An administrators communication strategies can set the tone for culture, trust and community engagement. Some “out of the box” strategies I would like to try are listed here:
Collaborative vision board: having a physical bulletin board or a digital pinboard playing in the main entrance or a high traffic area where students, teachers and family members are invited to share pictures, written goals or successes. This living artifact provides two way communication between administrators and the students/staff members.
Mystery Mailbox: Students can ask anonymous questions to the Principal and place the questions into a mystery mailbox. The Principal could look through the questions and answer one a week over the morning announcements. Students may get their questions answered while getting to know their Principal in a different light.
Recess Retreat: Recess is a wonderful time for informal conversations and community building with students. To enhance communication, the Principal could designate an area on the play yard to engage in conversation with students or participate in games with the students.
A Minute In The Life of A Principal: The Principal could record one minute of their school day and post it to the school's social media page. The minute could be spent interviewing a student about what they are currently learning, walking the halls and displaying student work or giving a shout out to a staff member. The minute could evolve throughout the school year based on the feedback from the videos posted.
Collaborative vision board: having a physical bulletin board or a digital pinboard playing in the main entrance or a high traffic area where students, teachers and family members are invited to share pictures, written goals or successes. This living artifact provides two way communication between administrators and the students/staff members.
Mystery Mailbox: Students can ask anonymous questions to the Principal and place the questions into a mystery mailbox. The Principal could look through the questions and answer one a week over the morning announcements. Students may get their questions answered while getting to know their Principal in a different light.
Recess Retreat: Recess is a wonderful time for informal conversations and community building with students. To enhance communication, the Principal could designate an area on the play yard to engage in conversation with students or participate in games with the students.
A Minute In The Life of A Principal: The Principal could record one minute of their school day and post it to the school's social media page. The minute could be spent interviewing a student about what they are currently learning, walking the halls and displaying student work or giving a shout out to a staff member. The minute could evolve throughout the school year based on the feedback from the videos posted.