10 great examples of return-to-school communications

There is no denying that return-to-school planning, with all the changes, uncertainty and more changes, is fraught with difficulties for everyone involved: school administrators, teachers, parents, – and, oh yeah, students. But some school districts are doing a fantastic job in helping ease the anguish and pain.

We’ve selected some exemplary digital communications examples and methods schools are using for engaging parents. 

Superintendent’s blog

Let’s start off with your superintendent’s blog. Wylie (TX) Independent School District’s hip superintendent Dr. Dave Vinson has a very engaging blog he’s using to highlight key return-to-school info in an upbeat manner that’s no doubt consistent with his personality. Superintendent blogs are excellent communication vehicles for conveying your brand, and Dr. Dave and the district with its theme “The Wylie Way” are doing it with style.

How can you NOT love this super?

Visit Wylie (TX) ISD's superintendent's blog

Social media

As my friend Andrea Gribble at #SocialSchool4Edu says, “You CAN have an awesome presence in less than 1 hour a day.” Social media, fast becoming the preferred channel for parents to get just about all their news, can work in concert with other digital channels to keep your parents up to date on your return-to-school news. Here’s some of the best and brightest 2020 back-to-school social media she and her team have helped create and manage.

Pearland (TX) ISD's Twitter feed

Downers Grove School District Tweets

Online parent and staff surveys

It’s important to keep your finger on the pulse of your parents and staff during these times of change. Online surveys are the perfect way to stay on top of gauging their needs. Google Forms is hard to beat. It’s built right into Google for Education and is simple to use. Many schools use other popular online survey tools such as Survey Monkey. This article contains a eLearning and communications parent survey template that’s built using Google Forms.

Youtube channel

Speaking of surveys, SchoolNow recently conducted a survey over 125 schools and it’s no surprise that most school administrators are looking for more effective ways to communicate, and video is the next frontier. Norris School District (CA) is one district down with Youtube. They not only have a Youtube channel, they’ve assembled an impressive ‘network’ of channels that are categorized by schools and athletics teams. Pretty sweet. And, of course, they’re using their channel to keep the community up to date on COVID info. Check out this article on how to create a great YouTube channel for your school.

Norris School District Youtube "network"

Downers Grove District 58 Youtube channel

Website remote-learning page

Your website is the communications hub for all your digital channels. Metropolitan School District of Decatur Township (IN) features a tidy Urgent News Update Center on its homepage. It features easy-to-pinpoint important links (e.g., reopening plans, remote learning registration, superintendent’s messages, etc.) all ‘above the fold’ so there’s no need to scroll down to search for what parents are seeking most. 

MSD of Decatur Township (IN)

Decatur Schools also has created an icon-rich return-to-school index on the homepage to serve as a very friendly hub of COVID-19 plans and policies.

Facebook Live

I wanted to single out this social media gem, for it’s woefully underutilized by school districts. Beech Grove (IN) City Schools used a Facebook Live broadcast, which of course, they automatically archived and posted for later viewing on the school Facebook page. For help in launching your first Facebook Live broadcast, check out this article, How to Use Facebook Live at School.

Beech Grove City Schools Facebook Live return-to-school clip

Email

Yes, email. Let’s not forget email, the original digital communication and still the workhorse of methods for reaching your parents. It's a reliable channel for delivering official school information to your entire school community. But many school administrators aren’t up to speed on email best practices to assure their emails are opened, read and – let’s not overlook – message delivered.

For tips on making the most of your emails, read this article on 5 ways to improve school emails during school disruption. 

Virtual learning centers

Common Sense, a nonprofit organization that serves as an independent clearinghouse for families needing education resources, has assembled tools to help schools set up an effective virtual learning environment. Their editors came up with Wide Open School which is a handy place for curriculum directors, teachers and families to find tools to move at the same speed at which these remote-learning challenges are popping up.  Check out their curated list of top picks for virtual and distance learning tools.

Infographics

Some consider these old school, but infographics can be very informative and engaging when done right. One school district created a bi-lingual infographic to help reassure parents that this fall won’t be a repeat of last spring’s blindside blow to learning.

New school year means new tactics

With most schools’ spring learning experience inconsistent and often frustrating for families, it’s important that you not only implement changes in delivering education, but optimize how you communicate with students, families, and staff.

Reaching parents has never been more critical as they and the rest of your school community are hungrier than ever for updates on where things stand. And while a certain degree of frustration and pain is inevitable, the antidote for the suffering is a steady flow of communication.

Do you have any great ideas to share?