Writing / Lesley Bruinton

Writing Samples

As a former broadcast journalist, Lesley continues to cultivate her writing chops in blogs, feature stories, press releases, and publications.
Here is a sample of her works. She also authors her own blog at Modern Retro PR.

Propel Students by Understanding What Motivates Them, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Tells Conferees

Every teacher has a bag of tricks to help them connect with students. But for Katrina Stevens (pictured), a former English teacher, her bag was empty. She couldn’t reach two female juniors in her classroom 25 years ago. “I thought they hated me!” she said laughing, while relating the story Friday to an AASA national conference audience in San Diego. It was no wonder since other teachers didn’t stick around long enough to try.

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Additional Published Works

Equity & Access Pre K-12 | The American Consortium for Equity in Education • September 3, 2020

AC&E/Equity & Access Online JournalAugust-October 2020 Issue

As the 2019-2020 school year wound down and district administrators across the nation were faced with the looming decisions about the return to school in the fall, community stakeholders came off the sidelines to participate in the decision making. Parental involvement has been a long-sought goal for public school systems. In the age of COVID-19, the question of who decides and how raises more questions than answers.

AASA NCE 2021 • February 14, 2020

A District’s Web and Social Media Marketing Can Raise Teacher Hiring Prospects, Branding Firm Says

The hiring season is around the corner for school districts seeking to find the best teachers to teach in the fall. Most school leaders know it’s a good idea to market their schools, but what they don’t know is what they are getting wrong about the work. Appetgy, a company helping schools build their brands, surveyed the websites and social media presences of 1,000 American schools. Here’s what they found...

Lesley Bruinton

AASA NCE 2021 • February 13, 2020

School Leaders Urged to Brand the Distinctive Story Behind Their Districts

Negative news. Diversity, equity, and inclusion. Bond measures. Budget constraints. Chances are good most school system leaders have had to deal with at least one of these issues already during this school year.

Tuscaloosa City Schools website • January 13, 2020

Mayor Announces ELEVATE Dual Enrollment Scholarship Program

Tuscaloosa City Schools’ high school students will soon benefit from a major educational initiative to make college more affordable as part of ELEVATE Tuscaloosa, the city’s signature plan to elevate education, experience, and the economy. Mayor Walt Maddox announced the launch of Elevate Dual Enrollment college scholarships on Monday, noting that the scholarships will become available starting with the Class of 2021.

Modern Retro PR • June 2, 2019

Who’s Got Next?

Last week, the school PR family lost a stalwart in Gary Marx, the former long-time associate executive director for communications for AASA, the School Superintendents Association. As we consider the legacy he left for our profession, I am left wondering who’s got next? As a profession, we must encourage folks to make their mark in this era. School PR needs more than just tweeters: we need more thought leaders.

Tuscaloosa City Schools website • January 18, 2019

Of Lists & Labels

For the first time since 2013, Central High School has no label attached. It's a moniker CHS teachers, students and staff have been working hard to shed. Earlier today, the Alabama State Department of Education released what is called the "Failing Schools List" as required by the Alabama Accountability Act (AAA). School leaders implemented strong academic plans, elevated expectations for students, and placed strong commitments to excellence.