Schools Face A Perception Problem

When you read about education in the news, it is usually about something negative.  It's unfortunate, but it's not just education.  Watch the evening news and it is predominantly negative information.  Here's the thing.  I often hear that society loves to hear about negativity, but I don't completely buy that.  People LOVE a great story.  We just have to tell it.

Part of the reason schools have a perception problem has nothing to do with the bad things that are happening there.  They just get lumped in with the few newsworthy schools that do have bad things happening.  But we can change that.  More importantly, YOU can change that.

Do your families and community know about the great things happening in your schools?  Are you using story telling tools that engage them?

Just this past weekend, students in our school district competed in the Central Ohio District Science Fair.  I was there and when I noticed two of the first three "sponsored" awards went to students from our school district, I shared that information on our school's Facebook account.  No photo, no video, just these simple statements:

• "The Big Walnut kids are cleaning house in the awards at the Central OH District Science Fair."
• 51 "likes" and reached 336 people in 24 hours.
• "BWI qualifies 12 to the state science fair."
• 57 "likes" and reached 730 people in under 24 hours

Did 336 people and 730 people actually see these two "stories?" Potentially, but probably not.  However, I can assure you more that 51 and 57 people saw each of these two posts.  In those two posts, 51 and 57 people respectively enjoyed that "story" so much that they took action.  They hit the "like" button, essentially sharing the good news with their friends.  This is the positive power in social media.  It wasn't just parents who saw these stories.  Aunts and uncles, grandmas and grandpas saw it as well.

If your schools are currently using social media to engage your community, share the great things happening in your schools, not just information or the next upcoming meeting.  Share the stories.  If your school is not currently using social media, talk with your decision makers before you start.  You can change the perception.

Ryan McLane is the principal of Big Walnut Intermediate School in Sunbury, Ohio and the co-author of Your School Rock...So Tell People.  You can order it on amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com

Don't Just Be A Firehose

When Eric and I wrote Your School Rocks...So Tell People, it wasn't just about trying to hustle some books. We have witnessed a tremendous positive impact on our schools by using different social media platforms and we wanted to share those strategies with anyone who was interested. Now that the book is out and in the hands of educators, we want to continue to provide ongoing tips that will make your use of social media that much more effective.  The one point I want to really hammer home is this:  do not be a firehose.

Often times, when we talk about communicating as a school, it happens to be one-way communication.  I don't think we do it on purpose and we do it with the best of intentions.  We want our community to be informed. Just as much as our communities appreciate being informed, they also want something else.  They want to be heard.

As you are using the various forms of social media to share all of the great things that are happening in your classrooms and schools, don't forget to listen.  Two-way communication does not have to happen in the comment section of Facebook.  If it is appropriate, then go for it.   If it is not, pick up the phone and have a discussion.  But don't just use social media to disseminate information.  Use it to build relationships and have meaningful conversations.  That is what is going to benefit your school 

Video Trick for Instagram

Our school does a weekly video newsletter each week (Chapter 2 in Your School Rocks...So Tell People) and we distribute the link via a variety of platforms (Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, email, and our school website).  That hits pretty much everyone except our students.

The social media tool of choice for our student demographic is Instagram.  The problem we have encountered is, a video on Instagram is limited to about 15 seconds and you cannot put hyperlinks in your Instagram posts (well played Instagram, well played).  With our video newsletter usually being 2-3 minutes in length, it has been difficult to use the tool our students use most as a method of distribution.

Many of our parents have told me they watch the weekly video newsletter together as a family.  That is great, but how can we reach our students in which that does not occur?  How can we reach them on Instagram?

I'll admit, this is not the most seamless way to do it, but it is a fairly simple work around.

1. Edit your Instagram profile and insert the link to the designated video where it allows you to enter a website.
2. Post a screenshot of the video or a short clip of the video itself as you would normally do when posting to Instagram.
3. In the caption, inform the user they can see the video in its entirety by clicking on the link on your profile.

Our plan is to change the video link on our profile page each week.  Here is a quick video that will walk you through the process.

Are you using video newsletters or Instagram to connect with your families?  If so, we'd love to hear about it.

Your School Rocks...So Tell People

As we approach the closing of another year, and to think about beginning 2016, I'm still surprised by the number of teachers and schools that do not use social media.  The consistent rhetoric of how poorly schools are preparing our students, many people truly believe nothing great is going on in our schools.  If we do not do anything to change that perception, well that is our fault as educators and educational leaders.  I am aware some districts have forbidden the use of social media, but it seems as if that number is consistently declining. That is a great sign.

Eric Lowe (principal at Beaver Local Middle School) and I have presented at numerous conferences about how our two schools have used social media to build strong relationships with our students, families, and our communities.  The majority of the people who come up to talk to us afterwards are ready to take the leap into the world of social media, but do not really know where to begin.

After reflecting on these conversations, we decided to expand our presentation into a book, Your School Rocks...So Tell People.  We wanted to create a resource that would guide the novice as well as the expert in social media with regards to how to leverage the various platforms as an educator. With the help of Dave and Shelley Burgess and their small educational publishing company Dave Burgess Consulting, I am pleased to announce that this resource will be available to help guide you and your school as you begin to examine how you can use social media to promote the positives that are happening on your campus.  As always, feel free to connect with the two of us on Twitter, and if you purchase the book, we'd love to hear what you think.

Your School Rocks...So Tell People

Pre-order on Amazon.com

Release Jan. 2, 2016

4 Tips for Productive Parent-Teacher Conferences

Here a four tips to make Parent-Teacher Conferences as productive as possible.

1.  We are on the same team. 

As teachers, parents, and students, we all want the  same thing, which is for the student to reach his or her maximum potential.  While it is easy to start pointing fingers at each other, what is that really going to solve?  The sooner we realize and embrace this idea, the more productive our conversations will be.

2.  Don't focus on the grade.

The grade is simply a letter, or a number, and it is supposed to correlate to how well a student is doing in school.  It will not necessarily correlate to how intelligent or how hard of a worker the student is.  If you are a parent, do not ask the teacher "Why does my child have a bad grade?"  Instead ask, "In what area is my child struggling and what can WE do to help?"  If you focus your conversation on grades, you will not be productive and will leave the meeting feeling frustrated.

3.  Time is short

Some teachers see over 100 students in a day.  In order to meet with as many families as possible, you may only have a 10-15 minute window.  As a parent, have a game plan on what you want to talk about.  You may not get through all of the topics you would like to discuss, so prioritize your list.  Have no idea what to ask?  Here are two questions to consider:

• What does my child struggle with and how can we help?
• What does my child do well?

As a teacher, you may be tempted to point out 10 issues that the parent needs to be aware of.  Don't do it.  Prioritize your list and focus on those.

4.  Don't be afraid to follow-up

You likely did not get through all of the topics you wanted to discuss during your conference, so don't hesitate to follow-up with the teacher in a week via note, email, or phone call.  I suggest waiting a week, because teachers are human beings, and they likely just worked two straight 13 hour days when you consider the normal work day and evening conferences.  Almost all teachers are going to be more than willing to continue the conversation.

When It's OK to Fail...and When It Isn't

I'm sure if you search the internet, listen to a motivational speaker, or talk to most teachers, you may have heard the phrase "It's ok to fail."  With the recent resurgence of Carol Dweck's book Mindset, it has become fashionable to say and promote this philosophy in school.  This post is not to tell you to embrace or abandon this philosophy, rather, if you say it, you better clearly communicate what you mean.

Recently, I have had conversations with multiple people who have an expertise outside of education that have come to me dumbfounded with what their children are being told in schools all around the country.  They say, "Ryan, my child's teacher told them it's ok to fail. It's ok for them to not try their best, because they will have the opportunity to re-take a test or re-do an assignment."

I respond by asking them, "Are you sure that's what the teacher told them or what they meant?"

If you are telling your kids, "It's ok to fail" because you are promoting risk-taking, or you do not want to see them put unnecessary stress on themselves over a class assignment or assessment, or you are promoting the process over the product, then go for it.  

But this is what many of them are hearing: "It's ok if I slack off because I can do it again."  

I am a proponent of standards-based grading practices, and also believe in the process of re-takes because I believe it is far more important THAT they know it than WHEN they know it.  However, as educators, we must be extremely CLEAR when we communicate this philosophy to our students.  While it may be ok to fail, it is NOT ok to give a subpar effort.

5 Ways Ways to Use Canva in Your Classroom or School

Canva is a free graphic design app for the iPad (they also have a web version) that is pretty simple to use.  As a school, we have used it in a variety of ways to assist us in keeping our community informed and sharing the great things that are happening.  Here are five ways you can use it in your classroom or school.

1.  You can create your own digital posters.

2.  We post positive messages on our school's Instagram account.  The kids actually love it.  Canva allows us to customize these messages for our kids rather than just taking them from the internet.

3.  It is an easy way to create a visual for information you want to share with families.  We have a school Facebook page that many families "like."  By using a picture or graphic, families are far more likely to be engaged than just using simple text.

4.  We actually stopped doing paper/email newsletters because no one was reading them.  We started doing weekly video newsletters two years ago and use Canva to design our background.  As you can see, our "green screen" is a cinder block wall with green paint.  We use an app called Green Screen by DoInk.  Below you can see the "before" and "after."

5.  Canva is a great tool to make presentation slides a little more visually appealing.

You can get as creative as you want, but Canva is a tool worth playing with.