District Five awarded for excellence in communications

The South Carolina Chapter of the National School Public Relations Association (SCNSPRA) celebrated the effectiveness of 119 programs and projects from across the state at its annual Rewards for Excellence awards ceremony on May 13 in Columbia. This program recognizes outstanding communications and public relations efforts by South Carolina schools, districts, and education agencies and associations. Public relations veterans with extensive experience in educational and business communications evaluated 217 entries.

The Rewards for Excellence Program features three awards programs: Medallion (for comprehensive public relations programs), Golden Achievement (for a single project or an aspect of a comprehensive program), and Publications and Electronic Media (for individual products designed to improve communication).

Lexington-Richland School District Five was among the honorees for its entry of COVID-19 Response: Informational Dashboard for District Stakeholders. The entry won a Golden Achievement.

“We are honored to have been recognized for our 2021-22 COVID-19 Dashboard,” School District Five Director of Accountability Dr. Vann Holden said. “The design and implementation of the dashboard required district staff to work together to identify key school and community health statistics and define how our mitigation levels would be determined.  After organizing the data needed for the project, we created a range of data visualizations that could be easily understood by our district and community, and we sought feedback from stakeholders to ensure the dashboard was useful to parents, schools, and community members. School and district personnel have worked tirelessly throughout the year to ensure that the dashboard is accurate and useful.  I am proud of not just the finished product that the community sees but of the hard work of the dozens of staff members who have worked together on this project all year to ensure its success.” 

SC/NSPRA is an affiliate of the National School Public Relations Association. The state chapter is composed of over 140 school public relations practitioners, superintendents, and other educational professionals from across the state. The organization strives to foster development in the field of school public relations and to encourage meaningful community involvement in and understanding of the public school system. For more information, visit: www.scnspra.org.