Public Relations and the Education System

As I sat and watched a screening of "Waiting For Superman," a documentary by Davis Guggenheim I became real emotional. I sat in a theater full of teachers and chamber of commerce members’ and watched in awe at the extent to which our public school system is failing.

I am a product of those “drop-out factories” and failing schools that the filmed talked about, so I know first-hand how it feels to be left behind when the law says that you’re not supposed to be. The difference between me and other students was that I have always had the ability to teach myself and seek help when I was confused. I had people in the community supporting me, such as the volunteers at the Willie B. Adkins Project , who made sure that African-Americans in my community were academically prepared for college. They tutored us on what we were halfway taught, they taught us what we were never taught, and they were those strict parents who let us know failure was not an option.

At the end of the movie, I wondered how I was so different from many of my peers. When I got to high school I knew by the end of my first year that I was going to college when many of my classmates didn’t even know if they were going to 10^th grade. I now realize that public relations had a part in my choice to attend a 4-year university without my even knowing it.

Different programs targeted me and kids like me. These programs taught us without that without higher education life would be hard. They used programs such as Upward Bound to feed lower income kids into local universities, and they incorporated college fairs with concerts, cookouts and step shows.

The schools that Willie B. Adkins took us to on our annual out-of-state college tours served as part of a PR tactic. We went to these schools, we talked to students, we ate in college cafeterias, and admissions counselors made sure to spit out all the distinguishing and positive statistics about their institutions as well as successful alumni stories. We were sent the message that education was important and college was a necessity.

My country's public school system might have failed me, but I was lucky. Tactics used by groups, mentors and teachers motivated me to teach myself and sign up for those “hard” teachers (the teachers who actually made you do work).  I bought the dream of living the college experience the first time it was sold to me and I decided that I was not a victim.  Others are not so lucky, as shown in the documentary the public school system is failing and for kids with families like mine, the only other option is charter school, especially since many programs like the one I was in are not receiving as much funding as they used to. When districts struggle financially the after-school programs are usually the first to go.

Popular charter schools use public relations to survive. They market their student success rates in order to gain public trust and anounce official statistics and test rates keep that trust. They prepare kids for college and as the “buzz” of their success spreads more people become interested. Sadly, as interest goes up, the chances of being selected to attend charter school go down.

The fact that charter schools across the nation are having to draw lotteries to determine which students get placed shows that public relations is a part of education now more than ever. Not only are these schools being marketed within the communities that they serve, but also the “buzz” spreads to people in nearby communities and they apply for spots as well. Schools such as the KIPP Charter Schools across the country and the SEED schools in D.C. and Baltimore have received nationwide attention because of their ability to actually educate their students, something that many of America’s public schools cannot do.

At the end of the day, these charter schools are following steps that many public schools cannot because of bureaucracy issues, and those steps are the ones outlined in James Hoggan's book, Do The Right Thing: PR Tips for a Skeptical Public. They are:

1.Do the right thing

2.Be seen doing the right thing

3.Never get #1 and #2 mixed up.

The way that public relations ties into education is so interesting to me. I never realized the tactics used to get me interested in college or the tactics used to motivate the efforts of certain family members to get me into charter school (many of which were sabotaged by me because I was naïve and wanted to be with my friends).  

What ideas do you have for using PR to motivate the kids who are still waiting for Superman? Leave them in my comments I’d love to hear them. Also leave your perspectives on the issue. I love to hear how others see things.