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Henrico County Public Schools has been recognized for its communications efforts with four awards from the National School Public Relations Association. The school division earned two Golden Achievement Awards, given for exemplary work in all aspects of school public relations activities, programs and projects. The awards recognize:
• “Heart of Henrico” – The school division’s employee recognition program honors the work of HCPS staff members across the school division. Winners, usually recognized weekly, are profiled in video features that are publicized on social media and archived at the HCPS website. Recipients also receive a variety of “Heart of Henrico” gear recognizing their outstanding contributions.
• “Introducing a Community to its New Superintendent” – The national group recognized HCPS’ efforts around the retirement of Patrick Kinlaw as superintendent and Amy Cashwell’s arrival and first year as Henrico Schools’ leader. The effort included 11 community forums or meetings, publicity efforts, video, and the creation of the “Amy’s Passport” blog and print booklet that chronicle Cashwell’s travels, reflections, recommendations and progress.
The HCPS Department of Communications and Public Relations was selected to share details about the superintendent transition in a presentation to school public relations professionals from across the nation. Members of the department spoke Monday in Washington at the annual conference of the National School Public Relations Association.
Henrico Schools also earned two merit awards for print and digital media:
• "The Binder” – HCPS’ hand-coded e-newsletter is emailed to families every two weeks during the school year, and includes divisionwide news, reminders and upcoming events.
• “Amy’s Passport” – The blog and passport-themed printed booklet chronicle Amy Cashwell’s first year as HCPS superintendent, her reflections, and her recommendations and progress in improving the school division. Because Cashwell was struck by the county’s global diversity, the project assumed a passport theme.
