This year marks the 6th year my school has been on Facebook. My how things have changed! Here are some things I do to manage/use my school Facebook Page:
- In the early days I posted a disclaimer something like this ".....that anything posted on this page should be appropriate for a 5 year old to read or see. This is not the place for "unhappiness." If you have a concern that needs specific attention you need to contact the office....." I did this because I wasn't sure I could find the time to monitor the page consistently. I was worried that something would get out of control on FB before I could get it taken care of.(This was before the bazillion notifications you can now get on your cell phone:) This was even before Lessons Learned from Justine Sacco event.
- Parents can post to the page. Most don't they only comment. You may not want to allow that until you are comfortable with your presence on FaceBook as a school. You can do whatever you want. Start tight, then loosen up when you are ready.
- We have multiple admin allowed to post to the page. My secretary, counselor, computer lab teacher and a few other teachers have admin rights. Most do not post very often but they can if needed. I think they are hesitant but we post plenty so I don't really worry about it.
- Central Office is also one of the admin on my page. That only started this year. They only post snow days or district-wide announcements sporadically. They can post most district-wide stuff to a district page.
- Not everyone is on Facebook! I now that is shocking to some of you. But if I have 304 students and 348 "likes" that doesn't mean that ALL my "likes" are from my school. Especially since 5 of them are my mom, my dad, my brother, my college roommate, and my relatives in NY. Not to mention former families who haven't "unsubscribed" yet. That means I also communicate through other tools as well. Even PAPER!
- Have ONE initial starting point. I try to post to my school website first. Then share that info through Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and email. That does not always go as planned. Pictures sometimes only get posted to FB. Too bad. Don't know what else to say here.
- Be positive! We have so many good things to share in schools why not shout it from everywhere?
- Grammar and Spelling errors. Since we are school it's probably wise that we spell things correctly and/or use good grammar. Honestly, that doesn't always happen. When posting from my phone I will sometimes be posting so quickly that I spell a teacher's name wrong or auto-correct gets me. I have yet to post profanity due to spell check but that may happen I just hope not:( Most of my school community is pretty forgiving but some people get hung up in the small details.
- Posting pics of students: So far the parents LOVE THIS! They love being able to see their kids during the day. They sometimes comment asking for more pics! Usually you know exactly who the students are that can't have pics posted so you don't take pics of them. Easy peasy!
- Unexpected audience: Grandparents and/or distant relatives. Oh my how grandparents love to see pics of their little grand kids! It's super fun to see when they comment.
- Help needed! I just did this for the first time and I am so glad I did!
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