Crisis communication requires and builds upon trust with families
Crisis communication requires trust, and when done well, further builds upon that trust.
Foster community spirit with families by showing up, creating engaging events
Community spirit is a major draw for parents – both in real time and online – and can not be forced. But you have to show up with a purpose.
Promoting student accomplishments are the surest way to easy wins
At or near the top of your list of strategies needs to be promoting student accomplishments.
Engaging parents through social media
Take parents inside the classroom with photos and videos is one effective way for engaging parents through social media.
Why pairing a new content strategy and website re-design is key to visitor growth
In my second year at my school, we launched a new website designed to showcase the top needs of our audience with the great stories we were sharing. This started with launching surveys and looking at analytics to see how users were behaving on the current site, and what they said they wanted from their […]
#2 – The Who and What and Why of your school
I believe the next big factor to help our families is to put names and faces with grades and activities. Who teaches what grade? Who is the specialist helping in reading? Who is sponsoring the student council this year? Who is coaching the basketball team? Many of us can handle the ‘who teaches what grade’ […]
#1 – The one priority to keep us all on schedule
If you could provide only one thing for the parents of your school, just one basic area to focus on their most essential need, what would that be? Without a doubt it has to be the calendar. Do we have school today? When does Christmas break start? What time does school let out on a […]
#4 – When your website needs a promotion
Somewhere along the line, school websites became the ‘low on the totem pole’ of assignments, and even though the need for better websites has risen, the content needs have not kept pace. The person in charge of the website has this task listed near the bottom of their growing list of tasks, when in actuality […]
#3 – From curriculum to content: Sharing your highlights
It is a rare occurrence that a parent gets to witness the teaching and learning in a living, breathing classroom. We have to take these messages to them in the form of photos and videos. This means photos and videos (sights and sounds) from the various classes of all your academic departments and grade level. […]
With parent feedback, a lack of concern is not what schools need
A healthy school climate of trust is not the absence of dissent; it is the respect in which it is asked for, given, and received. Parent feedback is critical to developing a thriving school culture.