SAISD Communications Team Brings Home Nine State Awards

This School Communicators Day, SAISD celebrates the District Communications Team, including Jack Wilcox, Communications Specialist, Molly Johnson Turk, Director of Community Relations, Alba Banuelos, Receptionist, and Whitney Watson Wood, Executive Director of Communications, who were honored with nine state awards at the 2022 Texas School Public Relations Association (TSPRA) Conference, including a Crystal Certificate of Merit, six Gold Star Awards, and two Bronze Star Awards. The awards honored work from the previous school year, and were announced at TSPRA’s 60th annual Star Awards Celebration held on Wednesday, February 23, 2022 in Round Rock, Texas.

“We appreciate Jack, Molly, and Whitney’s outstanding work in helping to tell the stories of our students and educators as well as shining a light on the great things going on in SAISD. This team is usually behind the scene highlighting the gifts and talents of our students and staff.  Today, we recognize all the ways they are smart!” said Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources and Professional Learning Dr. Farrah Gomez. 

TSPRA’s annual Star Awards recognize outstanding communicators in school districts for their work in the areas of print, electronic, and visual communications. Awards are given in 48 main categories covering various media such as newsletters, programs, posters, writing, photography, video, web sites, and more. Larger, more comprehensive projects are entered in one of ten Crystal Commendation categories. Bronze, Silver, and Gold Stars are awarded in each category and judges review their highest scoring Gold Star winners and select a Best of Category winner in each category. 

The SAISD Communications Team was honored with the following awards: 

• Crystal Commendation Certificate of Merit for San Angelo ISD Video Portfolio 
• Gold Star Award for San Angelo READS! Logo
• Gold Star Award for San Angelo A-Z Video Documentary
• Gold Star Award for Thank You Principals - National Principals Month 2020 Video Promotional
• Gold Star Award for Our People Make The Difference - Sean Godfrey Video Marketing 
• Gold Star Award for Do’s and Don’ts for Wearing Face Masks Video Training
• Gold Star Award for Proper Hand Washing Techniques Video Training 
• Bronze Star Award for Career and Technical Education Opportunities at San Angelo ISD Video Promotional
• Bronze Star Award for Nuestra Gente Hace la Diferencia - Lorie Castanuela-Thiers Video Production in a Language Other than English

The Communications Team serves as a connection between the school district and our community, facilitating effective communications between school staff, administrators, the Board of Trustees, students, parents and community members. They support district initiatives and community engagement through management and coordination of communications. 

“At SAISD, we work to help our students achieve their individual hopes and dreams, and the Communications Team focuses our work on celebrating our students in that journey and our Difference Maker staff who impact the lives of the children of San Angelo every day,” said Executive Director of Communications Whitney Wood. “We strive to connect with our community, our students and our families, to share important information, cultivate partnerships and tell the story of our District.”

To stay up-to-date on San Angelo ISD and see more work by the Communications Team that celebrates all the ways our students are smart and the impactful work of our SAISD Difference Makers, please visit the SAISD website at www.saisd.org and follow us on Facebook and Twitter. SAISD videos like the award-winning ones above, may also be viewed on our official SAISD youTube channel here and our San Angelo READS! youTube channel here.

About TSPRA
TSPRA is a nonprofit, professional organization dedicated to promoting public schools through effective communications. With more than 900 members, TSPRA is comprised primarily of public information and communications professionals who serve the public school districts and education organizations of Texas.