Communicating Your District’s Story
Diane Ravitch, education historian, author and former Assistant Secretary of Education, appointed by President George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, spoke in June to a crowded room of Oklahoma educational leaders. Her message resonated with most in attendance: too much testing, crazy reformers, un-successful charter schools, segregation of the wealthy from the poor and not successfully telling our story.
The evidence of not telling our story can be found around every corner and in many conversations with parents, legislators and most importantly the voters. While enrollment numbers of our competition tell a story, as educators we know that is not the complete story. But what have we been doing about it? In the interim, we continue to see:
Private school enrollment surge
New charter schools choices and attendance growth in existing charters
More families choosing to homeschool
Growth in virtual school options
Static and reduced state funding
Communication Message Points
We have to drive our own brand. It is up to us to get our message out and through the most appropriate means. Delivering your message through so many mediums is a challenge when we are always pressed for time. However, we have to tell our story and tell it often. Don’t forget your internal audience… by telling them first, they can be your best advocates by sharing the same information and correcting people in the community when they get it wrong. Here are some tips to consider when telling your district’s story.
Hashtags sell stories. What is your district’s hashtag? Do you use it often? Do you use it in conjunction with your state’s education?
Give a shoutout to the top education twitter users when you post your story. By tagging someone in your story who has many followers, it is possible they will share your story to all of their followers and so on.
Promote your social media sites on busy days. Example: Send us a favorite photo of your child’s first day of school. #backtoclass #firstday. After you get the photos, post them on your website or in a newsletter or an online photo album. People love to see pictures of their children and kids love seeing themselves. This is a great way to build the number of people following your district page. It will also be a great source to promote district information.
Look for human-interest stories. By nature we are drawn to them. We want to know about the 4th generation teacher who is considering leaving but why she decided to stay. We want to know about the art teacher who is conducting science lessons through her latest project. Give kids cameras and let them document an event from their perspective. Photos and videos sell stories.
Shorter is better! People don’t have time to read lengthy newsletters and white papers on the latest education topic. Make your communication concise and relevant to your audience. Use bullet points, summarize, and give sources on where they can find more information if they want it.
Make your data visual. Create a pie chart or draw a picture through words. Relate it to everyday items people can understand. Example: How much has your district grown? A: 500 students per year over the last several years. 500 students is equivalent to the number of students you would find in one of our elementary sites.
Use a new logo to help launch a new program or idea. Using a logo in your storytelling can help create buy-in. This helps people identify what you’re communicating.