Interns working with Dr. John Forde, left, and the Starkville School District on a marketing and communication project are, standing from left, Kym Collins of Meridian, Clay Williams of Ocean Springs, far right, and Mary Simmons of Tupelo, center. They are discussing the project with Joyce Polk, administrative assistant to school superintendent Larry Box.
Kym Collins of Meridian, Mary Simmons of Tupelo, and Clay Williams of Ocean Springs have been selected as public relations interns for a project that teams the university with local public schools. All are communication majors at the university.
"I think we can bring a new perspective to the promotion of the Starkville public schools," said Simmons. "And the internships will provide us practical, hands-on experience in our field."
The goals of the project are to provide new means of communication with students, parents, employees, and community members, and to suggest ways to coordinate and increase publicity about the school district, said John Forde, communication professor and project director.
The project's official title is "A Model Community Marketing and Communication Program: Building Coalitions for Public Education." It is one of 10 funded through the Public School Partnership Program by Mississippi State's Office of Research.
"We're trying to provide new links between parents and the schools to encourage greater parental involvement."
The project involves professors in marketing, education, and communication. Working with school administrators, they have devised a plan to meet communication goals.
To gather information and identify issues and ideas from parents and others, the program has initiated a 24-hour response line. "Anyone who has a question or suggestion or wants information about any area may call 324-ABCD and leave a message," said Forde.
"Our interns will monitor the line and route the question or comment to the appropriate person for a response."
The project also is surveying parents, students, employees, and community members for their perceptions and concerns about the Starkville School District, Forde said.
Interns will seek out news from the school district and will develop and place news and feature stories with local media. "These activities will allow us to give the community new viewpoints," commented Clay Williams.
This World Wide Web version of MSU Memo was modified and updated by Chris Brown.
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Last modified: Friday, 14-Jun-2002 15:59:01 CDT.
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