"Leadership and Social Media" examines the use of social media in public education, with examples from California and other public schools. By Charlene Li at the ACSA Superintendents Symposium, January 30, 2013 in Monterey, CA
14. Superintendent Devin Vodicka at Vista USD
uses social media to develop a relationship
“Existing communication
methods were very
antiquated. I wanted a
way to communicate
faster and in a more
interactive way.”
23. Dialog Begins With Talking
“We are under so much scrutiny. I’ve
had to create a social presence to
have a voice.”
Chris Adams
Superintendent, Coast Unified School District
24. “We want to be able
to communicate
with our
constituents.”
“It’s great for our
district to get our
message out there,
what we’re doing.”
Superintendent Chris
Adams and Henry
Danielson
Coast Unified School
District
25. “It’s important that
we use social
media. All kids are
using it. It propels
them into working
workforce.”
Henry Danielson
IT Director
Coast Unified School District
33. Hastings School
District in
Nebraska
shares
suggestions on
how parents can
talk to children
about their
fears, on
Facebook.
33
34. Portland, Maine Public Schools shares 5-
minute video to help parents deal with
aftermath – district social worker explains
importance of listening and looking for
changes in children’s behavior
35. Nixa Schools in Missouri directs parents to mental
health resources for children – sparking further
conversation
3
41. FedEx’s Response
• Less than 48 hour
turnaround
• Textbook responses
• But clinical, not human
Opportunity: Build trust with every day transparency
43. Training Develops Judgment -- and the
Confidence to Use Social Media
What you What you
Judgment is needed in between
should do shouldn’t do
44. Content Tips from Superintendents
1. Have a district-wide social media policy
2. Find social media savvy administrators
3. Recycle sharable content
4. Update in real-time
5. Use tools like Hootsuite or Buffer
45. 45
Discipline and Process are Crucial
Source: “H&R Block’s Response Process” David Armano, Edelman 2010
47. #1 Align Social with Key Strategic Goals
Examine your 2012 &
2013 goals
Pick ones where social
will have
significant impact
Then double down
47
48. #2 Ask the Right Questions About Value
“We tend to overvalue the things we can
measure, and undervalue the things we
cannot.”
- John Hayes, CMO of American Express
http://www.schoolleadership20.com/forum/topics/district-uses-social-media-to-communicate-with-parentsSuperintendent Devin Vodickatook over Vista unified district (in northern San Diego County) in July 2012.One of his first moves was to recommend a policy that dictates how educators and administrators should use social media sites.Since then, the number of district officials using the sites to communicate with the public has exploded.From interview: In 2 months, we went from 0 schools to ¾ of schools on social media. We created the policy, and told schools – follow the policy, and we’ll support you.
http://vistaunified.blogspot.com/This was his first post.
http://vistaunified.blogspot.com/His second post was a short Google 3 question survey he embedded – asking the community for feedback. He received 113 comments from the community, and shared some insights through a word cloud in his fourth post.
http://vistaunified.blogspot.com/His third post was a YouTube video he created to introduce himself. From interview: “I was astonished with the number of hits I was getting on it as I was transitioning into this new role.There was a great appetite from the community to use these resources.”
http://vistaunified.blogspot.com/2012/12/safety-concerns-form-for.htmlFrom interview: “After shooting in Newtown, we streamlined a process for people to give us input. We used Google docs, made a form embed in blog, tweeted it, distributed through traditional channels. We’ve got quite a few suggestions on how to improve that safety process. Anything that was concern. It really revealed to us where the needs were most prevalent. 82 comments.”
No specific example provided, but I thought this was another interesting insight that a lot of Sups may be able to relate to.
This is the first of 4 slides that demonstrate use cases:Professional networkingCommunicate with constituentsModel for student involvementAdvocacy
Coast is a better example of a school using social media in the classroom than to communicate with the external community. But I thought you could say administrators are setting an example as students are already using social media. 3 examples you might want to bring up.Pic 1: From interview: “We found Final Cut King, he came to middle school - did presentation on YouTube”Pic 3: They use Edmoto – looks like Facebook but private. Closed garden for students, parents have access through child accounts, they can see what their students, at my site all teachers and students use itPic 2: From interview: “Because we’re 1-1 with iPads we have an outstanding after school program. Students are creating professional quality content by the end of 8th grade. Preparing kids for the real world
@coastusd: Twitter account at Coast Unified Obtained approval from school board Approx 10 administrators have access and can post on behalf of the district Applied for 2 interns from local college to write communications plan, manage Twitter, website, video creation
http://www.dailydot.com/news/chicago-teachers-strike-social-media/http://schoolsofthought.blogs.cnn.com/2012/09/11/my-view-a-parents-take-on-the-cps-teachers-strike/“We've been training members for months during the contract campaign,” Shibata said. “We know that the mainstream media would portray a skewed version of the campaign so we empowered members to become citizen journalists. They're finding each other and making connections from school to school.”The CTU Facebook page has almost 38,000 likes, with 20,000 new since the strike began. The union also has a Twitter account with more than 7,000 followers, a Flickr account for photosharing, a Vimeo account with 34 videos, and a YouTube channel with 108 subscribers and more than 100,000 views. The union developed a video especially to be shared by and between members, called “Chicago Teachers Union vs. Astroturf Billionaires,” which has been viewed more than 21,000 times.
http://www.facebook.com/chicagopublicschools3779 Likes as of Dec 21.Chicago Public Schools is dedicated to providing a world-class education for every child in every Chicago neighborhood. We are the nation’s third-largest school system, with 675 schools serving more than 400,000 students throughout the city.
http://www.facebook.com/hastingspublic/posts/570078526351025A preschool through twelfth grade public school serving approximately 3,500+ resident students from birth until age 21. This "Class III" district consists of six elementary buildings, one middle school building, and one senior high building.December 14, 2012Dear Parents and Guardians: Today’s sad news regarding events in Connecticut may raise questions of concern from our children. Young children need to feel that the world is a secure and predictable place. Many typical childhood fears resurface or become heightened when they hear about tragic events.The following suggestions may be helpful for parents and guardians to use when talking with children about their fears.• Model a positive attitude. Children take their cues from adults. While acknowledging trauma, focus on helping your child develop compassion, strength, and a sense that they have control over life’s challenges.• Use the “three C’s” in dealing with fears – communication, control, and compassion. Communicate with your child about their feelings, help them gain control over their feelings, and always show compassion.• Try not to overreact in regard to the event in front of your child. This can cause more anxiety. Reduce the amount of TV they watch in regard to the event. • Never say a fear is silly. It is very real to your child. When a child is afraid, they need to feel that those around them will help and protect them.• Encourage, but don’t force communication. In a calm manner, talk about your own feelings. Language gives a sense of control, so put words to your child’s fears. Let them know that they can always come to you. Our school counselor and others will be available to assist any child who needs to talk about today’s events this coming week and beyond. Please reassure your child that his or her school has plans in place to protect them and for emergencies. Sincerely,HASTINGS PUBLIC SCHOOLSCraig KautzSuperintendent
http://www.theforecaster.net/news/print/2012/12/18/portland-schools-offer-counseling-video/145859http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaA4bOW17l4&feature=youtu.bePORTLAND — In the wake of the Newtown, Conn., school shooting, the School Department has created a video to help parents and students deal with the aftermath of the tragedy.In the video, Sophie Payson, a social worker in the district, explains the importance of listening to children and looking for any changes in their behavior. She says that with coverage of the shooting dominating the news, it may be difficult for children to escape and any emotions they experience are "normal."
I removed content on challenges, pasted here in case you want:Communicating with parents:“It’s a balancing act of how many time and energy we want to put in. Our parents aren’t as social media savvy yet.”Access:“In the school system, Facebook is blocked because of inappropriate access.”Resources:“It’s really easy to jump in, and create a profile. But if someone is not there to monitor it, you can get flamed.”