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Hi, I’m Patricia.

I’m a former television reporter, who’s spent the last decade working with the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation in Indiana. My role is to help the district build relationships with families and community partners.

When I started my work in education, I never envisioned how much my journalism skills would come in handy. But I quickly realized two things…family engagement is hard work and the foundation for that work is effective communication. It helps administrators build trust, puts parents at ease, and allows teachers to turn words into relationships that help students succeed.

I became so enamored with this idea of communication as a game-changer for family engagement that I wrote a book about it. It’s called Closing the Loop, A Powerful and Practical Guide to School-Home Communication. Closing the Loop uses the  principles of broadcast journalism to help school leaders and educators improve their abilities to create clear, concise communications that make connections with families…the kind of connections that result in student success. (Read more.)

These days, I spend my time traveling to school districts (either virtually, or in-person) to talk with teachers and staff and provide communications training. In addition to keynotes and speeches, I offer a series of virtual, self-guided, and in-person courses. You can pair them with coaching to ensure effective communication principles become embedded throughout your district.

How educators communicate and what they say is constantly changing. My work is designed to help educators develop a solid skill set that they can use to build effective text messages, flyers, and emails and one they can use to craft effective phone conversations, virtual calls, or face-to-face meetings. 

So, if communicating is an area where your school or district feels it needs to improve, or if you just want to give your teachers and staff more confidence in engaging with families this school year, I’d love to hear from you and talk about how we can work together.

Want to get a better sense of my work and approach?

Sign up for my free playbook — and start your journey to clearer school-home communication today.

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What people are saying about the presentations

ESC of Northeast Ohio

I loved this class! Patricia was super engaging and I feel like I really gained a lot of knowledge and insight from these classes. The group we had was open and honest and I believe we all gained a lot of communication skills that will be put to good use!

Maria Ovalle-LopezDirector Family Engagement, Klein ISD

Patricia Weinzapfel delivered powerful content empowering family facing professionals to refine their communication skills and positively engage families in education. She shared real examples of best communication practices that gave participants the opportunity to problem- solve and apply the content immediately!

Charlene PaparizosDirector of Communications, Chagrin Falls Schools

Patricia's work will enhance your overall communication skills. In our District, our goal is to build trust, foster collaboration, and ensure that our messages are clearly understood. Patricia's master class and year-long coaching with our administrators and staff is leading us even closer to accomplishing this goal. We use Patricia's tips and tools to communicate with families, as well as internally with staff. I even find myself remembering her advice in conversations with friends and family. For me, her work is not only professional development, but personal development. That combination is hard to find.

IEL 2021 Conference Attendee

Patricia was amazing!!!!! She was very knowledgeable and her examples were great!

NSPRA 2021 Conference Attendee

I’ve already implemented some of these strategies into my district communications.

ESC of Northeast Ohio

The series was set up with discussions, hands on applications, time to ask questions and plan ahead. From the beginning to end it was worthwhile time spent spent focusing on specifically on communication to families.

NSPRA 2021 Conference Attendee

Best virtual session, in my opinion. Excellent and engaging presentation.

NSPRA 2021 Conference Attendee via Twitter

Your tips are already impacting my work this morning as I craft a parent communication. Your work truly makes a difference.

Kids Count Conference 2019 Attendee

Great Examples of real-life situations and fun activities that get the points across in a memorable way.

ESC of Northeast Ohio

The Masterclass is beneficial to groom and grow your ability to effectively communicate to all stakeholders. It diminishes many preconceived ideas and replaces them with new simple innovative ways to communicate across all forms of media. This class is a must take if you are an intricate part of the communications team within your District.

Contact Patricia

And learn how simple, effective communication can help your school district.