Great Principal Strategies

Engaging the Community: Communications 

Below is a list of strategies for leading communications in the effort to "Engage the Community" at your school. These strategies support the principal's work to communicate and partner with school
community members to promote student learning. Submit your own strategies by clicking on the "Submit Your Strategy" link above, or find strategies by perusing the descriptions below; to proceed, be sure you are logged on to the website. 

• Closing a School
  When Principal Mary Chapman learned that her school was put on the closure list last year, she had to think fast. How does one go about closing a school? Chapman re-tasked an existing school committee to plan for the closure of Hunt Middle School in Tacoma and to support students, staff, parents and the community in the process. This well-designed list of activities is something we hope you never have to use.
  
  
• "Purple Note" Wednesdays
  Instead of sending home half-sheet announcements or handouts to students at the spur of the moment, or throughout the week, we decided that our communication with parents needed to be more consistent. Because of this, each Wednesday, we send home a full-page note in English and Spanish with each student that contains all the pertinent information and dates for parents along with ideas, and celebrations.
  
  
• Teacher Postcards
  When teachers want to share good news with a student's family, they send out one of our special Seven Oaks Elementary postcards. A brief message and a mailing label, and it's ready to go! This outreach effort is inexpensive and it doesn't take a lot of time, but it really helps strengthen our relationships with families.
  
  
• Bring an Adult to School Day
  Adults have "Bring a Son or Daughter to Work Day"...so why shouldn't kids have "Bring an Adult to School Day"? Lacey Elementary hosts this event every year, inviting active engagement from the important adults in students' lives.
  
  
• Welcome Call to Parents
  Just one telephone call can make a huge difference! Before the start of the school year, I called the family of every incoming kindergartner with a simple welcome message.
  
  
• Reverse Open House
  A “Reverse Open House,” held at the beginning of each school year, is a goodwill mission that pays enormous long-term dividends. Focused on strengthening parent and community connections, this unique mode of parent communication is festive and always uplifting for students, families and teachers. In our school’s community, the annual Reverse Open House has become a much-anticipated tradition and a powerful tool for building relationships with our parents and community.
  
  
• Parent Meeting / Student Dance
  After many efforts to increase participation in parent informational meetings, we finally developed an effective strategy: Hosting a dance the night of the meeting. Both students and parents enjoyed incentives for their participation. At our first meeting/dance evening, more than 250 parents took part!