Exploring New Ways of Communicating with Stakeholders

How often have you heard the expression, " I am old school."  As a school principal, I think there are some things from the "old school" tool box that are valuable.  Some of those things would certainly be the focus on the three R's, Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic (Literacy and Mathematics).  In addition, I would argue that another "old school" item of value is the need to be on time, respectful, and self-disciplined.

If I have to get right down to the brass tacks of the whole thing, I am not sure what "old school" really means.  As an educator, I have asked others and myself the question:  "What does it mean to be "new school"? I thought I would take a stab at it from a communication angle.

Recently, I heard a presenter speak about how they use social media to communicate with stakeholders. The presenter never talked about anything that involved paper.  Everything that was presented focused on the use of electronic media.  Media that was quick, to the point, and could be pushed out in numerous ways, to a myriad number of receivers, forms, and venues.  In other words, in a matter of minutes, the message was created, packaged, delivered, received, interpreted, re-communicated, and if necessary, avoided, and deleted.  In this string of communication verbs, I am sure I have left something out.  Feel free to criticize and redo.  I am okay with that.  In the new ways of communicating with stakeholders, it can only help us get better and get the message right to the right people.

Check Us Out At...

In understanding this process of new ways of communicating with our stakeholder at Bunker Hill, we are adding a new venue.  We have launched ourselves into the world of podcasting and vodcasting (video casting). In order to do this, we have created a new crew, team, what have you, that we are referring to as the MaP Team.  Map stands for Marketing and Production Team and is headed up by our innovative media coordinator along with a fluid band of students and faculty members.

The purpose of the MaP Team is to do as its name suggests, "Put us on the Map,"  with no pun intended.  In reality, we want our students, community, stakeholders, and the rest of the world to know about the good things we do in our school each week.  At present, we use our webpage, we face-book-it, tweet, and as principal, send out information through LinkedIn and now, my own Twitter feed.

As we expand into the world of pod and vodcasting, we are hopeful to provide stakeholders and beyond an opportunity to see and hear about what we do and who we are.  Is it worth it?  We are not sure.  I think so, simply because we are providing an opportunity for students to work with staff members on a project that promotes us.  As we complete our first adventure with our new feed called BearTalk, we ask you to tune in and check us out.

Written by:

Dr. Jeff Isenhour  @JeffIsenhour

Bunker Hill High School Principal

Contact Dr. Isenhour on Twitter @JeffIsenhour

Contact Dr. Isenhour by email Jeffrey_Isenhour@catawbaschools.net

March 22, 2017