The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District (KPBSD)hosted a mix of eighty people who spent five active hours together at the Challenger Learning Center on Tuesday, February 2nd, School board members, high school students, KPBSD Key Communicators, school site council leaders, school principals, district leadership team members and invited community members and business partners participated in the first Key Communicators Collaboration, an event designed to educate, gather input from the community, and grow advocacy for public education and KPBSD schools. “At a time when the state fiscal climate is a top topic, KPBSD gathered a bunch of smart people together to brainstorm and face the challenges in the district, and offer solutions,” explained Pegge Erkeneff, KPBSD communications specialist.

A mix of presentations, including the “State of the KPBSD” which addressed awards and accolades, innovation, funding, and legislation. In the afternoon, topics identified positive stories in the schools with students and graduates. The day concluded with how to communicate collaboratively, with each person choosing one action they could take during this legislative session that was unique to their own personality, care and concern, and talent. “The district was pleased with the response to the day, and the active participation from everyone present. With people from Seward, Seldovia, Sterling, Homer, Ninilchik, Nikiski, Kenai and Soldotna, and all areas in between, excellent perspective and common themes emerged,” she said. According to Erkeneff the feedback from everyone was, “let’s do this more often,” and “thank you for helping me understand the real issues that the district is addressing.”

“To focus on the positive stories in coming months that happen every day is critical, and we need help from everyone to share these stories,” said Erkeneff, who was also one of the presenters and organizers of the day. “Our Key Communicator network was started two years ago, and is growing. Conversations happen every day—in school parking lots, the grocery store, and with our elected officials. This started as a two-way exchange between the school district and people that each school principal identified in their school community. Now it is expanding to include students, and community partners. It’s a fantastic opportunity to hear from people who care about our schools, and also to share issues the district is facing. We look forward to a continued conversation, and interaction,” she stated. To learn more about the Key Communicator program, visit the webpage: http://bit.ly/KeyCommunicators. Links to the presentations are online at the KPBSD Communications blog: http://bit.ly/KPBSDCommunicationsBlog

Kenai Peninsula Borough School District. The KPBSD website is the official source for Kenai Peninsula Borough School District information, including employment openings, school links, calendars, a staff directory, forms, department listings, and more.