STANDARDS AND SCORE CARD FOR PUBLIC RELATIONS

The area of public relations in education has developed from the upsurge of public interest in the schools. Seldom have so many people demonstrated such a keen and vital interest in the public school. 1/ Conditions associated largely with World War II have served to focus the attention of the American people upon public education. Although many problems in American education are of longer duration, recently the spotlight of public opinion has been centered on school finance, the teacher shortage, the serious lack of building facilities, and the rising tide of public school enrollments. This timely course of the public can be either constructive or destructive; it can exert either a positive or negative force upon the public schools. The outcome will depend largely upon the effectiveness of the educational leadership and the degree of understanding and cooperation it elects from the people. With these thoughts in mind, a public relations program in the public schools then becomes not only a necessity but the threshold over which all educational problems must pass