Oak Lawn-Hometown School District 123’s Communications Specialist, Angeline Schmelzer, was invited to speak on a panel at the Illinois College Press Association’s (ICPA) Annual Conference on Friday, February 28. This invitation highlights professional school communicators' increasingly recognized role in K-12 education. According to a recent survey by the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA), the majority of school systems now employ dedicated communications professionals to ensure transparent, effective messaging and build trust with families and local learning communities.
At the ICPA Conference, breakout sessions offer college students working on their student publications opportunities to learn about useful skills they can use in their newsrooms, issues facing the journalism profession, and what happens after college. Schmelzer spoke on a panel titled “Leveraging your journalism skills into a non-journalism career,” and discussed how a degree in journalism can be useful in a career like school communications. Drawing upon her background in journalism, Schmelzer uses skills she gained within the university journalism system like storytelling and audience engagement and awareness.
“Sitting on a panel at the ICPA annual conference was a huge honor,” Schmelzer said. NSPRA touts that consistent and transparent communication leads to increased family engagement, elevated employee morale, and stronger public trust in local school systems. Sharing her experiences with university journalists demonstrates how a communicator's skill set and formal journalism education experience can also fuel positive change and open new career pathways for future graduates.
“It was only a few years ago that I was at this conference as a student from Bradley University and editing for The Scout,” Schmelzer said “This time I had the opportunity to inspire attendees to think about their future and show them how they can utilize their skills in an ever growing and important career.”