The Mineral Point Unified School District was honored by the Wisconsin School Public Relations Association (WSPRA) with four awards for its work in school communications between July 1, 2019 and December 30, 2020.
#PointerNation has now earned 16 WSPRA Awards since the fall of 2015.
WSPRA usually showcases the Spectrum Awards at its annual fall conference, however, this year’s awards were postponed to the spring virtual conference April 8-9 due to the pandemic. 52 Districts were honored with awards. Because the conference was virtual, WSPRA Board members are delivering awards to winners around the state this spring.
This year’s conference theme was “From Crisis to Calm: How to Hit the Reset Button After the Pandemic.”
Past President’s Award
Communications Director and WSPRA President-Elect Joelle Doye was named a recipient of the Past President’s Award by Christina Brey of the Wisconsin Education Association Council.
Each year the WSPRA Past President selects an individual to honor. This individual is someone who has provided particular assistance to the President during his/her term of office.
Spectrum Awards
Spectrum Awards honor high-quality public relations efforts produced by, or on behalf of, Wisconsin school districts. There are two levels of awards with Excellence being the highest followed by Merit.
Mineral Point earned three Spectrum Awards:
Award of Excellence and Best in Category
Awards of Merit
- 2020 UNIFIED Marketing Campaign
- 2020 #PointerNation Activity Book Special Purpose Publication/Project
Lighthouse Award Finalist
Mineral Point Unified School District was also one of six tied for the prestigious Lighthouse Award, which is the top honor for a communication project a WSPRA member can receive. Other nominees included: CESA 10 (Chippewa Falls), Neenah Joint School District, School District of Baraboo, School District of New Berlin, and the winner, Howard-Suamico School District.
“The work submitted by the Spectrum Award winners is a testament to the importance of school communications and community engagement,” said WSPRA President Tracy Habisch-Ahlin. “This year of COVID has highlighted the critical role communication professionals play in education. The award winners demonstrate how schools and communities serve the needs of our children best when they work together to understand educational priorities and needs.”
WSPRA’s Spectrum Awards are judged by members of other school public relations associations throughout the United States, including from Illinois, North Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan, Iowa, New York, Texas, Alabama, Arizona, and South Carolina. All entries were judged on a 30-point scale in six areas: goals and objectives, research and planning, execution and evaluation, results, language, and design.
WSPRA was chartered in 1967 and is a state affiliate of the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA). The mission of WSPRA is to expand the capacity of its members to provide effective communication management for the purpose of strengthening educational opportunities for all students.