The Five-Week Leadership Challenge: 35 Action Steps to Become the Leader You Were Meant to Be

[00:01] SPEAKER_02:

Welcome to Principal Center Radio, bringing you the best in professional practice.

[00:06] Announcer:

Here's your host, Director of the Principal Center and Champion of High Performance Instructional Leadership, Dustin Bader.

[00:13] SPEAKER_01:

Welcome to Principal Center Radio. I'm your host, Justin Bader, and I'm joined today by Ryan McLean. Ryan is principal of Big Walnut Intermediate School in Sunbury, Ohio, and is the author of the new book, Your School Rocks, So Tell People. Passionately pitch and promote the positives happening on your campus.

[00:33] Announcer:

And now, our feature presentation.

[00:36] SPEAKER_01:

Ryan, welcome to Principal Center Radio. Hey, glad to be here. So I totally agree with the premise that you have in the book here, that so many schools do rock. There are such great things happening in schools around the country. And yet, too often, we fail to tell people those great things. I wonder if you could help us understand why is it that too often we let those positive messages just not make it out to our families?

[01:01]

In other words, what did you see as the reason that this need exists out there for the book?

[01:06] SPEAKER_00:

Well, I think when you hear the ongoing bashing of public schools and really just schools in general, and you hear about all the things that schools aren't doing or where schools are failing. And I sit back and I look and I think, you know, those things are not happening in my school or there's so many other things that are happening that are newsworthy. And how are we sharing that? Obviously, that message isn't getting out or isn't getting out enough because that's not the common theme of what we hear in the media. We're just here, you know, and talk around town. So part of it is we as schools have to do a better job of promoting the great things that are happening, but we also have to look at the ways that we are communicating.

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Too many people are stuck in the, you know, I'll send my monthly paper newsletter or make the occasional phone call. And there's so many more efficient tools that we can use that'll help share our stories.

[02:01] SPEAKER_01:

So Ryan, what's the starting point for communication? Before we get into all the technologies and the social media platforms that we can use to communicate, where do we get our ideas, not just the factual happenings, but kind of our overall message about how to communicate with families?

[02:17] SPEAKER_00:

We have a very simple mission guide, which is to inspire and guide. So that's at the heart of everything. So, you know, the things that I share on social media or the things that I'm sharing with our families is, you know, here's some ways that our staff is inspiring your child and guiding your child down the road. down the path of excellence. And here's some examples of your kids doing those things. And I've worked in, and I think I mentioned this in the book, I've worked in multiple school districts and I couldn't tell you a single word for many of their mission statements because they weren't important or they were the traditional lot of words, yada, yada, yada.

[02:55]

But when I got hired by Big Walnut, I was in the district for about an hour and I knew their mission statement. And you could ask anyone that works in the district, inspire and guide. So that mission is really at the heart of everything we do and at the heart of every decision we make. So the stories that we share further enhance or solidify what we're here to do as educators, and that's to inspire and guide your child. And my job as a principal is to try to inspire and guide our teachers so that they can become better as well.

[03:25] SPEAKER_01:

Well, Ryan, I've always been a strong believer in frequent, consistent communication between school and home. And one thing I would always do as a principal is send home a newsletter. And it was honestly a pretty old-fashioned newsletter. We'd make it in Microsoft Publisher and create a PDF and email that to the families that we had emails for and run it off on the copier for families online. who we didn't have emails for. But we know there's a lot more that we can do these days.

[03:53]

So I wonder if you could give us an idea of what some of the top ways that we can connect with families are. So when we see examples of our mission being realized, instances of our district or our school doing what it's supposed to be doing, our students doing what they're supposed to be doing, what are some channels that you see as particularly valuable for communicating that to families?

[04:17] SPEAKER_00:

Sure. I think before you examine what changes you're going to make, we need to look at what are we doing right now? Is it effective? For me personally, writing that weekly or monthly traditional paper or email newsletter was not something I look forward to because it was so time consuming. I really enjoyed thinking about the content But by the time you formatted it, made it visually appealing, you edit it, you know, proofreading because the last thing you want is a typo or a grammatical error. It was a very time consuming process.

[04:50]

And if our parents and our families were actually reading it, then, you know, that's time well spent. But again, I just continued to see more and more signs that that wasn't the case. As I was walking down the halls, I would see the weekly or monthly newsletter laying on the floor. They were in the bottom of kids' lockers. If we're sending them out an email, are parents even listening? looking at them or are they going to their spam folder?

[05:18]

And really it took my actions as a parent. My daughter had a great principal who sent home a weekly paper newsletter in her, you know, read homework folder every week And I wasn't reading it. And it wasn't anything she was doing. I just wasn't engaged. So I began thinking to myself, there's got to be a better way. There's got to be a better way that we can engage our family so that they can hear our message.

[05:44]

It doesn't do a whole lot of good to, you know, print all these fantastic things that are happening and then no one's reading about them. So I actually, you know, one of the ideas that I got, I got from a principal in Virginia, and he got the idea from someone else, was he did a video newsletter about And I followed him on Twitter. His name's Phil Griffins. And I watched the link of his video newsletter. And his was, he was talking into the camera and he was showing video and photo highlights from the week. And I didn't really know this guy.

[06:16]

I certainly had no connection to his school, but I was engaged in what was going on and thought to myself, I've got to do this. And I can say that we've done it for the past three years. We do it every Friday. We keep it to between two and three minutes in length. I get the kids involved. But I can say going to a video newsletter has been the greatest communication shift that I have made as an educator because I can see, one, I can see the analytics of how many times it was viewed, whether it was on Facebook or YouTube.

[06:50]

But the parents tell me, hey, we watch your video newsletter every week. Or I love your video newsletter. or don't stop doing it. I never had a parent ever tell me, we read your newsletter together as a family, or I can't wait for your next issue to come up. And that's almost laughable to think that any parent would say that, but they do say it about the video newsletter. So we then use different social media platforms to distribute that, but that's been a game changer for us.

[07:20] SPEAKER_01:

So it sounds like at the heart of your strategy is a video that can be distributed through different platforms. And are people watching that video on your website as well or on YouTube? And you mentioned Facebook. I know Facebook has their own video hosting that gets a lot of views. Where's the hub or where does it live?

[07:38] SPEAKER_00:

We upload it to two different locations. We upload it to YouTube, where then we embed it on our school website. We'll tweet out a link. We've got a school Twitter account. But then we also upload it separately to Facebook. We originally just put the link to YouTube, but that adds one more step for a user to click on.

[07:57]

And now you know if you've got Facebook and there's a video uploaded, it'll automatically play. So someone's more likely to check that out if it's already playing on their newsfeed. We email that YouTube link out so I still send a weekly email of hey here's a link to the video newsletter here's three things that are important to know I mean it's not even a paragraph it's bullet points just to get as many people access to that because I'm aware not everyone's on Facebook not everyone's on Twitter not everyone's on Instagram so we tried to meet them where they are and not force everyone hey you've got to get to Facebook if you want to watch our video we want to go to where they are

[08:32] SPEAKER_01:

And I think that discipline of being able to communicate in bullet points is really powerful for us because it forces us to really get to the point and say, okay, what do I really want people to take away from this if they're not going to read my 500-word essay on how great open house was? We've got to be realistic about people's attention span and the kinds of information that people are looking for. And I appreciate your reflections on your own experience as a recipient of this information from your daughter's school. And we think sometimes maybe parents in my school are better at reading the newsletter than I am at reading the newsletters that I receive. And we've got to realize, of course, that's not going to be the case. If we want it to be easy for us as recipients of information, we've got to make it easy for our families.

[09:18] SPEAKER_00:

And people are busy. I mean, I'm busy. And I guess that's not an excuse, but it's a reason. But our families are busy, too. And to expect them to sit down and almost force them to read something that might not be the most exciting thing in the world, I don't think...

[09:35]

we're putting ourselves in a position to be successful. Now, people will watch a video on their phone that's two minutes long. Even if they don't see the video while they're driving, they'll hit play so they can listen to what's going on. Our engagement levels are just so much higher going this route.

[09:53] SPEAKER_01:

Well, I like that people can kind of choose their modality because, you know, sometimes if I want information, I do not want to watch a two or three minute video. I want to see, okay, what time does this thing start? You know, what time do I need to be there? That's, you know, two seconds to look at it. But if I'm busy or if I'm trying to get something else done, if I'm trying to, you know, get ready to go for the day, sitting down and reading a newsletter is taking time that I don't have and it's work. So a video would be fantastic in that setting.

[10:18]

And just being able to choose, I think, is so powerful for people. So what are some of the distribution platforms that you use, some of the social media networks that you talk about in the book? I know we've mentioned uploading to YouTube and Facebook. Where does it go from there? We mentioned a few briefly, but maybe kind of take us into more of our options.

[10:37] SPEAKER_00:

Our families seem to be on Facebook. And the research would back that. 74% of adults that use the internet are on Facebook. and 75% of them use it daily. So that's a great place to reach them. So we're hitting our families.

[10:55]

Our parents, our grandparents, our aunt and uncles, just our general community member on Facebook. We do have some people on Twitter. Not as many people are on Twitter, but I will say that a lot of parents will reach out to me on Twitter with a question. Numerous times I've had parents send out a tweet. Hey, remind me what time that band concert is tonight or tomorrow because they know I'll respond. That's why I love 140 characters because it's quick.

[11:19]

I'm in a fifth and sixth grade building. Our kids are on Instagram. So we're hitting them there. We're sharing photographs. We're sharing a link to the video newsletter on Instagram. And what we do is in our profile where you can enter a website, we update that link every week.

[11:37]

So we'll put a picture of a screenshot from the video newsletter. And then we'll click on the link in our profile so that our kids can see it as well. I would say those are the primary ones. I don't think I'm missing anything. Those are the main ones we use where we're hitting all of our constituents. We're hitting our families on Facebook.

[11:56]

We're hitting a smaller percentage, but a percentage that makes it worth doing on Twitter. And our kids are on Instagram, and we don't want to leave them out because it's good for them to see that. hey, I'm being recognized for something great or my classmates were doing something or wow, look at what this sixth grade team of teachers did. So it really builds that excitement. You know, the book wasn't about how we can communicate better. It was about how can we make school fun?

[12:21]

How can we make school a place that our kids look forward to coming to every day? And by using these things and using tools that our kids are using, you know, we can build that excitement to get them excited about coming to school.

[12:34] SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. And I think with video, especially you're able to convey that excitement to parents in a way that, you know, we had fun today in text really can't. So I wonder if you could tell us a little bit more about how you do video and what the book goes into as far as video. Cause I know it can be intimidating if you've, you know, I remember when I was a classroom teacher, we had a video production class, a video production lab, and it was all, you know, big heavy equipment that was not portable from a, you know, from a different era. Um, But the world certainly has changed in terms of what's possible with video. So what's involved?

[13:07]

If someone wants to get started with video newsletters, putting together a weekly video from the school, what does that take from us?

[13:21] SPEAKER_00:

So we're pretty low tech. We use an iPad. We lean it up against an old overhead projector cart. We stack some books so that the iPad can lean against it. And we hit record. We do all of our editing in iMovie, which makes it really easy to save it and then upload to Facebook or to upload it directly to YouTube.

[13:42]

We eventually became a little more fancy. We got some neon green paint and we painted a cinder block wall so we could have some Green screen effects. We use an app. There's a couple on the iPad that you can use. The one we currently use is called Green Screen by Dewink. We've used TouchCast in the past and it just adds a little flair and the kids enjoy it.

[14:04]

It takes me. Literally, I would say 15 minutes a week to do the video newsletter because the time I'm talking to the parents is usually 30 to 45 seconds. I can do that usually in one take now. And then I'm in classrooms throughout the week. I'm snapping pictures when I see something cool. And there's a lot of cool things going.

[14:25]

I've got a great staff. So that's not taking any extra time because I'm doing that anyway. So then on Friday, I compile it all, get it together in iMovie. And once it's set, upload it. Again, we keep it under three minutes. We usually get closer to two minutes because we want to be as efficient as possible with people's times.

[14:43]

But you don't need high-tech cameras or computer systems. Essentially, I do everything from an iPad or You know, the kids that we're working with, we do it all from an iPad.

[14:54] SPEAKER_01:

It is impressive how much you can do in iMovie just with the editing tools that are available right on screen. I mean, at the principal center, we have Adobe Premiere and all the professional grade production software, but the quick and really 90% 95% is good. Tools that are available to us on iPad or on a mobile phone, really, you can do quite impressive things. And I think one of the great things about working with kids is that if we don't know how to do something, they probably do and can teach us.

[15:22] SPEAKER_00:

That's absolutely the truth. But then it's turning into... You know, they see it and they're incorporating it into their classes. So our teachers are big on having our kids create, which is fantastic.

[15:35]

So they're starting to create videos, whether it's a how-to video, kind of like a Khan Academy-style math video, or our language arts department. The kids were doing some fairy tale movies where they were recreating fairy tales like the tortoise and the hare. So it gets them creating. I mean, I can't emphasize that enough. One of the things I'm most proud about our school is our teachers, fifth grade, sixth grade. We've got 540 kids, but our staff is giving our kids the opportunity to be creative.

[16:09]

They're not just sitting in those desks. you know, like maybe you and I were when we were in school. School is much more engaging now. And I don't know if it is everywhere, but it is at BWI. And that's why we're going to share it because we're, I'm not going to sit back and listen to the naysayers, you know, that are saying how bad schools are. That's why we do this.

[16:31]

I'm so proud of the work that our staff does that I want people to know about it. I want them to know that, hey, maybe we are the exception to the rule.

[16:40] SPEAKER_01:

Well, and I think the more we can normalize that level of positive communication, I think the better. And I think you've done a tremendous service to the profession here. You know, we've got 14,000 school districts in the US. We've got over 100,000 schools. And it does not take too many to overwhelm all of the bad news that's out there, all of the, you know, scandals and testing and, you know, all the different types of stories that tend to make the TV news. Man, we could drown that out in no time.

[17:07]

If we got serious about communicating the good news, like you talk about in your school rocks.

[17:12] SPEAKER_00:

I also think it kind of gives you the benefit of the doubt. I've had so many, you know, things aren't perfect at our school. It's not perfect anywhere. And there's times where parents will come in with a concern, but more often than not, they'll give me the benefit of the doubt because they'll say, you know, I know the great things that are happening here. I know what you stand for. I know what your teachers stand for because I've seen it.

[17:36]

So help me with this situation here. And it's a better working relationship with that family because it's not about us versus them or them wanting to defend their child to the very end. It's more of, hey, I know great things are happening here. We hit a bump in the road. What can we do to fix this? And that's been a great result as well.

[17:57] SPEAKER_01:

It's a relationship. I mean, you're really creating a relationship every time you send out a tweet or an Instagram photo or a video. So the book is Your School Rocks, So Tell People. Passionately pitch and promote the positives happening on your campus by Ryan McLean and Eric Lowe. Ryan, thank you so much for joining us on Principal Center Radio.

[18:16] SPEAKER_02:

Hey, thank you very much for having me. And now, Justin Bader on high performance instructional leadership.

[18:23] SPEAKER_01:

So high performance instructional leaders, what did you take away from my conversation with Ryan McClain? First, I think the bottom line is that we have got to take responsibility as leaders for being communicators. There are great things happening in our classrooms, and we want teachers to communicate with the families of the students that they serve directly. But as organizational leaders, it is part of our core responsibilities to communicate consistently, to communicate the good news, to communicate that mission that we're fulfilling every day. And I loved what Ryan said about sharing specific examples of what they're doing to support students, what they're doing to inspire students, and actually allowing families to see that happening on video, in photos, and on all the different media platforms that people use to access that content.

[19:14]

So if you are looking for ways to get the word out. I want to encourage you just to start, first of all. Don't let there be any barrier to communicating good news. You can create a Twitter account. You can create a Facebook account. You don't have to take pictures of students' faces and all that that you might need permission for.

[19:31]

Just get started sharing good news. Put it out there and let families know how they can connect with you. I want to make a couple of specific recommendations if you need a way to get your email newsletter out. One thing that I hear from a lot of people that they use very successfully is smore.com, S-M-O-R-E, which actually allows you to create a drag and drop newsletter. It's mobile responsive.

[19:51]

It's really easy. And it actually will allow you to import your email subscribers, and then it'll actually tell you who opens your newsletter. So if you do find that you need to send a hard copy home or find some other way to communicate with some of your families, you actually get the analytics you need to do that. And if you want to go a step further, my recommendation for a website and mobile app is what our local school district here in Heber Springs, Arkansas uses. It's called Aptogee. And you can find out more about that at principalcenter.com slash mobile.

[20:23]

And what you do there is you get a... school website that is powered by one service. And you get an app that works on all different platforms, all different social media platforms, all different phones. And people can simply install the app or follow your Facebook, follow your Twitter.

[20:41]

And you go in one place to post those messages to put them out, whether they're positive, whether they're about inclement weather closures, anything you need to communicate, you can do so very easily. But regardless of the technology that you use, I want to encourage you to check out Your School Rocks by Ryan McLean and Eric Lowe and get started spreading the good news about what's happening in your school.

[21:04] Announcer:

Thanks for listening to Principal Center Radio. For more great episodes, subscribe on our website at principalcenter.com slash radio.