The Dubuque Community School District was recently recognized for its communication efforts at both the national and state level.
At the national level, the district was recognized by the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) with an Award of Merit for an episode of the District-Wide Update produced by the district. The award was part of NSPRA’s Publications and Electronic Media Awards, which recognize outstanding education communication materials.
The district also received three national awards in the 2015 Hometown Media Awards including the award for Overall Excellence in Educational Programming (for budgets under $300,000). The district also received the award for Best Web-Based Program for the Roosevelt Middle School Orientation video and an honorable mention in the Magazine Show category for the District-Wide Update. This national awards program for cable access programming is sponsored by the Alliance for Community Media, an organization committed to promoting civic engagement through community media.
“As a district, we believe that engaged families and community members make stronger schools – and effective communication plays a key role in strengthening those ties,” said Mike Cyze, director of school and community relations for the district. “We focus our communication efforts on proactively and transparently sharing information and encouraging dialogue about the district. It is an honor to be recognized by our peers across the country for the work we are doing in this area.”
The district produces its video content through a partnership with Loras College Productions, which provides two full-time professional video producers to serve on the district’s communication team.
At the state level, the district received five awards in the Iowa School Public Relations Association annual Communication Contest this spring. The contest was judged and scored by school public relations professionals in the Kansas City metro area.
In the contest, the district’s 2014 opening of school video entitled “Make Every Second Count” received a Blue and Gold Award for the best entry in its category. The district also received Awards of Excellence for the new district website, an episode of the District-Wide Update program, and the Roosevelt Middle School Orientation video, as well as an Award of Merit for its brochure about one-cent sales tax funding.
Finally, the district’s new website received an Award of Excellence from the Art Directors Association of Iowa. The award was submitted by Juicebox Interactive, the firm that designed and developed the site.