District communication efforts honored as some of the nation's best
Anoka-Hennepin’s efforts to inform and engage students, staff and community have been recognized as some of the nation’s best through the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA), a professional organization for education-based communicators from across the country.
NSPRA presented the Golden Achievement Award to Anoka-Hennepin Community Education for work supporting upgrades and improvements at Roosevelt Community Pool. The district was one of 153 school districts in the nation to be recognized at this level and the only school district in Minnesota to earn this status for 2019. Community Education also landed an award of excellence for a video produced for the North Metro Adult Basic Education Pathways program. Heather Peters, communications coordinator for Anoka-Hennepin Community Education, led both projects.
Awards of Merit were presented for Anoka-Hennepin’s motivating back-to-school video and effective online e-newsletter Backpack Online. The video production featured the “stars” of Anoka-Hennepin coming down the red carpet, a homegrown twist on academy awards. Student emcees introduced creative movie clips featuring “above and beyond” winning employees and the piece ended with a message to have “an incredible year.” The Backpack Online e-newsletter is published weekly during the school year, providing news updates and information to subscribers via email making the content available on a home computer and mobile devices. Subscribe to Backpack Online online at ahschool.us website.
Anoka-Hennepin’s five-member communication and public relations team includes Jim Skelly, director, Kay Villella, assistant director, Derrick Williams and Tim Evans, communications specialists, and Janet Kimmel, communications assistant.
The School Board monitors and adjusts communication efforts to maximize awareness, participation and value for services provided through the Anoka-Hennepin schools.