An Interview with Patrick Riccards: Education Communications

Michael F. Shaughnessy - August 5, 2009
Senior Columnist EducationNews.org
Eastern New Mexico University
Portales, New Mexico  

1)  Patrick, first of all congratulations on your recent award and acknowledgements. Could you tell us a bit about the award and how you felt?

Each year, PRWeek magazine recognizes the top 40 communications professionals in the nation under the age of 40.  In their August issue, they released their 2009 list, and I was privileged enough to be included in this year’s class.  In its write-up, PRWeek referred to me as “an authority on education communications and policy at all levels.”  That is high praise indeed.

I am particularly honored because this is the first time in the history of the feature that PRWeek has recognized a communications professional from the education sector.  Typically, this list focuses on those in fields such as healthcare, technology, consumer goods, and such.  I find it enormously gratifying that the education sector is finally included in such honors.

From our nation’s capital to state capitals across the country, education is becoming one of the key drivers for improvement.  A strong education is essential to workforce development, improved healthcare, stronger communities, and a healthier economy overall.  For too long, education – particularly K-12 education – operated in a vacuum, separate from much of the real world.  As we move from the NCLB era to the Race to the Top era, education is gaining greater prominence and bears greater responsibility. 

If we are going to truly improve our educational offerings, boost student achievement, and close the achievement gap, we must adopt the right, proven policies and approaches and we must effectively communicate those approaches to stakeholders across the nation.   If we do not effectively communicate our reforms and changes to those implementing them, we can’t expect them to have lasting effect.

So, I see this recognition as a realization of the importance of education reform and the role communication plays in ensuring such changes take strong hold in communities across the nation.

2) Now, how does your award relate to your work?

This award is really a testament to me and to the wide range of organizations and partners I work with in the education sector.  As CEO of Exemplar Strategic Communications (www.exemplarpr.com), I am fortunate to work with policy organizations, government agencies, philanthropies, universities, corporations, and not-for-profit groups on education improvement issues.  So, this honor is really a recognition of how effective my partners have been in driving meaningful education improvement. 

I am lucky enough to work with organizations that allow me to pursue the issues that I am most passionate about – reading instruction, high school improvement, STEM, early childhood education, teacher quality, education technology, and many others.  If I’ve learned anything from my time in the education sector, it is that you need effective ideas for true communications success.  The groups I work with recognize this, and are eager to share what they are doing, the research behind it, and the outcomes resultant from it. 

Primarily, my role is as an organizer and an amplifier.  How do I help groups shape their messages and their positions so they have maximum impact in the current political and policy environments?  And how do I help amplify those messages so they break through the white noise, are heard by decision makers, and help move us from the status quo to real, lasting change for the better.

As part of my job, I am also author of Eduflack (http://blog.eduflack.com), a blog that takes a close look at key education policy efforts and how effectively we communicate them to those audiences that are implementing them.  After nearly two and a half years, Eduflack is one of the leading education policy blogs in the nation, and our @Eduflack Twitter feed is one of the go-to sources for education news.  It all contributes to our philosophy that more information and more sunshine on issues are good things.  We should promote that which we do well, note that which we do poorly, and force all comers to articulate why they should be in the former, and not the latter, category. 

Scrutiny is the only way we can move good ideas into great policy.  So forums like Eduflack are useful places to stir the pot and agitate the educational status quo just a little.

3) Why do you feel that communication is so imperative in today's world?

Effective communication is imperative because of the vast choices we have.  We can no longer stand by and hope that we will be recognized for a good idea or a proven method.  We have to engage key audiences on our ideas, helping them see that while there are problems out there, there are also real, proven, workable solutions to those problems.

This is a belief that has been slow to take hold in education.  For too long, we thought that PR and communications was something left to the for-profits and the hucksters.  We have had companies out there selling vapor, education reforms with no real substance and no real research to back it up, but they did so successfully. 

As a result, we’ve collectively bought a lot of magic bullets and quick fixes, but we are still seeking the results we expected.  It has had a negative impact on education and education communications.

In recent years, we’ve seen a change in that philosophy.  Those who have done good work, those who have real data to substantiate their claims, and those who are really boosting student achievement are seeing the value of effective communications.  They recognize it isn’t enough to simply know the value of their work. 

They need to share it with those stakeholders who can move it into policy and successfully move it into practice.  And they realize that communication or public engagement is the most effective way to do that.

Too often, we think that communications, in the formal sense, is simply a tool for informing people of our ideas.  In my practice, I have found that informing is really only the first step of effective communication.  Once we have informed audiences, we then need to build commitment toward a particular action and mobilize audiences to take that action.  Informing is important, but is wasted if we do not impact decisions and actions.  This is particularly true in education reform.

4) It seems that we have telephones, text messages, the Internet and e-mail. What do all these communication devices have in common, and why do we still seem to have problems in human communication?

Often, the breakdown is a result of believing that the vehicle for communication is more important than the message itself.  Today, we hear a lot of people throw around terms like new media and social media, talk about using blogs and Facebook and Twitter.  Too many people believe that the tactic is the most important piece, and that somehow a Facebook page or some compelling tweets are going to change public behavior.  They are not.

Effective communication is both art and science.  We have a rich toolbox we can use, but those tools are only as effective as their operator.  In communications, that effectiveness comes from a strong message and a stronger understanding of the individuals and audiences we are trying to reach with it.  You can go through a checklist of tactics, but if you do not understand what motivates your stakeholders and what is keeping them up at night, you will never be truly effective. 

It is hard, particularly in education, to get individuals to break from the status quo.  Effective communication is able to transform a complex policy or a rich data set into easily understood concepts that personally connect with stakeholders.

These tools are also dangerous in the hands of those who do not fully understand them.  I regularly hear PR professionals use the term new media and social media interchangeably, as if they are one in the same.  They are not.  They are very different tactics.  New media is maximizing the reach of online information sources such as websites, blogs, and listserves.  Educationnews.org is the perfect example of new media and its power.  I prefer the term social networking to social media.  Social networking is exactly that, the development of online communities for the sharing of information and engagement on key issues. 

This is where Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter would come into play.  New and social media serve different purposes and achieve different outcomes.  Confusing them or lumping them together is a surefire way to ensure that the end result is not reached.

I would quickly point out, though, that such communication tools are still no substitute for relationship-based communications, such as partnerships, public events, conversations, dialogues, and general face-to-face, human-to-human activities.  It is easy to promise something online and then not deliver.  It is much harder to turn down a request for help, partnership, or improvement when the ask comes one on one, in real time.

5) What do teachers need to be teaching in the schools about communication- particularly in terms of critical thinking?

I do a lot of work in STEM education, including leading the Pennsylvania STEM Initiative, and any discussion of STEM invariably turns to one about 21^st century skills.  We know from years of research, including Achieve’s 2005 study, that today’s employers are looking for workers who have strong communication, critical thinking, and teamwork skills.  In my conversations with business leaders, policymakers, and educators across the country, this point is heard again and again.

Unfortunately, some believe that these skills can only be obtained by changing WHAT we teach.  That’s why discussions of 21^st century skills have devolved into many thinking we seek to eliminate history so we can teach keyboarding.  Nothing could be further from the truth, but it is the sort of red herring we throw up to prevent change and improvement.  Thus, the status quo endures.

Good educators know that students develop the practical skills they need when we change HOW we teach.  When English teachers require a multimedia presentation to accompany the written book report.  When science teachers rely more on group lab work than just the memorization of key formulas.  When social studies classes move beyond the facts and dates and focus on the whys and the motivations.  That is what all teachers and schools should be working toward.

As many know, I have spent the past decade working in the field of reading instruction, starting with my work with the National Reading Panel.  In many ways, reading instruction is a microcosm for effective instruction in general.  Even today, most of what we are teaching is providing the foundational building blocks, the phonics, phonemic awareness, and vocabulary one needs to succeed. 

Real success – real acquisition of 21^st century skills like critical thinking – only come when we take those building blocks and use them to effectively comprehend what we are learning.  In reading, a student is truly a proficient reader if she is able to understand what they are reading.  In K-12 education, a student fully succeed in the classroom and beyond when he is able to take the facts, figures, and vocabulary words provided to him, understand them, and apply them in different contexts.  Only then will all students be able to succeed in school and in life. 

6) What impact has this award had on your teaching and world view?

I was fortunate to grow up in a family of educators.  My father is a political scientist and a retired college president.  My mother was a career high school English teacher.  So I like to think they gave me a pretty good base to start.

Most teachers are familiar with the concept of modeling best practice.  We seek out others in our field who are succeeding and try to learn from them.  We look to mentors.  We look to master teachers.  We look to those who have walked a similar path in classrooms like ours and with kids like ours.

If my experiences have taught me anything, it is that we need more modeling behavior in education policy as well.  Inaction is easier than reform.  Too many are afraid of taking a wrong step forward that they prefer not to move at all.  We need to do a better job of sharing successes, spotlighting best and promising practice, and focusing on the data that demonstrates the potential impact we can have. 

We need to show that real improvement is possible, and has been achieved, even if it is at the small scale. 

It is easy to focus on the negative in our public schools.  But if we are to truly improve and innovate, we also need to spend time understanding the positive.  And we must be able to distinguish between real results and the smoke and mirrors that are all too prevalent in education reform these days. 

The job of teacher, particularly in a K-12 classroom, is one of the most challenging jobs in this country.  And it seems to get more and more challenging by the day.  To truly improve the quality of instruction in our schools, we must first recognize that it is a shared responsibility.  Yes, teachers play a key role in the process.  But so do parents and family leaders, community organizations and churches, business and government leaders, and virtually everyone in between.  We are all educators in one way, shape, or form.  In our experiences with STEM education in Pennsylvania, we are succeeding because we recognize this.  It is a true public/private partnership, one that is happening at both the state and the community levels. 

All are involved, because all reap the rewards if it succeeds. 

7) Why does it seem that so few educators are acknowledged in terms of this award?

For one, we still struggle with measuring success in education.  We see this today in the battle over teacher incentive pay.  Do we reward good teachers based solely on student performance on the state assessment, or are there other factors to consider, both quantitative and qualitative.  If we can’t come to a common measure for results or success in the field, how can we expect those outside of education to be able to evaluate our successes and our merits?

There is so much good work happening in the educator sector and in education communications.  But there are few places where such work can be shared and explored.  Reporters can look to groups like the Education Writers Association.  Those at the school district level can look to the National School Public Relations Association.  But for those who are working with policy or membership organizations, those who are working with federal and state government, or those who are cutting across multiple issues and multiple audiences, there are few places to really share best practice and understand what is happening in the field.

Last year, I started Educommunicators to help provide a virtual community for marketing communications professionals in the education sector to come together.  We have received strong interest from education communications pros across the country, representing virtually ever corner of the field.  We are now in the process of pulling all of those who voiced interest on LinkedIn, Facebook, and the web to come together on Facebook to really build our social network. 

Earlier this year, we did a survey of members to get a better sense of their needs and wishes.  We are now urging all interested parties to “friend” Edu Communicators on Facebook.  We plan on rolling out new efforts for the Educommunicator community this fall.

8) What have I neglected to ask?

In education reform, effective communication is quickly becoming a non-negotiable.  Gone are the days when PR simply meant a junior staffer who could put out a press release or assemble a clip packet.  When we look at the great policy and instructional success stories in public education, there is usually a senior-level communicator who has been a part of the process from the start.

Communications is not something you just insert at the completion of a project.  I am successful because my partners bring me in from the beginning.  I help in identifying the organization’s overall goals and determining which stakeholders are most effective in achieving those goals.  I focus on the message and how we prove its validity and impact, be it through data points, research studies, or personal stories.  And then I build an integrated communications effort that delivers those messages and their respective calls to action to audiences in multiple ways, including the media.

I recently had a respected voice in education reform (and now a client partner of mine) really define me in the strongest way I have ever heard.  I am a policy pro, with a strong understanding of the research, who operates through a communications lens.  That sort of hybrid is how we can move real school improvements forward.

While it is not necessary for education communicators to be able to reference key provisions in NCLB and RttT or to be able to disaggregate student achievement data, it certainly helps.  When “flacking” for a new idea or a new policy, it is essential to understand how that idea fits in the current policy confines.  One can wait and be told how they intersect, or one can choose to understand the policy and research environments and know how they intersect.  I choose the latter.  And that choice has made me a far more effective communicator and education reform advocate.