Describes how educators in the Pearl River School District, Pearl River, New York, have implemented Total Quality Management (TQM) principles to evaluate and improve their effectiveness. Includes two charts that depict key indicators of financial and academic performance and a seven-year profile of the district's budget, enrollment, diploma rate,…

Six technology-based strategies for colleges and universities to use to address market pressures are described: behavioral research to help the institution build relationships; blind consumer surveys concerning perceptions of the institution; secret shopper research, in which unknown "shoppers" go through the enrollment process, keeping…

Three alumni officers offer ideas for developing unique and appealing alumni events for colleges and universities with large proportions of nontraditional students. They include family events, networking and mentoring opportunities, brown-bag lunches, evening courses and events, travel programs, and programs geared to those professions in which…

In an interview, the managing editor of a major publication in higher education explains what the media want to know about such issues as college and program rankings, affirmative action, college costs, crime on campus, and how colleges can communicate their positions better, make their messages more coherent, and influence the opinions of both…

The recent escalation of zero-tolerance weapons policies was predicated on a (mis)perceived increase in school-related shootings. When administering such policies, principals should reaffirm the policy message, clarify consequences, be careful with evidence, clear their calendars, prepare a communication plan, and coordinate responses to the…

Communicating why and how school leaders are effective in their work will go a long way toward increasing awareness of the profession and highlighting academic successes in our schools. Research shows school leadership and school performance are closely linked. According to a report by the Wallace Foundation, leadership is second only to teaching…

In Nevada, school districts are countywide, giving the state 17 districts, the largest of which is Clark County School District (CCSD). Nearly 70% of the entire state's population resides in this county. For the past 10 years, population growth in this county has been the fastest in the nation. Such growth brings challenges especially with NCLB,…

The quality of superintendent-school board relationships has a direct impact on the success of any school system through the power of good public relations. The traditional roles of superintendents and school boards and the artificial division of labor between the two no longer serve our school systems well. In this article, I apply a model of…

To address a public relations problem faced by a large urban public school district in Texas, we conducted action research that resulted in an audited self-monitoring system for high-stakes testing environments. The system monitors violations of testing protocols while identifying and disseminating best practices to improve the education of…

Since the passing of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, Americans With Disabilities Act, and the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, public and private schools have had to adapt the ways in which they provide education and services to their students and communities. It is essential for school public relations professionals to be…

The Advertising and Public Relations section of the proceedings contains the following 14 papers: "Toward an Understanding of Cultural Values Manifest in Advertising: A Content Analysis of Chinese Television Commercials from 1990 and 1995" (Hong Cheng); "The Impact of Advertising Distance on International Advertising: An Analysis of…

This book provides a practical orientation as well as a conceptual framework for understanding the administrative process by examining the primary elements, functions, and processes involved with effective administration of adult, community, and continuing education agencies and organizations. The book is organized in nine chapters. Chapter 1…

From plans to rescue EuroDisney to blueprints for introducing the Intel chip, group projects in a public relations class can offer students invaluable lessons in real-world applications. This paper provides teachers of undergraduate, introductory classes in public relations with a primer on how to develop, supervise, and evaluate group projects in…

The Science Communication Interest Group section of the proceedings contains the following seven papers: "Using Television to Foster Children's Interest in Science" (Marie-Louise Mares and others); "Trends in Newspaper Coverage of Science over Three Decades: A Content Analytic Study" (Marianne G. Pellechia); "Media…

America's public schools face a demanding call for reform. This guidebook argues that public schools are failing and that the "education establishment" has a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. The book provides guidelines for parents and citizens for making community-based changes or state reform of education. Section 1, "What Is…