I am restructuring how I handle parent outreach. The big vision is, have the website be the central hub and try to meet parents where they are. This is very influenced and inspired by Gary Vaynerchuk.

Website: The homepage is the digital hub for the school. There are three types of content that we add weekly.

1. Calendar Events:  Any school-wide events, such as the winter carnival, band concerts, and SCA events are on the website. These are not classroom specific (upcoming field trips or tests); these events are ones that affect parents or are open to the broader community.
2. Announcements: If there is an announcement from the school or something that would affect parents, it is on the site. 
3. Blog Posts: The website is also our newspaper of record. Every week we blog the noteworthy events from our school.

Then we move from there out to reach parents on other platforms. 

Email Newsletter: 

The content of the newsletter is similar but structured differently. 

1. Blog Posts: At the top of the newsletter is an image from the weekly blog post with a link for the parents can learn more if they want.
2. Calendar Updates: Next is a calendar. We highlight important dates for the next six weeks. Each one has a link to our school website or the main county website.
3. Announcements: We wrap up with upcoming announcements. I post each one for two weeks. Often the second posting a shortened version of the first, with a link to the website that has the full text.

Social Media (Facebook/Twitter)

Again, social has the same basic structure, plus one.

1. The Social Stream: Video and pictures from the school day.
2. Blog Posts: We advertise new blog posts on or social media. Each blog post gets advertised two or three times after the newsletter comes out.
3. Calendar Updates: Before an event happens, we post a few reminders to social media. I am still working on the schedule — the day before, there is always a reminder post. Additionally, we have been experimenting on when else to post. How many other reminders are appropriate? I am not sure. Maybe two days before and a week earlier? I am not sure the correct answer for this.
4. Announcements: A shortened version of the announcements make their way to Facebook/Twitter. I am still not sure how these should be a part of the outreach process. They are important. But how often will a parent click to read 500 words on our Family Life Education announcement?

That is what we are up to now. There are a few big holes in our digital outreach strategy.

• Everything is in English
• There is no text aspect
• Nothing on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, . . .
• Making social media posts engaging vs the time I have to make them engaging
• The process of how announcements come to my attention can be inconsistent

These holes need more discussion, but that is for another day.