Appleton Newsletter Builds Relationships

The Appleton Education Association has a powerful new tool for building positive relationships with the community - a Great Schools newsletter.

Appleton Education Association President Dianne Lang works on the Core Reporter at the offices of WEAC-Fox Valley.

The first issue of the Core Reporter was sent this fall to parents, businesses and members. It includes parent tips, a summary of changes in student assessment, a feature article on a district reading program, highlights of the school calendar, and Web sites for parents. The professional-looking four-page newsletter is on glossy paper, with colorful photos.

“The AEA has had a good relationship with the public, and this continues to build on that,” said AEA President Dianne Lang.

Lang said the newsletter - to be published each fall, winter and spring - cost about $9,000 a year. The AEA uses funds previously used to produce an annual Great Schools video.

"We decided it was time to try something different," Lang said, adding that a print publication for the community will reach a greater audience. Fortunately, the video has been so popular that the school district has continued to produce it without the AEA's funding assistance.

Most of the Core Reporter work is done by the AEA Communications Committee, Lang, and Lori Blakeslee, a joint employee of WEAC and the Green Bay Education Association, which produces a similar newsletter. "This would never have happened without her," Lang said of Blakeslee, who handles most of the layout and production work.

The newsletter is sent home with elementary school children and mailed to the homes of middle school and high school students. It is also mailed to more than 1,000 members of the Fox Valley Chamber of Commerce, all AEA members, and school administrators. Extra copies are sent to libraries and selected businesses such as real estate offices. In all, about 12,000 copies are printed and distributed.

One of the long-range goals of the newsletter is to promote the AEA Web site, which is now under development, Lang said.

Lang said it is important for the association to maintain strong relationships with the community, which will then support members in bargaining and other activities. The AEA is still negotiating a 2001-03 contract, but that was not a topic in the first issue.

Right now, the AEA is focusing on strengthening its already positive relationships and building a trust. It is important, she said, that the newsletter be inviting, professional, positive and factual.

"People will begin to look at this as an informative and reliable source of information," Lang said. Also, she said, "The Great Schools message is critical. ... We are investing in a positive relationship with the public. We want to create awareness by parents of things we can work together on."

Future issues may include articles on the Qualified Economic Offer law, school district revenue controls and even elections, she said.

"We do want to get these messages out there, and that will come," she said.

Posted December 19, 2002