Wednesday, January 14, 2015

WE DAY Kentucky – The Movement of Our Time

On April 17th 2015 the third annual “mini-WE DAY KENTUCKY” will take place in Whitney Hall at the Kentucky Center For the Performing Arts, from 9:30-1:30. We anticipate hosting 1500 students and educators from over 100 schools. 2015 speakers and performers are expected to include Kentucky Education Commissioner Dr. Terry Holliday, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, global WE DAY speakers Spencer West and Molly Burke, and renowned area musicians Harry Pickens, Ben Sollee, Justin Lewis, kRi and Hettie, among others. This event is free of charge – lunch will be provided.

What is WE DAY? Youth coming together to make the world a better place is the global movement of our time. Young people today need a starting point and WE DAY is that starting point.

WE DAY brings together inspiring speakers and performers with youth to celebrate a year of service, action and leadership. You can’t buy a ticket to WE DAY—you earn it through service - by leading one local and one global service action.

More than a one-day event, WE DAY helps young people turn the day’s inspiration into sustained action. WE DAY inspires young people to find their spark in order to create the positive change they want to see. Together, WE DAY and student-led service projects provide a blueprint to support the next generation to become active citizens.

WE DAY was created in 2006 by Free The Children, founded by Craig & Marc Kielburger - a Canadian non-profit organization dedicated to empowering a generation to shift the world from “Me” to “We”, from a focus on the individual to the power of community. With a focus on education and empowerment in both local and global communities, Free The Children is revolutionizing how we help young people fulfill their potential as active citizens and leaders, to help make the world a better place.

Today WE DAY takes place in 14 major cities across three countries. First introduced to the U.S. in 2013, WE DAY is now a growing platform in Washington, California, Minnesota, and will soon expand to Illinois and beyond.

Why WE DAY? Every young person has the potential and the power to positively change the world. We believe in supporting this potential by connecting today’s students to the greatest local and global issues of our time, and connecting them with each other. We believe in celebrating the actions of young people and inspiring them to redefine what is possible.

Why is WE DAY important for Kentucky? We believe that Kentucky and Kentucky’s youth need WE DAY! We all understand education is vital to successful, engaged citizenship. Data show that students who have participated in the WE DAY movement are more likely to graduate, feel more self-confident, volunteer, make philanthropic donations and vote at twice the national average. In short, they are more likely to become active citizens, committed to making a positive change. Educators who have participated report feeling a renewed sense of purpose. And the requirement to participate in one international service project helps students focus on building their global competence outside of the classroom.

To make this movement truly statewide, we would appreciate your help to reach more schools in Kentucky with passionate students and educators who might wish to get involved and earn their tickets to “mini-WE DAY KENTUCKY”. Please email your recommendations and referrals to Wendy@WeDay.com. And thank you for all that you do every day to support, educate and empower Kentucky’s youth.

Submitted to KYSPRA by
Wendy and Kris Sirchio, We Day Ambassadors

Friday, January 9, 2015

NSPRA in Nashville: They're Playin' Our Song



Our neighbors in Tennessee are hosting the NSPRA National Seminar July 12-15, 2015! Click to learn more and register: http://www.nspra.org/national_seminar!

Thursday, January 8, 2015

The 2015 Legislative Session & School PR

Kentucky’s 2015 Legislative Session kicked off this week and will continue through Friday, January 9 before a break until February 2, 2015. It is likely that several bills will be introduced but with action delayed until February. In my school district, working with the District Leadership Team and our Community Advisory Cabinet, I try to stay up-to-date on issues and bills being discussed by our state leaders. I am then able to provide district administrators notice of potential decisions impacting various departments, as well as the ability to proactively prepare issue-specific information for local legislators, community members and/or media. Beyond the daily headline and news services, three resources I use to stay informed of education-related bills are Bill Watch , the Kentucky Association of School Administrator’s Legislative Insider Community, and Twitter #kyga15.

Bill Watch
Bill Watch is free and allows unlimited tracking of legislation during the session. This includes keyword and topic searches, notifications of new bills, and of course tracking of existing bills. Today, I searched by topic and found the list of bills to the left filed under keywords “Education- Elementary/Secondary,” and “Education Finance.”

Legislative Insider
Each year the KASA Board of Directors approves a LegislativeProgram including the top priorities of schools, educators, and education leaders to the General Assembly. The KASA Board also takes a position on many education bills and the Association the provides lobbying efforts on behalf of school leaders. As a member of KASA, one of many member benefits is the Legislative Insider Community. This service provides frequent and relative legislative updates from KASA Executive Director Wayne Young and KASA lobbyists, as well as an open forum and bill reports. As a member of this community, KASA members also agree to assist with efforts by establishing positive working relationships and communicating with local legislators. If you are a KASA member (or if you join KASA) and would like to participate as a Legislative Insider, click here to register:
http://admin.kasa.org/KASA_Legislative_Insider_reg.html.

Twitter
Using Twitter, I follow @GovSteveBeshear, @@KYSenateGOP, @KYSenateDems, @KYHouseDems, and @KYHouseGOP, but tweets using #kyga15 provide 140-character updates and links related to action and conversation in Frankfort.


If you have any questions about these services or how they assist in school public relations, feel free to contact me.

Happy 2015!

Leslie McCoy
Bowling Green Independent Schools
KYSPRA President 2014-2015

P.S. KYSPRA does not have a new President; my name has changed because I married over the winter break.