Name

EPPSP Group 38
Butler University

The Experiential Program for Preparing School Principals

STANDARD :
#22 - Positively promote your school via social media. Professionally and ethically use
social media to highlight school events, school accomplishments, the hard work of students and
staff, and other information that positively portrays your school and keeps stakeholders abreast.

Summary:

Since college, I have used Twitter to share my experiences as an educator. I have connected
with inspiring leaders, shared my journey through student teaching and eventually into having
my own classroom, and explored resources to use with students. The educator community on
Twitter is strong, and it helps motivate and cultivate constant growth among its followers.

This year in particular, I have tried to highlight my journey as a teacher in our Dual Language
program and what it really means to integrate hands-on learning, rich cultural experiences, and
joy into this unique setting. When I share about my class, I make sure to always tag my school
so that the tweets can easily be connected with their location. Additionally, I always try to use
hashtags that will engage targeted audiences. Some that I use engage the community within my
school district. For example, the hashtag, #LTday1 was used throughout the district on the first
day of school to collect all tweets and photos of students on the first day of school. I also try to
engage members of the Dual Language community by hashtagging things such as
#DualLanguage, #LanguageLearners, and #Bilingual. These tags engage audiences from
around the country. Because of this connection, I have been able to engage with other Dual
Language educators and connect with leaders whom I admire.

Finally, when sharing content about our Dual Language program, I believe that videos are such
a powerful tool. Many times, prospective parents’ first questions about the program are about
students’ language usage. I could share with them infinite graphs, data, and statistics, but that
would still not prove to them what it’s truly like to be a child learning in this environment. Instead,
I choose to show videos of the children interacting with each other in both languages,
presenting in both languages, and reading in both languages. This sort of visual representation
really helps the prospective families see the possibility of learning and success that can be
achieved in this setting.

Reflection:

Growing up in the digital age, I am no stranger to social media. It is as much a part of today’s
everyday life as was the newspaper for previous generations. There are so many common
misconceptions around social media, and how it is “just for sharing silly things” or for “posting
recipes for appetizers and showing off the fun things you’re doing”. While all of those statements
can be seen as true to an extent, social media is also a crucial way to share news, promote
organizations, and connect with others. One social media platform in particular has really taken
the role of doing all three of those things. On Twitter, I find it easiest to connect with others,
promote organizations, and share news. That is the reason I try to do most of my professional
sharing on Twitter.

When I started teaching at Skiles Test almost two years ago, we were just starting our Dual
Language program. In the two years that I have been there, my principal has continually
mentioned that it is “a new day for Skiles Test, and that we are “rewriting the story of our
school”. I have taken these statements to heart and try to showcase just that via social media.
Everything that I share on my account positively reflects the learning experiences and the
excitement that the students are having day in and day out with the classroom, throughout the
school, and beyond in the community. I try to engage with community partners and thank them
for helping our students. In the “rewriting of our story”, I think it is crucial to show that we are not
doing this alone. We are a part of the Lawrence and Indianapolis communities, and we could
not be successfully educating these children without the help of our neighbors.

One of the main reasons I try to share so positively about Skiles Test via social media was
alluded to in the summary—prospective families. Many of the young families in the community
are exploring options for their children’s schooling. Dual Language has become a popular option
for a lot of families in recent years, as they see many benefits of their children growing up
bilingual. When parents begin to do research on potential schools for their children, most of
them turn first to the internet. My goal in sharing positively about Skiles Test is that when they
come across the school as a tagged location, see a video of kids engaged in learning, or visit
the school’s social media pages, they see children who are truly loving learning, and they want
their child to be a part of that community. Our community has grown to be so strong in recent
years, and if we show the growth we’ve made and the environment we have fostered, we will
continue to attract families who support our mission and help us to cultivate it each day.
Artifacts: