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EDTECH

6 School Communication Channels and How to Use Them
  

hadeel from springring

Hadeel AlHaddad

4 November, 2021

Springring Edtech Blog

If you ask parents, students and teachers to share their opinion on school communication, you’d get a million different responses. If you ask them how they prefer to be contacted by the school, you’d get a million more. Every teacher, parent and student has their own preferences. And I know what you’re thinking? How are you expected to achieve effective school and class communication and still adhere to each preferred method? It’s simple. You don’t. That’s right. If you do, you’ll drive yourself to your next teacher burnout. 

The key is to know the right school communication channels and the most effective way to use them to your advantage.

1 - SCHOOL WEBSITE

This is the primary form of school communication. Big or small, from preschools to high schools, every educational institution needs a public school website. Not only is it crucial for a school to maintain a digital presence, but it is the first official point of digital contact with any existing or potential member of the school community. 

An effective website doesn’t have to be the most colorful and filled with illustrations and animations. It can be just as effective in its simplest form of text and media. What makes a website effective is if the readers are able to connect with the text, if they are able to view your website on any device no matter the resolution, and if the website is easy to navigate and if they feel persuaded to take the action you want them to take after visiting your website. 

You also need to make sure that your website is as informative as it needs to be. For instance, when it comes to your school communication, would they find all the information on school events on social media or is there an internal school communication portal they would have access to once they join your school community? It’s recommended to interlink all your communication channels in one focal point. In most cases, that focal point should be your website. 

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2 - MOBILE COMMUNICATION APP

If your school communication is not optimized for mobile devices, you’re at risk of falling behind the curve and missing out on millions of people that you can reach instantly. Many schools have embraced educational technology and incorporated school communication mobile apps across their whole school community. 

There are many online school communication apps that connect school leaders, teachers, students as well as parents in one online school community. All communication is shared and received instantly through these mobile apps, helping bridge the gap between school and home in more ways than one. Whether you prefer an online platform through a web browser, or a mobile app in the palm of your hands, digital school communication is a great way to bring together teachers and parents to further the education of all students.

3 - ALERTS AND REMINDERS, ANYTIME, ANYWHERE

Teachers and parents especially are constantly on the move, preoccupied with teaching classes, working through the day, and taking care of their households. No matter how accessible and instant the school communication is, they might not be checking their phones as often as they’d like. That’s where alerts, reminders and notifications come in handy. 


School communication apps that have an alerts feature for important or urgent updates automatically send app notifications to teachers, parents or students. Not only that, some advanced school communication platforms allow you to enable email notifications as well. You can stay up to date on any and all school and class communications and parents can always be included and involved in students’ school and learning environment.

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4 - SCHOOL ASSEMBLY

Online and offline communication work hand in hand, even when it comes to school and class communication. Even though an integral part of school communication channels is digital, it needs to be backed up with human interaction. Whether it’s a zoom class video call, a school assembly, or a daily morning announcements segment broadcasted throughout the whole school campus. Repetition helps emphasize a certain point you’re trying to communicate and get across.

5 - LETTERS TO PARENTS IN THE DIGITAL AGE

Let go of that paper trail. Parent teacher communication has evolved and continues to with each passing academic year. However, no matter how technologically advanced education becomes, it is still vital to maintain effective communication between teachers and parents.

Do you share daily, weekly or monthly progress reports with parents of the students in your class? Are you tired of things getting “lost in the mail”? There are school communication platforms that allow you to digitize this process, and allows instant feedback from parents. Some have features like “The Student Diary”, others have monthly performance or behavior reports.

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6 - KEEPING IT SOCIAL

Whether your school protocol is to maintain all official school communication internally via a school communication app (i.e. exclusively to the school community), or opening your digital doors to the general public on social media, or a mixture of both. You can’t go wrong when introducing a social element into your school and class communication strategy. 

Granted, it is important to share urgent updates, school-wide announcements & events, and class worksheets, homework and exams schedule. But it is also equally important to share class moments, school memories, student non-academic milestones and celebrations.

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AN OWL'S OPINION

There’s a big difference between school communication and effective school communication. It’s important to have a communication strategy in place that is personalized to your school community and their communication needs.

Whether multi-channel school communication is the key to successful communication at your school, or if it’s an all-in-one solution that’s the answer to your school communication. When making this decision, always make sure to keep your school community in mind.

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hadeel from springring

WRITTEN BY

Hadeel Al Haddad

The Digital Marketing Specialist owl. The passionate bookworm/book-owl that runs on caffeine and loves soulful music. As a morning Owl, I'm at my creative peak while the sun is still up. I'm a wordsmith who enjoys writing, traveling and making punny dad jokes. Yes, seriously!