Although face-to face contact is still the most effective for important issues, sometimes time does not allow us to reach all the necessary people.
By using technology, we save time and money! While we may miss a certain segment of the population when using technology, we also reach a segment we would not reach in any other way. The non-custodial parent who lives in another state, the grandparents, the serviceman stationed away from his family, future families to attend the school district and other community members.
Below are some creative ideas on how your staff can use your CMS for increased parent engagement:
- Deliver streaming live video feeds for parent and grandparents to watch student plays, presentations and assemblies.
- Provide links and downloads in one location on the website for useful resources for career path decisions, scholarships, academics, college preparation, standardized testing, summer internships and mentoring opportunities.
- Require students to pledge anti-bullying with the survey component and education them through blogs and podcasts. Remind them through social media feeds of their commitment.
- Use the quiz builder to find out if your parents understand the Common Core Standards.
- Invite parents to sign up with the parent/teacher conference scheduler through the website at their convenience.
- Record the Superintendent's message on the district site in a video format to give it more life.
- Start a Twitter account for the Superintendent and start tweeting facts about the district, words of encouragement and your views so you are not just a face but a personality. Use the script window to embed it into the CMS.
- Send out a mass email/text alert for volunteering opportunities.
- Check your Google Analytics to see what web pages people visit most often to find their interests.
- Build a survey form for the building walkthrough checklist creating a simple submission process.