ACPS is proud to announce that Chief of School and Community Relations Julia Burgos has been recognized by the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) as a Front-Runner who embodies leadership, innovation and excellence. Ms. Burgos was one of four Front-Runners honored by NSPRA for each of the Northeast, Mideast and Southeast regions in the 2021-22 school year. She currently serves as the president of the Chesapeake Public Relations Association (CHESPRA) which includes school communications staff from Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia.
Ms. Burgos has been with ACPS since July 2020 and oversees the Department of School and Community Relations (SCR), a team of more than 20 staff in the Office of Communications and Office of Community Partnerships and Engagement. Under her leadership, ACPS was awarded the NSPRA Gold Medallion for “The Identity Project,” an initiative Ms. Burgos led in the 2020-21 school year, which resulted in changing the names of two schools that had previously honored racist figures, to school names that reflect the diversity and values in our community today, including the well-known T.C. Williams High School which is now Alexandria City High School.
“Congratulations to Julia Burgos for being an NSPRA Front-Runner! I want to thank her for the strategic vision and leadership she has brought to ACPS’ communications and community engagement work,” said Superintendent Dr. Gregory C. Hutchings, Jr. “In a short time, Ms. Burgos has connected with our stakeholders and begun to address the priority communication needs and inequities within our school division, as well as lead our nationally-recognized school renaming Identity Project. She has been energetic and forward-thinking in building the School and Community Relations team to better serve our students, staff and families. Ms. Burgos’ leadership, innovation and excellence truly model best practices, and I am excited that NSPRA has recognized her with this well-deserved award.”
Ms.Burgos came to ACPS from Arlington Public Schools where she served as chief of staff to the superintendent for seven years. With more than 25 years of experience in communications and public engagement, she is a multicultural communications strategist who has also worked with global public relations clients and nonprofit organizations. As SCR Chief and a member of the superintendent’s senior executive team, Ms. Burgos is the highest-ranked Latina within ACPS. She has increased the number of bilingual communications and community engagement staff within SCR and has championed new services such as the new Language Line Direct Response to better serve students and families.
“My favorite part of the job is visiting schools and getting to see firsthand the teaching and learning within ACPS. It warms my heart to talk to students and see the projects they are working on, the reactions they have to learning and our visits, and how incredibly bright they are at such a young age. They are counting on us to deliver the very best that education has to offer. I love being a part of that team that helps provide this for them,” said Ms. Burgos.