Sandy Creek Central School District • News • Sandy Creek Central School District receives national recognition for SEL Campaign • 7/11/2025

Sandy Creek Central School District receives national recognition for SEL Campaign

July 11th, 2025 by Jessica Sorell

CiTi BOCES Public Relations team members Jennifer Casler and Jessica Sorell proudly present Superintendent Kevin Seymour and Board of Education President John Shelmidine with two NSPRA Awards of Excellence, recognizing their collaborative effort in school communication.

Sandy Creek Central School District has been honored with the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) Excellence Award for Marketing Materials for its Be Good Comets Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Campaign.

The campaign was recognized as part of NSPRAs Publication and Digital Media Awards, which highlight outstanding tactical communications including newsletters, print materials, videos, podcasts, websites and social media. Entries are judged based on excellence, creativity and impact.

This years winners represent the best in school communication across the country, and Sandy Creek Elementary's campaign stood out among 120 entries for its design and effective approach to student recognition and school culture.

The SEL Committee launched the Be Good Comets initiative to recognize and encourage positive student behavior. To bring their vision to life, they partnered with the CiTi BOCES Public Relations team to develop a visually dynamic campaign designed to educate and inspire the students.

The CiTi team organized a photoshoot featuring volunteer students and the district mascot to capture everyday acts of kindness, such as opening doors or helping a friend in need. These images were transformed into colorful posters highlighting the core traits of being a Good Comet, which now hang throughout the school. The team also created eye-catching social media graphics to showcase the weekly Comet call-out winners, celebrating students who go above and beyond.

School psychologist and SEL Committee member, Whitney Oak, explained how the school put the campaign into action. Each week, staff members passed out tickets to students who demonstrated kindness, resilience and positive decision-making, she said. On Fridays, five student names were drawn from a pool of 300- 400 recognition tickets, and those students received a prize, a certificate, and had their photos shared on the schools bulletin board and digital platforms.

Teachers really embraced the opportunity to reward students for doing the right thing and showing strong moral character, said Elementary Principal Tim Filiatrault. The lasting impact on both students and staff has been a testament to this campaigns success.

Looking ahead, the district plans to expand the program by drawing one winner per grade level and aligning the campaign with weekly Comet character traits, such as responsibility, kindness or teamwork.

Members of the SEL committee and CiTi PR team were recognized during a SCCS Board of Education meeting on July 10 for their outstanding role in creating this campaign, along with a second Award of Excellence for the districts quarterly newsletter.