Fallbrook Union High School District

FUHSD had a tremendous opening for the 2005-06 school year, and we are well on our way to meeting each and every one of the five District goals that were discussed in the last edition.

It was my responsibility to develop a goal in the area of public relations, both community-wide and district-wide, in order to improve and expand our communication to parents, students, and community.

This past August, a group of many employees took the time to develop objectives for each of our goals. I will discuss in this article how we plan to not only expand our public relations but also how we will improve the quality of our communication.

We are in the process of developing an assessment of the ways we communicate with our employees, students, and the community. We are developing a tool that can either be used electronically or that will be sent out to individual organizations and/or parents and students.

We will first conduct an internal audit, which will take place sometime prior to the winter break. Following that, I will survey the community and businesses. After the audit has been conducted, I will analyze the results and apply them to the objectives developed during the summer for our public relations goal.

In addition to what is learned through the audit, several other areas for expanding communication will be implemented:

Regular meetings with local newspapers and reporters as well as television and radio coverage, when necessary and/or available, to ensure that stories and/or dates of upcoming events are publicized.

• Schedule regular meetings with community leaders from service organizations and local businesses.

• Use the dial-out system, which is used currently to communicate with parents, students, and staff, to communicate to each and every family in the community.

• Expand the use of email and dial-out to promote positive stories pertaining to our school district.

• Revisit the use of newsletters and possibly email them rather than printing and mailing them throughout the district and community.

• Publicize human-interest stories pertaining to our students and staff members.

• Set up quarterly meetings with realtors to inform them of the potential growth within our district, the potential of housing developments, the construction of a second high school, and expansion of the facilities at Fallbrook High School.

We are also going to develop Fingertip Facts, a small brochure that could be used by anyone residing in the community or considering a move to our community. These brochures would stress our test scores, academic offerings, and the co-curricular opportunities available in the district.

I look forward to soliciting and receiving your input. Please contact Superintendent Tom Anthony at (760) 723-6332, ext. 6497, or [email protected].