NO MORE SECRETS! TELL YOUR STORY!

What is happening in your school district? In your building? In your classroom? Are you shouting it from the rooftops? Why not? Last year, I had the privilege of attending an inspiring conference with my boss and a colleague: Digital Leadership. I left motivated to be more courageous and do more sharing.

It was at this conference that I clearly began to understand the concept of BRANDING: Telling your school's story, thanks to keynote speaker, Eric Sheninger and workshop presenter, Tony Sinanis. These men are courageous pioneers and school leaders in education. They planted the seeds that have turned me into a great publicist for my school community. I recently finished a great read: The Power of Branding (Corwin, 2014) by school district leaders Tony Sinanis and Joe Sanfelippo, PhD.  THE MESSAGE: YOU MUST TELL YOUR STORY!  If not you, then who? You (we) are the educators deeply entrenched in the classrooms, on the fields and on the courts! Share the great events, pictures and anecdotes that make your school special. Still struggling with the concept, I asked the question, "How do you respond to the critics who say you are bragging?"  The response was simple: "Keep the focus on what your STUDENTS are doing. Share for them and their families." As we say on Twitter, BOOM!!! There it is!

  

For one crazy year in our district, I was appointed as our district's first Instructional Technologist. I was deeply entrenched in earning my administrative degree and learning the power of technology as an educational tool. It seemed like a great fit. However, what I did not anticipate was the overwhelming response from my colleagues for support, research, ideas and even going into the classroom to co-teach lessons with them to quell the fear of technology failing. It was a rewarding experience! However, my primary role as middle school foreign language teacher, and my many other hats that I wear (Grade 8 Team Leader, Foreign Language Dept. Chair, APPR Team, PDP Team, Curriculum Council, etc.) suffered. It was apparent that I could not continue in what I viewed as a critical role for our district and do it as well as it needed to be done.

However, I am proudest of one initiative in my short-lived role that was my own that continues to flourish today: our school district Facebook Fan Page. Inspired by the only district fan page around at that time, Queensbury Union Free School District (my home district), I met with the Queensbury Director of Technology, Matt Hladun, who coached me through launching a page. I was fortunate to have a great administrative team in my district who saw the potential of improving communication with our community and allowed me to move forward. The page caught on like wild fire. It is visited by Facebook users and linked to our home page for non-FB users. As the administrator of the page, I receive the weekly data that reports as many as 10, 000 views for a given week for this tool. BOOM!!

Our Facebook page is dynamic and enriched by the love of our school district! I am connected (via Facebook and personal relationships that span 18 years as a faculty member). Throughout my 18 years, I have attended community events (parades, fundraisers, etc.) and school activities in 3 buildings. We do amazing work as a school and community. It was time that we share for everyone we know and celebrate. Thank you to all of my colleagues, friends, co-workers and community members who share with me for the purpose of making our page dynamic and a significant source of communication. I have taken great pride in maintaining and sustaining the page (as a volunteer for the last 5 years) and have appreciated the feedback from many.

As the Facebook page continued to thrive as a district branding tool, I learned about the power of Twitter. I confess, had it not been for the relentless encouraging (nudging?) of my Principal and role model, Lisa Meade, I might not have found my way back to my defunct Twitter account. Twitter has rocked my professional (and personal) world in ways too numerous to share in this blog. In a nutshell, I have become connected to learners all over the world with on-demand professional development and support that has significantly contributed to my role as an educator. I have discovered the value of a PLN (professional or personal learning network), a group of educators who help me to sustain my energy and inspire me with new ideas daily. I am blessed.

This year, Twitter has also become another tool of TELLING OUR SCHOOL'S STORY - BRANDING IT! We now have our own hashtag (#CorinthMSPBIS) where I Tweet often and value reading the Tweets of my Principal and colleagues!  Even some students started Tweeting this year! We share the snapshots of what makes our school an incredible learning environment. Shout outs to colleagues who are providing exceptional learning experiences for our students are also part of my branding. Is it making an impact, you might wonder? YES! We are building community and modeling responsible social media use for our students and community. The positive impact on school culture is amazing!

Examples of success: One of my students returned to afternoon homeroom recently and asked if I had Tweeted the pictures from our Project Based Learning Technology debate yet (2 periods earlier). He could not wait to see them! Another young lady thanked me for Tweeting pictures from their modified field hockey! Last spring, the Boys Varsity Baseball team, while giving me updates of their success to share on Facebook, suggested that I follow some sports writers on Twitter to read blogs and other highlights of their season. YES! Our students use Twitter!

We live in challenging and turbulent times where educators and our educational system is under a microscope and the recipient of harsh criticism. Mandates from the state and federal government (testing, common core learning standards, APPR to name a few) are causing many to lose faith in our schools and our profession. While we navigate what we must, challenge and advocate to our politicians who are ill-equipped to deliver such directives, I encourage you to focus on the positive. Exceptional, creative, incredible teaching and learning is happening in everyone's schools, despite the current climate in education. SHOUT IT FROM THE ROOFTOPS! BRAND YOUR DISTRICT -SCHOOL - GRADE LEVEL - AND CLASSROOM!! Tell your story! Share your students' stories! Give our students, families and colleagues reason to celebrate all that we do!!

How do you get started? Please read Tony and Joe's book (information above). It is a how-to manual with ideas, evidence and answers! The Corwin  connected learning books are incredible tools for educators. They are short, easy reads for those of us with little time focused on specific topics of interest. Each one that I have read has impacted some part of my life as an educator. Check them out!