4 Easy Ways Principals Can Keep Up Faculty Comms in Summer

Keep up the practice of a weekly school newsletter to faculty in summer! It provides continuity, shows you care, and keeps your team up-to-date.

Dr. Kara Stern, Smore Resident Educator

A veteran educator, I've gone from teacher, to principal, to Ph.D., to ED @ www.mathforamerica.org, to head of school, and now Resident Educator at Smore. I geek out on pedagogy and my Libby app :)

More posts by Dr. Kara Stern, Smore Resident Educator.

Dr. Kara Stern, Smore Resident Educator

26 May 2022 • 3 min read

4 Easy Ways Principals Can Keep Up Faculty Comms in Summer

☕️ Busy? Here's the TL;DR

Keep connected to faculty in summer with weekly updates
Keep it light-hearted! Always share something about yourself.
Keep folks informed! Always share something about the building.
Keep folks inspired! Always share a blog, an article, or quote you ❤️.
Use this Summer Update template to get started with summer comms.

Want to get everyone communicating consistently?

Keep up the practice of a weekly school newsletter to faculty in summer!

It provides continuity, shows that you care, and keeps your team up-to-date. While you’ve got crucial info to share during the school year, in summer, your faculty comms can have a chill vibe. Think of it as less “news you can use” and more “Hey, here’s what’s going on!”

Everyone wants to feel connected, inspired, and in the know -- even while on vacation.

Tip #1: share something personal

Summer communications are a great time to share glimpses of your own life. Whether it’s a photo gallery of a trip you’ve taken, or your garden. A funny anecdote about your kids or your dog. Or a meme about how much sleep you’re getting!

Sharing really is caring — when you share details about your life, you’re helping your team feel connected to you.

Tip #2: share something about the building

Teachers put school out of their minds in summer... except for when they’re thinking about it! Include updates about summer cleaning, pics of summer construction, intros to new hires, selfies with alumni who’ve stopped by. Or even just pics of your dog in the office!

Help folks to stay connected to the building, even when they’re not in it.

Tip #3: share something inspirational

Link to a great article, share an inspirational quote, embed a meme that gets life at school just right. If you’ve got something longer than a paragraph, introduce it with a TL;DR (too long didn’t read). Then, folks can read your bullet point summary and decide for themselves if they want to read the full text.

It’s like summer PD, but no pressure!

Tip #4: Collect summer email addresses 😉

Save yourself from a cascade of out-of-office replies. If you send updates to teachers’ school addresses, likely most people won’t even see them until they’re back in the building. Collect people’s alternate email addresses so you’ve got a way to connect.

Low-stakes comms like this will help you build community & set a positive tone that’ll carry into the coming school year. Here’s a template to help you get started.