School district’s face challenges and opportunities of meeting the unique needs of the communities in which they serve. As educators, we are servant leaders, and we often get so immersed in the day to day work that we forget about the big picture of the messages that we send to our families.
If you don’t tell your district’s story, someone will do it for you. In fact, someone is telling it right now. What do you want them to say? Have you given them the right story, the right information, and the right tools to share your message? In today’s immediacy of information and technology, it’s natural for people to be constantly communicating, sharing, telling stories on a personal and professional level. How do we, as educators, share how and why our districts do what we do for children and the community?
Technology has changed our avenues of communication and opened doors to share our message. We have an amazing opportunity to tell our district, school and classroom story through technology. Whether it be through social media, e-blasts, or apps and websites that share photos and messages, we underestimate and underutilize the power of such tools.
Think about the best part of your day as an educator today. How did you share that message? Did you take a snapshot of a class who just mastered a concept for the first time? Did you share a blurb with parents about the exciting project that is coming up next week? Did you watch students learning on a field trip within the community and share it with the local paper?
Every day we have opportunities to share the amazing work that we do as educators that affect the lives and future of the communities we serve. I am lucky to serve in a school system with talented, driven and ambitious staff who want to proactively share their work with the world. We have a large percentage of our staff sharing their message via Twitter and social media. And while it started small, their leadership and ownership of telling their story has positively changed the dynamic of our story…and we’re creating magical classrooms, NOW Classrooms…
My next blog will focus on our journey of going 1:1…stay tuned!
Courtney Orzel
Superintendent, Lemont-Bromberek SD113A