Tell Your Story

Recently I published a blog post titled Ten Ways to Promote Your School which highlighted the various ways schools can boast about all the wonderful learning experiences that happen on a daily basis. Social media tools, such as Twitter and Facebook, enable schools to tell their story the way it should be told. From a personal perspective, it is exciting to be able to walk around the school building and share with stakeholders the great things our students and teachers are involved with each day. Feel free to visit our school Twitter or Facebook feed to get an idea of what exactly I am talking about. The ability to steer positive and timely information to school stakeholders is crucial in order for trust and support to thrive. 

The ability to promote and inform through social media and other web 2.0 tools contributes to a well informed and appreciative school community. Parents will often comment to me how they are now able to have relevant conversations with their children based on what was tweeted out or posted on Facebook that given day. Board members who were already impressed with what was going on in our school become even more elated to find out that so much more is happening. For example, in addition to the blasts we send out on our social media feeds, we also create a monthly newsletter using Google Drive. This idea was modeled after a newsletter Eric Sheninger sends out on a monthly basis for New Milford High School. This digital archive becomes the story of our school and assures stakeholders that we have and always will be moving forward in a relevant and innovative direction. 

Ask yourself these questions: What will our school's story be? Will we let others tell it for us? If so, what will be the message? Should I leave it up to chance for someone to miscommunicate the story? What available tools can I use to easily share out the great learning experiences that take place in our school? Do stakeholders fully understand what is going on in our schools? If you are second guessing yourself on some of these questions,  it might be a good idea to evaluate the ways in which your school's message is being understood by the greater school community. As the school year winds down and you prepare for what lies ahead, seriously consider the world we live in and the vital role emerging technologies can have on how your story is communicated.