Social Media
Your District Story in 140 Characters or Less
By Jill M. Gildea/School Administrator, December 2016


People crave information. We want it packaged clearly and concisely. Every 60 seconds, e-mail users send 204 million messages, Twitter users tweet 277,000 times, Facebook users share 2.5 million pieces of content, and YouTube uploads 72 hours of new video, according to Domo, a consulting firm supporting cloud-based communication.

For educators, it is essential that a school district’s message reach its audience. The key in telling stories is to use various platforms seamlessly to ensure a message reaches its target.

In today’s fast-paced environment, 90 percent of readers view content or data for 30 seconds. Seven percent of viewers will stay on task for three minutes. A mere 3 percent of readers will devote 30 minutes to content shared with them, according to the Association for Computing Machinery. What this means is that a school district has fewer than 60 seconds to get its message across to stakeholders.

With a demand for just-in-time communication, Twitter allows you to tell your district story in a succinct 140 characters. A colleague, John Butts, superintendent of Medinah School District 11 in Roselle, Ill., once told me he knows as much about our district as his own. He feels in the loop by following our school district on Twitter and Facebook. “Your school district principals and leaders’ Twitter images and positive social media posts capture the joy, vibrancy and positive moments,” he shared.

Collective Outreach
In Fremont School District 79, we’re an active presence on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter. I say “we” because outreach is a collective effort when it happens frequently and consistently throughout a learning organization. Our three-step prescription for social media savvy consists of creating content, building a following and interacting with our community.

Our Twitter handle (@FSD79) is recognizable with our school district logo inserted as the profile image. This year, we are using the hashtag #LearningFSD79 to group our posts as a “story,” which is feasible if you search the phrase online. The posts connected to #LearningFSD79 center on both staff and student learning — professional development and the learning environment.

Twitter also is used to promote district events. Announcements, activity reminders or a post right from the scene of an event often link to additional information on our website. The tweet at an event provides the live, in-person, timely snapshot of our school community joined together for an athletic event, a fine arts performance, a school’s parent night or a student assembly.

I’ve received useful advice about using Twitter for sharing time-sensitive information about the district from fellow superintendents. Daniel Frazier (@DanielLFrazier), superintendent in Litchfield, Minn., recently tweeted: “New Supts: Never send out a school cancellation notice without including a time and date. Otherwise can be retweeted anytime.” (#suptchat, 8/3/16)

Mission Support
At Fremont 79, we consider which stories are worth telling through social media. Not everything rises to that level. Informing the public of the first days of school, public displays of student work and activities capture a snapshot in time, a chance to share with our community what’s new and next.

Fellow #suptchat contributor Joe Sanfelippo (@joesanfelippofc), superintendent in Fall Creek, Wis., shared this advice during a recent discussion: “When kindergarten kids say … ‘You’re gonna tweet that ... right?’ it makes me feel like they want to be heard.”

The posts affirm and highlight our district mission, “Preparing today’s child for tomorrow’s world.” Through compelling images and updates, we reach our stakeholders where they look for news and updates rather than expecting them to log into our website. This shift in communication strategy to an active social media presence allows us to build a following and interact with stakeholders. We succinctly share the story of our students, staff and schools with our supportive community.


Jill Gildea is superintendent of Fremont School District 79 in Mundelein, Ill. E-mail: jgildea@fsd79.org. Twitter: @drjillgildea




**Social Media is a new monthly column, involving an array of contributors, that will address practical matters on subjects of relevance to superintendents and school district administrators.**