Fall Drive-in

Registration Check-in

8:30am - 9am

Light breakfast snacks
Welcome - MSPRA Professional Development Chair

Leave No Camper Behind: Accessible Flyer Design

9am - 10am

Flyers can be tricky terrain when it comes to ADA accessibility, especially when they're created by people across a district who have different design tools and skill levels. In this hands-on session, we'll explore the trail to better flyer design with Canva, review common accessibility pitfalls, and workshop real-world examples to make them more effective and accessible. Using a train-the-trainer format, participants will leave with materials they can use to bring the training back to their own teams.

Presenter: Melanie McIntyre, Communications Coordinator, Dexter Community Schools

Build It Right at Base Camp: Accessible Documents from the Start

10am - 11:15am

PDFs can be tricky to make ADA accessible, but sometimes they're the right tool for the job. The best way to create an accessible PDF is to start with an accessible document. In this hands-on workshop, we'll use built-in formatting tools in Google Docs and Microsoft Word to create polished, accessible communications from the start. You'll leave with practical skills and resources to train your team to create documents that look good and work for everyone.

Presenter: Hope Vestergaard, Director of Communications, Dexter Community Schools

The Accessibility Trail Guide: Resources to Focus Your Training

11:15am - 11:45am

Not sure where your district should focus its ADA accessibility training? This session will take you on a guided tour of a library of practical resources designed to help identify common accessibility gaps, pinpoint training needs, and prioritize where to start. You'll explore tools and resources you can take back to your district to assess needs, build a focused training plan, and help your team make accessibility part of everyday communications.

Presenter: Katie McClintic, Communications and Marketing Director, Kent ISD

Lunch and Networking

11:45am - 12:30pm

Comments from MSPRA President Kelly Allen, APR

Compliance Quest

12:30pm - 1:30pm

Ready to test your compliance know-how? Compliance Quest takes a game-show approach to the annual postings, notices, and communications every district needs to tackle. Test your knowledge, discover what's easy to miss, and leave with a clearer trail map for keeping your district on track.

Presenters: Amy McCarthy, Director of Communications and Marketing, Cedar Springs School District and Trisha McCauley, Communications Director, Byron Center Public Schools

Campfire Chat: Roundtable Discussions

1:30pm - 2:30pm

Roundtable discussions are consistently one of our highest rated conference offerings, with good reason! These facilitated discussions offer an opportunity to connect with other peers to trade stories, tips, and communications challenges. This year's topics will be Website, Finance, Working with External School Groups, FOIA, and Communications Tips and Tricks. Ideas from each topic will be compiled and shared with attendees in the conference resource drive.

Make the Case. Pack the Backpack.

School communications professionals are expected to do more with less while navigating accessibility requirements, compliance deadlines, design best practices, and ever-changing communication needs. Compliance Camp brings it all together in one practical, hands-on experience. Why should you attend? Participants will acquire tools and strategies to stay ahead of compliance requirements with practical guidance on annual notices, postings, and ADA accessibility; build better communications with hands-on strategies for polished, accessible content; find the gaps and identify your team's training needs; learn from peers through workshop discussions; bring the training home with practical resources and a train-the-trainer approach; save time and streamline workflows with techniques you can use right away.