267816878 3117831905113987 5105384157230688651 n BREAKING: Birmingham City Schools wins national award for COVID-19 campaign — The school system has worked throughout the past year to educate the community. (Birmingham City Schools / Facebook)

Birmingham City Schools has received a Golden Achievement Award from the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) for its “Our Best Shot” COVID-19 awareness campaign. Keep reading to learn more about the award-winning campaign.

Working for a safe return

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During the height of the pandemic, Bimingham City Schools (BCS) surveyed parents of children in the school system and found 60% of the parents did not want their children to get the vaccine.

According to Sherrrel Stewart, director of the strategy and communication team, there was much work to do.

The “Our Best Shot” campaign began with a goal of breaking down the barriers of searching for a place to be vaccinated. BCS brought COVID-19 vaccines to individuals in the comfort of their own neighborhood.

Their efforts did not stop there. BCS also began hosting “COVID Conversations.” These were virtual and limited in-person sessions where students, parents and employees could ask questions related to the pandemic that would be answered by medical experts.

Educating the community

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BCS Strategy and Communications team’s campaign provided information and events to educate employees, students, their families and community residents on COVID-19 vaccinations. This education came in the form of social media, radio pushes, knocking on doors and more.

The district made free vaccinations available by working with local and national entities, including Alabama Regional Medical Services, MedsPlus Consulting, UAB, the Jefferson County Department of Health, the Birmingham Association of Black Nurses, Cahaba Medical Centers, Made to Save and Connection Health Community Partners.

Big time for Birmingham City Schools

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The Golden Achievement Award is given every year to schools all over the country. It recognizes outstanding work in all aspects of public relations, communications, marketing and engagement.

“We are pleased to receive this national recognition. This is significant for our school district because others have acknowledged our efforts to provide a healthy and safe environment for our employees, our scholars and their families.”
Sherrel Stewart, Executive Director, BCS Strategy and Communications

BCS Superintendent Mark Sullivan, Ed. D. agreed, saying the campaign was crucial to the school system’s success during the pandemic.

“The Our Best Shot initiative helped us achieve one of our main goals and that was to provide resources to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 among our employees, students and families. We are pleased with this national recognition of our efforts.”
Dr. Mark Sullivan, Superintendent, Birmingham City Schools

The award will be presented to Birmingham City Schools next month during the NSPRA’s national meeting in Chicago.

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