The Leading Edge

AASA’s newest toolkit is designed to tell the good news of our nation’s schools and the students they serve. This toolkit is created to highlight the successes our students are experiencing in and out of the classroom, including academic gains, school safety, lifestyle choices and more. The toolkit includes information on responding to media inquiries and delivering powerful speeches/presentations.

With the 2012-13 school year successfully underway, AASA is pleased to provide you with a toolkit designed to help you tell the good news of your district. Teachers and students across the country have been hack at it for several weeks now, and its never too soon to start shining a light on what’s right in public education, using the resources in this toolkit. Feel free to share the resources in the toolkit with your staff, your school board, parents, community members, business leaders, news media and other audiences important to you and your school system.

Welcome letter from Benny L. Gooden and Daniel A. Domenech, introducing and explaining this year’s toolkit

Talking Points and Presentation Materials

• Back to School Talking Points: Telling the Good News!
• Back to School Powerpoint: Use these slides to spread the good news; use in conjunction with the talking points
• Back to School Presentation Tips: A quick 'how-to' for this toolkit, with specific reference to the slides and talking points

Media Resources and Materials

• Back to School Sample News Release: A news release to use with your community (Word)
• Back to School Sample Opinion-Editorial (Op-Ed) Draft Op-Ed to use with your local paper (Word)
• Back to School Media Outreach Tips: Suggestions for spreading the good news (Word)
• Back to School Responding to Media Inquiries Tips for handling media inquiries (Word)
• AASA Resources: Questions? Contact AASA’s Policy & Advocacy or Communications Teams.