Chattanooga, Tenn. (Jun. 29, 2021) - Hamilton County Schools (HCS) won three national awards from the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) for its COVID-19 communications, a social media campaign celebrating teachers, and a video highlighting an aviation student at one of HCS’ Future Ready Institutes.
HCS received NSPRA’s Golden Achievement Award for the district’s COVID-19 communications and response during the 2020-2021 school year. HCS held in-person instruction 90% of the 2021-2022 school year and had over 800 communication touchpoints with the community throughout that time. The Golden Achievement Award recognizes outstanding, strategic work in all aspects of school public relations, communication, marketing and engagement.
HCS also received two Publications and Digital Media Excellence Awards—a first-ever accomplishment. One award was for a social media campaign entitled #HCSHeroes, which highlighted the heroic efforts of HCS teachers to serve children during the pandemic. The other award was for a video telling the story of Kobe Rivers, who was the first student to graduate from the Aviation Future Ready Institute with his pilot’s license.
Publications and Digital Media Excellence Awards are for outstanding work in educational communications, including print and digital publications, video, audio, websites, social media and more.
HCS competed against hundreds of public school systems and private schools from across the country.
Staff will present on HCS’ COVID-19 communications and response work at a roundtable during the national NSPRA conference in New Orleans, Louisiana next month. The #HCSHeroes campaign and Kobe Rivers video will also be on display for other school districts to learn more about.
“This recognition is a testament to the power of an engaged community committed to serving children during a global pandemic,” said Dr. Bryan Johnson, superintendent of Hamilton County Schools. “We understand that strong communication is critical to accelerating student achievement, and I’m excited for our work to be accessible to other school systems around the country."