A proposed public relations program for the Rosemead School District

89 Pages·04.051 MB·English

by  McFarland, Grace Mary

A PROPOSED PUBLIC RELATIONS PROGRAM
FOR THE ROSEMEAD SCHOOL DISTRICT
A Project
Presented to
the Faculty of the School of Education
The University of Southern California
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Master of Science in Education
by
Grace Mary McFarland
June 1950
UMI Number: EP45952
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
INTRODUCTION
I. THE PROBLEM................................. 1
Statement of the problem . . . . . . . . 1
Purpose and need of the project......... 1
Limitations ..................... 2
Method of procedure ..................... 3
II. THE COMMUNITY.............................. 4
Location and type community ............. 4
Industries and occupations of the people 4
The Schools ..................... 5
Philosophy of the school district . . . 6
Financial ability of thed istrict . . . 6
♦
Muscatel School ....................... 6
Savannah School ........................ 7
Marshall School ....................... 7
Encinita School ....................... 7
III. AGENTS WITHIN THE SCHOOL ................. 8
The school board ............... s 8
The superintendent ..................... 9
The principal..................... 10
The teacher ................... . . . . . 10
The pupil......................... 11
iii
CHAPTER PAGE
Use of buildings................. 12
Non-certificated personnel .............. . 13
IV. AGENTS OUTSIDE THE S C H O O L ................. 15
Parent-Teaeher Association . .............. 15
The coordinating council.................. 16
The newspaper.......................... . 17
Civic, social, service and fraternal
organizations .......................... 19
V. A PROPOSED PROGRAM......... ................ 21
The director.............................. 22
Duties.................................. 22
N e e d s .................................. 23
Outlets................................ 24
Possible approaches in initiating the **
program................................ 26
The simple approach................... 26
The opportunist's approach............. 27
Specific problems approach ............. 27
The survey approach................... 28
Home-school cooperation . . . ......... 28
Board meetings.......................... 29
Registration ............................ 30
Use of buildings........................ 30a
iv
CHAPTER PAGE
Parent education................... 31
Parent teacher association ............. 32
Lay advisory commission ............... 33
Health department. . . . . . . ......... 37
Absences from school................... 37
School census .......................... 38
Individual conferences ................. 38
Improving reports to parents ........... 43
Room t e a s .............................. 44
Home visitation........................ 45
Annual report .......................... 47
American Education Week ............... 47
Public Schools Week ............. 49
Field t r i p s ............... 50
Teacher organization ................... 51
Commencement............................ 54
Proposed news releases ................. 54
Guest speakers.......................... 61
Recreation.............................. 61
Public appearances ..................... 61
V
CHAPTER PAGE
Classroom exhibits ...................... 62
School newspapers ......... 63
Special days . , . . ................. 63
Programs . .............................. 64
Evaluation of the program............... 64
VI. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS.................... 71
Summary ................................ 71
Conclusions............... 74
BIBLIOGRAPHY.................................... 78
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE PAGE
I. Comparison of School News Topics in
Which Patrons are Interested With
Topics Which Papers Publish ................. 20
INTRODUCTION
As a rule, people will not come to the schools
oh their own accord for information. Therefore, the
schools must go to the people with the information. The
public relations program should be impersonal, and should
be built around the welfare of the child, rather than the
glorification of any ambitious or selfish-individual.
People are the stockholders in the school enter­
prise, and they have the same right to be kept informed
concerning their most precious public possession as have
the stockholders in private business; indeed, they will
be informed through some source and in some manner.
School officials and employees must decide, therefore,
whether they shall help the people to become Intelligently
and completely informed and thereby to be guided into a
sympathetic understanding of the schools, or whether they
shall permit them to become misinformed or partly informed
through rumor or hearsay and turned into lukewarm sup­
porters or even enemies of the schools. A program of
•public relations is therefore necessary at all times.
CHAPTER I
THE PROBLEM
Statement of the problem. This study is to propose
a public relations program for the Rosemead School District.
Purpose and need of the project. Citizens have
often criticized the schools, because they knew little about
their work, and they do not thoroughly understand it. The
public should be informed. They should be taken into con­
fidence and explained the school philosophy, its functions,
and its purpose. Some of the criticism is just, some is not
School officials must decide if the people shall be intell­
igently taken into confidence which shall lead to a more
sympathetic understanding of public school purposes, needs,
and accomplishments, or be deluded by hearsay, victimized
by propaganda, or perhaps turned to opposition of the school
Up to this time, there has been no set plan for a
definite public relations program. While the district
remained small, there was no felt need for such a program.
People were informed by word of mouth as to what the school
was doing, and that satisfied the majority. However, with
this rapid growing community great need has been felt for
the past few years of a set continuous public relations
program. In the long run, where the people are informed