4 must-do items for 2017

As we wind up the last few days of school before we take a holiday break to relax and recharge for 2017, it’s a perfect time to create our “to-do” list of things to accomplish over the break so that we will be ready to start gaining momentum for the second half of the school year. 

Telling your school’s story is of great importance, given the media onslaught of negative education news and the uncertainty about what the future holds for public education. I strongly believe in public education and the possibilities that lie within school walls, and we need to share the awesomeness! 

Highlighting the awesomeness in your schools does several things:

     -It’s a terrific morale booster - getting recognized for hard work is always affirming!

     -It’s a culture changer  - teachers WANT administrators (and others) to come into their classrooms when they know that visitors are there to “see the good”

     -It’s a tool to inform stakeholders - parents, community members, business, and alumni can get a glimpse into the wonderful things happening in the school

Here are 4 things to put on your to-do list now:

• Create a school hashtag. *Do a search to see if anyone else is using it. If not, it’s YOURS! When you get back to school in 2017, share it with everyone!
• Find a “twitter partner” in your school. You don’t have to embark on this journey alone. Find someone else who will consistently tweet with you. You can light each other’s fire throughout the year!
• Get familiar with Tweetdeck. You can schedule tweets here and create a column with your school’s hashtag in order to connect with others who are tweeting about your school.
• Get familiar with Canva. Canva has all kinds of templates and free images that you can use to create eye-catching graphics that will help you tell your story on twitter. Visual content is more than 40X more likely to get shared on social media than other types of content. Source

If you're looking for an easy-to-use guide with step-by-step instructions and action plans, then download my digital workbook and start learning today! 

Twitter is not the only social media available to share your school’s story, but building a presence on twitter will also help you make professional connections that can lead to personal learning and growth unlike any other PD.