SAN JOSE, CA – The Santa Clara County Office of Education’s (SCCOE) Public Affairs Department was honored for its commitment to innovative outreach and community engagement, earning five awards at the 2025 California School Public Relations Association (CalSPRA) Excellence in Communications Awards Gala on March 7.
Over the past four years, the SCCOE has won 19 CalSPRA awards, which are open to the association’s more than 850 members representing school districts and county offices across the state. The awards recognize outstanding success in achieving strategic goals through high-quality communications and public relations programs.
This year, SCCOE Assistant Director of Public Affairs Jennifer Gravem received a CalSPRA Acknowledgement Award as a 'Resilient Walker,' recognizing her perseverance and compassion during challenging times. The SCCOE also earned CalSPRA Awards of Excellence for its community outreach efforts in a high school voter registration drive, its marketing and branding campaign for the Childcare Resource & Referral Program—which featured ads placed at local DMV service locations—and its strategic use of social media mascot Ollie the Owl, who serves as an interactive brand personality bringing SCCOE stories to life online.
Additionally, the SCCOE received a CalSPRA Award of Merit for its comprehensive marketing campaign for the Curriculum and Instruction Steering Committee (CISC).
“The SCCOE strives to set the standard for innovation in communication and community engagement,” Interim Superintendent Dr. Charles Hinman said. “These awards are a credit to the hard work of the County Office of Education’s Public Affairs team and reflect their dedication and creativity in ensuring SCCOE’s outreach efforts inform, inspire, and support the students, families, and educators in Santa Clara County.”
Santa Clara County was well represented with local school communicators receiving awards and being celebrated for completing CalSPRA’s Communications and Community Engagement Certificate Program. Districts within the county were awarded for the following:
Awards of Excellence
- East Side Union High School District – Marketing/Branding Campaign
- Mountain View Whisman School District – Marketing/Branding Campaign, Infographic
- Santa Clara Unified School District - Branding, Social Media, and Social Media
- Sunnyvale School District - Video (Produced with Contractor/Singular)
Awards of Merit
- Berryessa Union School District – Video (Produced with Contractor/Singular)
- Los Gatos Union School District – Video (Produced In-House/Singular)
- Mount Pleasant Elementary School District – DEI Feature or Multilingual Materials
- Mountain View Whisman School District – Video (Produced In-House/Singular)
- Oak Grove School District – (Produced with Contractor/Singular)
- Santa Clara Unified School District – Special Purpose Publication, Video (Produced In-House/Singular)
- Sunnyvale School District – Special Purpose Publication
Communications and Community Engagement Certificate Program
- Lanae Bays – Morgan Hill Unified School District
- Lauren Van Herk – Union School District
- Melanie Corona – Gilroy Unified School District
- Tanya De La Cruz – Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District
Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) for 2024-25
- Karen Briones – Los Altos School District
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About the Santa Clara County Office of Education
Working collaboratively with school and community partners, the Santa Clara County Office of Education (SCCOE) is a regional service agency committed to serving, inspiring, and promoting student and public school success. The SCCOE is a premier service organization driven by the core principles of equity, diversity, inclusion, and partnership. For more information about the Santa Clara County Office of Education, please visit www.sccoe.org and follow us @SCCOE on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. 
