The USD 383 Communications Department recently received a Certificate of Merit award for their publication, "Inside USD 383". "Inside USD 383" is a community newsletter that the communications department publishes 4 times a year and is distributed through The Manhattan Mercury.

The Kansas Association of School Boards and the Kansas chapter of the School Public Relations Association sponsor the annual contest. The Award of Excellence is given to the best entry in each publication category. Up to five Certificates of Merit are awarded in each publication category. There were over 200 hundred entries for this year’s contest.

The last award the USD 383 communications department received was in 1999 for its staff newsletter.