school district.In another part of the community,a community hostess service pre-sents copies of the booklet to new-comers and briefs them on theschool district. More than 200 newfamilies are contacted monthly.

Copies of special reports dealingwith projected elementary and sec-ondary enrollments together withconstruction plans for buildings ofthe Downers Grove Schools, Down-ers Grove, Illinois, are well receivedby prospectivv; new residents. Allreal estate agents in the area havebeen given a supply of copies.

When a school district was an-nexed to the Tacoma, Washington,schocls, parents of all children inthe area received a "Welcome, Res-ton" bulletin from SuperintendentAngelo Giaudrone which gave factsabout basic school services and poli-cies. The copy was adapted frommaterial regularly sent to new dis-

trict residents via Welcome Wagonand newcomer organizations.

All Mountain Lakes, New Jersey,real estate brokers were invited toattend a special half-day briefing bySuperintendent Donald E. Lang loisto learn about policies of specialinterest to new residents, transporta-tion and other services, finance data,etc. The special presentation by theadministrative staff was followed bya tour of the newest building in thesystem and a luncheon prepared byhigh school home economics stu-dents. Such a favorable reactionwas received that the program wasadapted for a "senior citizens day."Oldsters were so fascinated theystayed for the entire day lookingover the high school. Later, eachsenior citizen who had attended wasmailed a lifetime pass to all schoolfunctionf.

At fast-growing Simi, California,a seven-item kit is presented to eachnew family which contacts the ad-ministrative office. It includes:

1. Directory of public services,which gives names of agencies andphone numbers to contact regardingboth school and nonschool prob-lems, ranging from adult educationand animals to unsafe roads andwater problems.

2. Directory of schools and let-ter of welcome.

3. School calendar.4. Booklet describing board of

education meeting procedures withcalendar of meeting dates.

5. Student behavior policy book-let.

6. Map of district showing at-tendance area boundaries.

7. Copy of School Days, the dis-trict newsletter.

50

SLIDE-FILMS AND FILMSTRIPS

Once upon a time the color film-strip or set of slides with re-

corded ccmmentary was one of theglamour tools of school public re-lations. It was used sparingly, usu-ally, because of special unbudgetedcosts involved for art work, letter-ing, photography, and recording.Even though it is now technicallypossible for almost anyone to pro-duce such an audiovisual message,thanks to easy-to-use color camerasand tape recorders, the expansionof use in school PR work has beencomparatively modest.

The first major PR use of thesound-slide story was for presentinginfbrmation and winning support inschool finance campaigns. Many ofthe school districts which first usedsuch a presentation in a campaignmore than a decade ago today re-gard this kind of communication toSObe a campaign fiitture. Many smallerdistricts have followed suit.

Sound-picture presentations havealso been developed for teacher re-cruitment, orientation of parents ofbeginning pupils, membership andlegislative program promotion inteacher organizations, disseminationof information about innovationsand particularly as part of Title Iand Title III projects of the Ele-mentary and Secondary EducationAct.

One shortcoming of the slide-

film presentation is that, from amechanical standpoint, it is too easyto make. As a result, audiencesacross the country are being sub-jected to scores of slide-film pro-ductions by educators which violategood communications standards.Many years of TV viewing havegiven almost every adult in thiscountry ingrained quality expectan-cies regarding visual and audio ma-terial. Substandard technical workimmediately calls attention to itself

and raises doubts about the validity

of the communication.Here are kinds of difficulties fre-

quently encountered when know-how is lacking:

SCRIPTSometimes it's really anon-script, a lecture for which illus-

trations are incidentals. It may bewritten after pictures are accumu-lated rather than serving as a blue-print. Lack of timing concept, call-ing for too few illustrations forlength of audio, with result thataudience attention is lost becauseof visual boredom. Commentary is

cold and impersonal or gushy.ILLUSTRATIONSStatic pho-

tos which seem "posed" and do nothelp tell the story. Lots of photcsof committees and groups. No close-

ups. Complicated charts. Too manywords. Lettering too small. Ob-

viously substandard illustrations and

lettering.SOUNDInferior voice quality

or sloppy delivery. Poor recordingconditions.

Extra audience interest was cre-ated in a Baltimore, Maryland,County Schools filmstrip made to

explain a bond issue by linking thedevelopment of the school systemto the history and economic devel-

opment of the area. The staff in-formation specialist said the film-strip was decided upon because itwas important that the same storybe presented to 137 PTA groups,plus civic and service clubs. Inprevious years, he said, it was as-tounding the way alterations in sub-ject matter developed when thepresentations were made by 50 dif-ferent speakers before 50 different

audiences.The PTA footed the bill for 20

copies of the filmstrip plus tapes forthe narration. The total cost was$200, of which $50 went to a free-

lance artist for charts and titles. Astaff photographer took the colorpictures. The filmstrip format as-sured that individual pictures could

not get out of place or lost. Mostclubs were willing to allow 20 min-utes of meeting time for the presen-tation. The bond issue passed 3-1.

The filmstrip continues to have usein social studies classes for its his-torical content.

81

COMMUNICATION GUIDE

The books, special reports, articles, and periodicals listedbelow have been selected for their reference value to in-dividuals who are regularly confronted with responsibilitiesfor school public relations. The selection is intended to berepresentative of recent significant literature in the field ofcommunication.

Selected Booksand Special Reports

Aurner, Robert Ray. Effective Com-munication in Business. Fifth edi-tion. Cincinnati, Ohio: South-Western Publishing Co., 1967. 644pp.

Carnegie Commission on EducationalTelevision. Public Television: AProgram for Action. New York:Bantam Books, 1967. 254 pp.

Dale, Edgar. Can You Give the Pub-lic What It Wants? New York:Cowles Education Corp., 1967. 220PP.

Danielson, Wayne A., and Wilhoit,G. C., Jr. A Computerized Bibliog-raphy of Mass Communication Re-search, 1944-1964. New York:Magazine Publishers Assn., 1967.399 pp.

Darrow, Richard W.; Forrestal, DanJ.; and Cookman, Aubrey 0. Pub-lic Relations Handbook. Chicago:Dartnell Press, 1967. 944 pp.

Fusco, Gene C. Improving YourSchool-Community Relations Pro-gram. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.:Prentice-Hall, 1967. 71 pp.

82 Hounett, Edward. Effective Presenta-tions. West Nyack, N. Y.: ParkerPublishing Co., 1967. 225 pp.

Holder, Robert. A Complete Guideto Successful School Publications.Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice-Hall, 1967. 257 pp.

Les ly, Philip. Public Relations Hand-book. Third edition. EnglewoodCliffs, N. J.: Prentice-Hall, 1967.940 pp.

Maryland Council on Education. Citi-zen Groups in Support of Educa-tion. Baltimore, Md.: the Council,1967. 32 pp.

Masotti, Louis H. Education and Poli-tics in Suburbia: The New TrierExperience. Cleveland, Ohio: ThePress of Western Reserve Univer-sity, 1967. 171 pp.

Matson, Floyd W., and Montagu,Ashley. The Human Dialogue, Per-spective on Communication. NewYork: Free Press, 1967. 292 pp.

McCloskey, Gordon. Education andPublic Understanding. Second edi-tion. New York: Harper and Row,1967. 622 pp.

National Education Association, Re-search Division, and American As-sociation of School Administrators.The Administration of Public Rela-tions Programs in Local School Sys-tems, 1966-67. Educational Re-search Service Circular No. 5, 1967.Washington, D. C.: the Association,October 1967. 54 pp.

National School Public Relations As-sociation. The Conference Planner:A Guide to Good Education Meet-ings. Washington, D. C.: the Asso-ciation, 1967. 72 pp.

National School Public Relations As-sociation. Public Relations GoldMine, Vol. 9. Washington, D. C.:the Association, 1967. 64 pp.

National School Public Relations As-sociation. Working with Parents:A Guide for Classroom Teacaersand Other Educators. Washington,D. C.: the Association, 1968. 40 pp.

Schwartz, James W. The PublicityProcess. Ames, Iowa: Iowa StateUniversity Press, 1966. 286 pp.

Stiles, Lindley J. The Present State ofNeglect. Madison, Wis.: ProjectPublic Information, 1967. 64 pp.

Woolley, A. E. Camera Journalism.South Brunswick, N.J.: A. S. Barnesand Co., 1966. 192 pp.

Zollo, Burt. The Dollars and Sense ofPublic Relations. New York: Mc-Graw-Hill, 1967. 164 pp.

Selected Articlesand Periodicals

Boardman, T. H. "Budget Preparationand Presentation." Audiovisual In-structor 12: 238-41; March 1967.

Carter, Boyd, and De Vries, Ted."Ten Commandments of SuccessfulSchool Tex Campaigns." ClearingHouse 42: 210-12; December 1967.

Conarroe, Richard R. "How To Planand Organize a Public RelationsF rogram." Public Relations Quar-terly 12: 24-30; Summer 1967.

Cooper, Lloyd G. "No Communica-tionBond Bid Fails." AmericanSchool Board Journal 155: 18-20;July 1967.

Danley, W. Elzie, and Gildersleeve,Lana B. "Educational FinancingThrough Effective PR." SchoolBoards 10: 14-15; September 1967.

Debutts, John D. "What ManagementShould Ex?ect from Public Rela-tions." Public Relations Journal 23:14-15; December 1967.

Full, Jerome K. "Press Relations: APolicy for Involvement." PublicRelations Journal 23: 24-25; De-cember 1967.

Gaynor, Paul. "Total Communica-tionsMyth or Reality?" PublicRelations Journal 22: 11-12; De-cember 1967.

Golden, L. L. L. "The Case of ConEdison." Saturday Review 50: 96;May 13, 1967.

Golden, L. L. L. "Lessons of History."Saturday Review 50: 62; Julyy1967.

Gribskov, Margaret. "The BoarkLooks at Public Relations." Ore-gon Education 41: 10-11, 45; De-cember 1967.

Henry, Kenneth. "Perspective on Pub-lic Relations." Harvard BusinessReview 45: 14-33, 162-65; July-August 1967.

Herbert, Jesse E. "Schools Cannot DoIt Alone!" Oregon Education 41:6-7, 40; December 1967.

Hough, John M., Jr. "Teacher Re-cruitment." High School Journal50: 357-63; April 1967.

Hunter, Madeline C. "Home-SchoolCommunication." National Elemen-tary Pri-;:ipal 47: 24-30; Novem-ber 1967.

Johnson, W. R. "Parent-Teacher Con-ferences." National ElementaryPrincipal 45: 48-50; May 1966.

Jones, William C. "The Public Hasa Right To Know." Oregon Educa-tion 41: 4-5, 26-28; December1967.

Kean, John M. "Schools, Children,and Communication." EducationalLeadership 24: 618-23; April 1967.

Logan, Sister Fidelis, M.S. "The Prin-cipal as Communicator." CatholicSchool Journal 67: 64-67; Septem-ber 1967.

Mathias, David. "Parent-Teacher Con-ferences: There Is a Better Way."Grade Teacher 85: 86-87; October1967.

Mayer, Frank C. "How To Find OutWhy the Voters Said No." SchoolManagement 11: 78-86; October1967.

Mogin, Harold. "The AudiovisualRole in School Bond Referendums."Audiovisual Instruction 12: 712;September 1967.

Molinari, Ralph. "Bond ElectionsAPublic Relations Program." Wyo-ming Education News 34: 11-12;December 1967.

Murphy, Arthur R , Jr. "Communica-tions: Mass Without Meaning."Public Relations Journal 23: 8-10,May 1967.

O'Mahoney, Brother John, S.C. "Plana Continuous Publicity Program ToPromote Your School in the Com-munity." Catholic School Journal67: 33-34, 94; Noveinber 1967.

Plutte, William. "All About SchoolCommunications." Clearing House41: 235-37; December 1966.

Price. Shirley M. "Pressure Groupsand the School Administrator."Minnesota Journal of Education 47:16-18; March 1967.

Riley, C. W. "In My Opinion: Par-ents Should Be Invited to HelpDevelop a Conference Brochure."Instructor 75: 33; June 1966.

Robinson, W. N. "PR, How To Im-prove It." School Management 11:32-33; December 1967.

Rondcau, Arthur E. "How To SkirtSchool Budget Squabbles." SchoolManagement 11: 117-20, 124-26;February 1967.

64

Rubin. Louis J. "Communication andStatus in the Schools." Education87: 387-90; Marco 1967.

School Board Notes. "ExplainingYour School Budget." School BoardNotes 13: 6-9; December 1967.

School Management. "How To GetYour Staff To Accept Change."School Management 11: 117-21,125; March 1967.

Stollar, Dewey, and Ray, John. "HowTight Money Situation AffectsSchool Construction." AmericanSchool Board Journal 154: 38-39;January 1967.

Tebbel, John. "What Happens to J-School Graduates." Saturday Re-view 50: 126-27, 133; March 11,1967.

Thompson, Dorothy. "An InformedPublic `Buys' Bonds." AmericanSchool Board Journal 155: 18-22;July 1967.

Vogel, Jack. "School PR BroadensOut." Oregon Education 41: 3;December 1967.

Wagner, Guy. "What Schools AreDoingDeveloping Teacher Hand-books." Education 87: 375-79; Feb-ruary 1967.

Watt, L. R. "Citizens Pass the Hatfor $51,000." Nation's Schools 78:34, December 1966.

Werth, Paul M. "How To ProduceEffective Employee ,Publications."Public Relations Journal 23: 21-23;December 1967.

Wisconsin Journal of Education. "Pub-lic Relations Program Grows." Wis-consin Journal of Education 99:14-15; February 1967.