Written By Aaron Leedy, Director of Marketing, Public Relations, and Grant Writing for the Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation

In recent years, attracting new students and retaining current ones to public school corporations has become just as competitive as businesses competing for customers. Just like the success of a business depends on the revenue from shoppers, a public school corporation can’t operate without funding from state and federal governments. The money a corporation receives depends on the number of students enrolled, so “selling” a corporation to parents and students is increasingly common especially as the education landscape continues to evolve.

In Indiana, parents can send their child to any public school they want to without having to pay tuition. On top of that, charter schools are another option competing to fill seats. It’s only natural nowadays for public school corporations to market and highlight the positive stories happening in their schools to help retain current students and attract new ones.

This is the first year for Tippecanoe Valley’s newly-created public relations, marketing, and grant writing position. A role like this was almost unheard of for a small, rural district less than a decade ago. It used to be that only large school corporations with thousands of students in highly-populated areas established public relations and marketing positions.

One reason for this new position at Tippecanoe Valley is to create and distribute the content that busy teachers and administrators simply do not have time to do. Tasks like creating newsletters, drafting press releases, handling social media pages, responding to media requests, seeking grant funding for projects, developing marketing plans, updating school websites, and taking photographs and video of school events were things that would get done in what little spare time they had left at the end of the day, if at all.

This new role frees up that extra time so a teacher can spend more time on what is most important: the student. It also provides a cohesive approach for the staff when handling things related to marketing and public relations.

A lot of great things happen at each Tippecanoe Valley school on a daily basis. There are so many stories from our teachers and students to tell, that no matter how much content we create, we feel like we’ve only scratched the surface of what’s happening.

The intent of this new position at Tippecanoe Valley is simple and true to the district’s vision. We’re here to inform the public and market our schools by sharing what is being done in our schools to equip all students to be successful – today, tomorrow, and beyond.

Valley Insight is a recurring monthly article written by administrators on a variety of topics related to education and the Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation. Articles will be posted to the district’s website and also shared with the local media.

Two members of the Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation board of trustees whose terms expire at the end of this year were recently recognized for their service and dedication to the school district.

David O’Brien and Tom Craft were both honored and presented with plaques at the December 12^th school board meeting. Their current terms end on December 31, 2016.

Having served a total of 16 and one-half years, O’Brien’s first of four terms began on July 1, 2000. He served as a school board representative on several corporation committees. O’Brien is also the current school board president.

Craft’s term began on January 1, 2013. Both have demonstrated commitment to continual growth by regularly participating in training opportunities provided by the Indiana School Boards Association.

The district appreciates the dedicated service both O’Brien and Craft have provided to the Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation.

The terms of newly-elected members Adam Heckaman and Aaron Zolman will officially begin on January 1, 2017. They will be sworn in at the January 16th school board meeting. The meeting will be held at the Burket Educational Center beginning at 6:30 p.m.

The Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation board of trustees approved the 2017-2018 master school calendar at its regularly scheduled meeting December 12.

Superintendent Brett Boggs said the calendar is almost identical to the current 2016-2017 school calendar, with only minimal differences between the two.

The newly-approved calendar features 91 days of school for students in the first semester and 89 days of school in the second semester. School will begin on Monday, August 7, 2017 and end Thursday, May 17, 2018.

10 emergency make-up days prior to graduation are built in. The calendar also features a three-day Thanksgiving vacation for students, an 11-day Christmas break, and a week off in the spring.

To view the calendar, click this link: tvsc-school-calendar-2017-2018

The Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation board of trustees honored at its December 12^th meeting three staff members for their hard work and dedication to the district.

Sheila Kindig, a computer lab instructor at Akron Elementary School, and Samantha Bradford, secretary at Akron Elementary School, are the recipients of the Tippecanoe Valley Pillar Award for Outstanding Support Staff.

Kindig is in her 20th year at Akron Elementary School. She started as a substitute teacher before being hired to work in the computer lab.

“The best part of my job is working with and getting to know every student at Akron. It’s fun to see them come in as kindergarten students and watch how much they grow, change, and learn as they move through the grades at Akron and on to TVMS,” said Kindig.

Bradford began working at Akron Elementary School in 1997 as an instructional assistant. Eight years ago, she became the school’s secretary and is currently in her 19th year at Akron. Her colleagues describe her as always helpful, fun to be around, and easy to laugh with.

The board also recognized Karla Hayden, a reading interventionist at Mentone Elementary School, as the recipient of the Tippecanoe Valley World Class Teacher Award.

“Karla Hayden exemplifies self-sacrifice, continually reads about current educational practice in her field, and is an instructional leader who cares deeply about the success of many components of Mentone Elementary.  Her collaborative spirit and concern for all Mentone students are evident in her actions on a daily basis,” said Mentone Elementary School Principal Randy Dahms.