The Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE) has been named a recipient of three communications awards from the California School Public Relations Association (CalSPRA). Winners of the annual Communications Contest were announced at CalSPRA's May 16 meeting in San Diego.
SCOE took second place in the California Gold category with its "Teacher Recognition Program," a collaborative effort between the Sacramento County Office of Education and the Sacramento Kings/Maloof Sports and Entertainment. For more than a decade, outstanding local educators have been recognized through the Teachers of the Year program, coordinated by the Sacramento County Office of Education. A highlight of that program is the on-court introduction of the Teachers of the Year during halftime of a Sacramento Kings game.
SCOE received two CalSPRA Awards of Merit. The first—for Promotion/Awareness Package—recognized SCOE's work as statewide coordinator of the California Teacher Recruitment Incentive Program (Cal-TRIP). The award acknowledged the quality of print materials—brochure, newsletter, free-standing display, and other items—developed by SCOE to raise awareness of the benefits of teaching as a career.
SCOE's second CalSPRA Award of Merit was presented in the Electronic Communications category for the multimedia and Web content created for the Sacramento County Academic Decathlon. The entry included the event website, a DVD video presentation with footage from the Academic Decathlon "Super Quiz," and a keepsake CD-ROM that was given to each Academic Decathlon team including high-resolution photos of all 17 teams, more than 70 photos of the "Super Quiz" portion of the event, a compressed version of the DVD video, and more than 70 photos from the awards banquet. SCOE will use the CD to attract Academic Decathlon volunteers and underwriters, as well as to encourage more high schools to enter the annual competition.
SCOE has received numerous awards from the California School Public Relations Association throughout the years, including three California Gold Awards: in 2002 for its Operation Recognition which provides high school diplomas to veterans and World War II internees, in 2001 for its "I Count" census education outreach project, and in 2000 for promotion of the Golden Bell award won by SCOE for its Outreach Construction Technology Education program. In 2001 SCOE was awarded "Best Fact Sheet/Publication" by CalSPRA for the design and print production of SCOE's "Ed Facts" information sheet. SCOE's online employee newsletter—"@ SCOE"—received an Award of Merit from CalSPRA in 2000. In 1998 the SCOE annual report was named "Best Annual Report" in the state by CalSPRA.
CalSPRA received entries from more than 125 educational agencies throughout the state. Entries were judged by the New York chapter of the National School Public Relations Association.