HISD wins five Golden Achievement Awards, multiple other NSPRA honors

The Houston Independent School District has received 14 National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) awards, including five Golden Achievement Awards.

The Golden Achievement Awards, the highest honor given by the organization, were for the following:

  • 2017 HISD State of the Schools communications campaign, which included a dedicated website, invitation, program, and other materials.
  • Listen and Learn Tour to introduce new HISD Superintendent Richard Carranza to the community, complete with branding, flyers, online survey, and signage – as well as a live “virtual” town hall meeting streamed on district’s website, social media, and TV channel.
  • Family-Friendly Schools Certification, including a video, branding materials, and a dedicated website.
  • Social Media Scorecard to provide schools with feedback on their social media channels and school websites. The Communications team created a rubric for grading and provided the feedback in customized reports for each school, as well as resources and best practices.
  • 2016 Educators of the Year, including branding for the superhero-themed event, signage, and a social media campaign.

“Seeing the hard work of the Communications team receive national recognition is inspiring,” said Rebecca Suarez, HISD’s chief communications officer. “Although I’m new to the team, I can already see a tradition of excellence. We will continue to build on that in the coming year.”

HISD also received four “Excellence” awards for the HISD bond e-newsletter, the 2012 Bond Oversight Committee’s quarterly report, the Invest in Every Child 2016-2017 monthly planner distributed at the 2017 State of the Schools, and a video produced on a Lee High School graduate.

The district was honored with four “Merit” awards for a special-purpose publication for the bond program (Principals’ Guide to Planning a Successful School Groundbreaking or Dedication Ceremony), a series of three news blog articles on the district’s special education services (HISD Helps Students with Disabilities Thrive after High School), a branding/image package (2017 State of the Schools) and an in-house video (Texas’ First African-American Female Aviator).

An “Honorable Mention” award was given for social media (The Power of Public: Celebrating HISD Schools).