Month: August 2023

In this session, Preet Singh joined us to answer questions on technology for school leaders. He spoke about IT services, cybersecurity, and security awareness training for school staff. You can watch the full video here or read the transcript below.

Join the experts as they answer all your questions live on Tuesdays on YouTube at 10am PT / 12pm CT / 1pm ET.

 

 

Full Transcript

Host (00:20):

Hi everybody and welcome back to Tuesday Tips. I’m Michael Barber from Charter School Capital. Really happy to be joined by Preet Sing today from Software M S P Preet. Good to see your face and thanks for joining us today.

Preet Singh (00:33):

Absolutely. Good to see you and always a pleasure to be with you guys.

Host (00:37):

Yeah, we really appreciate the partnership that your team has provided for us. The last few months we’ve been building some content together around all things cybersecurity and IT services for school leaders. So we’re going to spend the next 10 or so minutes diving into some questions on that very topic and so wanted to start really broad conversation on telling us what’s happening in the space. Is there anything we should know just as a top line update of maybe what’s impacting school leaders as they head back to school as it relates to cybersecurity and IT services?

Preet Singh (01:13):

So a lot is happening. There’s always a lot happening in the tech space, but especially nowadays, we’re hearing a lot about cybersecurity. We’re hearing a lot about ransomware, just services being impacted that an organization is supposed to be offering. Just this morning I saw a large higher up road education district or school was impacted in Michigan and they had to just take the decision to shut down everything the day before classes are opening and returning, right? So that’s a huge impact. So cybersecurity is something that’s just top of mind and should be top of mind, rightfully so, because it is impacting not just larger organizations, but smaller ones and people that may not know how to react for that fact when things and incidents do happen. So a lot of issues.

Host (02:07):

Yeah, unfortunately I think it’s going to get worse as we start to see more rise of AI and the impacts of ai, both in positive ways but in a lot of negative ways as well. We’re going to talk about AI in just a second. How can IT services, let’s turn to that part of the conversation first, really enhance A school’s efficiency and productivity. What can school leaders expect when they’re leveraging maybe an outside IT services firm and just in general how IT services can increase efficiency and productivity for school leaders?

Preet Singh (02:40):

No, that’s big, right? Because I think having and implementing the right IT solutions and services and schools can streamline a lot of processes. There’s a very popular framework and model that’s used to assess and improve these performances, and that’s the people process technology framework that it’s based on the idea that organizations are made up of three elements, people, process and technology. These are three elements needed to work together in harmony to ensure a successful organization and everything operates together properly. So if one aspect is weak or it’s not aligned with the others, it can have a huge impact on efficiencies and effectiveness. So I think having the right IT services, the right technology, the right team that manages that, those services and technology can streamline processes like administrative tasks, attendance tracking, grade management, online learning, and just communication. It’s huge among students and staff and parents, and these are all systems that we’re all very familiar with, but these are all relying on the technology to be running efficiency. So I think adding those enhances our experience and the teachers and the parents and the students’ experiences, making sure there’s no errors and just create a better or productive learning environment. I think that’s huge to have the right IT services in place.

Host (04:16):

Yeah, I think that framework, people, process and technology can really help provide a good starting point for how school leaders can think about the conversation. And I know both your team and our team work together on a guide over the summer that brings some of that nuance to life. I’m looking over on the side of my screen. I’m going to drop that resource right into the chat. So if you are looking for that resource as a school leader, please feel free to go grab it, grab it. It’s a hundred percent free. We’re not collecting in any information from it. It’s A P D F download. Very simple to grab from our website, and I dropped that U R L right into the chat, so if anybody is watching this, you can go head over to charter school capital.com and grab that IT guide for school leaders right there.

(04:58):

Let’s turn to another question that I think is important and we’ll shift the conversation away from IT services to cybersecurity. Obviously you gave us a great example of a school in Michigan that is just days into or a school district that days into the academic school year and already facing challenges here. I think we all know that regardless if you’re a school or if you are a private organization in any other industry, we are all faced with the growing threats around cybersecurity. We’d love to understand some thoughts around the key components of a robust cybersecurity awareness program for students and staff. If you can give us some thought starters around that question.

Preet Singh (05:41):

Yeah, it’s important to write, to have the awareness training and have a proper program in place to have those conversations and to have at least a policy. So I think having a lot of what we’re seeing nowadays is having a good interactive module on recognizing phishing scams, password protection, safe browsing, data protection. All this is really, really important to address and to keep in mind, keep top of mind for a lot of the staff and a lot of the people that are just using the technology essentially, if they’re using your email, your systems, your network, that’s just a huge risk less they know how to act or what to look for. Social engineering is a really, really big issue right now. And so having awareness training programs to let people know what type of social engineering is out there, what type of links to click or be weary of, these are really, really big important policies I think to have.

(06:50):

And that comes from it just having regular updates and a cadence for information being sent out. There’s a lot of really great tools out there that can simulate attacks and that can say, Hey, here’s a phishing simulation. Let’s see how many people in your organization actually click it. If it were a real simulation or a real attack, we’ve simulated it. This is how much your score is, what can we do to improve the score? And a lot of these systems would help you put out the right modules and the right training. So having those real world examples and clear reporting mechanisms, I think ensures both students, staff are well-informed and vigilant against cyber threats. That’s

Host (07:32):

Huge. Yeah. I think one of the things someone said to me once in my career, a cybersecurity leader in an organization that I worked for in the past said, unlike what your parents told you to never judge a book by its cover, you should always be judging every email by its cover because you just never know that someone’s trying to fish or attempt to fish or spoof or act like someone that you may feel like you’re close to. So just be very aware that those bad actors are in your inbox. In fact, this morning I was at the gym and I got an email that looked like a password reset request from what I thought was Office 365. It looked very Microsoft orientated. It even had the favicon, almost like the profile image that looked like it was Microsoft colors. And when you clicked into the from name, it was from a completely different domain. So you just always have to be wary of what’s happening inside of your inbox. It is the place I think that more often than not becomes the gateway for some of these bad actors. Right?

Preet Singh (08:32):

Absolutely. A hundred percent spot on. And those are the types of things that you know to look out for. And you’ll be surprised a lot of organizations don’t ever let their users know. And then they go to a different organization and they’re like, oh, wow, I probably clicked on hundreds of links in my last place. So having those really helps, and a lot of cybersecurity insurance policy is mandated now. You have to have cybersecurity training and awareness programs in place, and they’re asking for quarterly reports now. So just different mandates and different regulations that are going to come down the pipeline. I know for sure in our space as well.

Host (09:10):

For sure. I want to turn the conversation a little bit to what I assume is top of mind for school leaders, and that’s something in the realm related to this conversation. That’s AI and just the impacts for school leaders, one of them being data privacy and what AI can get access to, would love some thoughts around how you balance what’s happening inside of school and the technology you’ve got at your disposal innovation with protecting personal information.

Preet Singh (09:40):

Yeah, artificial intelligence is a big, big topic this last year, maybe even more so this last six months for our space because I think our AI and education, it improves a lot of efficiencies and personalization, but it’s risky and it raises a lot of privacy concerns about education materials and more importantly data, student data. And so I think striking that balance, it involves a very, very big focus on data collection security, whether it’s encryption or anonymization of the data. These are really big elements that we have to really make sure is implemented if you’re going to be doing ai, any type of ai. But we’re doing a lot of AI already, and it’s being used in the education space today. We may not realize it or think about it, but if you’re using systems or we’re all familiar with systems that are doing plagiarism detection, exam integrity, chatbots for enrollment, retention and learning management systems, these all have a little bit of AI built into them.

(10:57):

It may not be full fledged or more consumer focused or present, but a lot of the transcription we’re using as well, that’s all ai. It’s using that AI back engine at a surface level to say, Hey, these are actionable items. So I think there’s a lot of analyzation we have to do, and these are very all common AI services that are being adopted and very, very quickly. The innovation is steaming ahead as we speak. So I think the concerns are for real, we just have to be aware of them, and the decisions are made off of another concern is I think the decisions are made off of whatever data that we’re providing the system with that’s part of the AI and generative. So there might be bias, there might even be decisions that are being made off of that bias or inaccurate, even discriminatory. So we have to be very, very conscious about these things when using and implementing ai.

Host (11:57):

Yeah, there’s so many facets when it comes to the impact that AI is going to have on an education. I can only imagine just as we’re seeing states and limited at the federal level, but very at the state level, particularly within California and other sort of major technology centers, you’re starting to see state legislatures put policies around cybersecurity specifically for schools. And I would imagine the next thing that’ll follow, and then in the very well, let’s hope in the near term future, if our legislators are paying attention, that they’re starting to think about policies that ensure that kids are safe and their data is safe and that what they’re being exposed to and learning management systems and all of these places where technology connects our kids inside of the classroom, that parents will have an understanding of what data is being allowed, what exposure to AI their kids are experiencing, because just like you said, the ethical considerations around AI can be challenging for certain demographics and certain segments of the population, and we’ve got to make sure our kids are being exposed to the right learning opportunities when it comes to the AI’s impact on those learning opportunities.

(13:11):

I want to wrap up our talk because we’re pushing past our usual 10 minutes together, but wanted to ask specifically, have you seen any, with your experience with schools, are there any schools that are making any policies around ai, anything that you’ve seen schools start to talk about with AI specifically in policies that are putting in place for either data or just their practices with some of the software, the systems that they’re using inside their schools?

Preet Singh (13:37):

Yes, we are. And a lot of those policies I think are coming right from a overall policy framework. And I think that comes down to just, Hey, do we have anything in place? Just start somewhere, right? I know a lot of organizations in charter schools may not have anything. They’ve just never had to deal with anything like this before. Maybe checking out laptops was part of their technology policy and making sure you’re using some sort of passwords that are encrypted or basic level of technology policies, but start somewhere. So we’re seeing a lot of organizations and we’re helping them create these policies that have some sort of strict guidelines that just say, Hey, implementing strict access controls, very, very important to have regular audits, educating stakeholders about the data usage, whether it’s for AI or anything else. Just ensuring that data usage is not just being leaked and given out freely.

(14:36):

So anytime there’s a request, it has to go through proper channels. Anytime there’s some sort of module that they want to link with your Google or Microsoft workspaces, get the right permission, right? Lock all that down and ensure that there’s not compromising privacy rights and information. So I think a lot of schools are adopting those AI policies or looking at adopting some AI technologies, but then the policies need to be implemented as well. And so making sure you’re prioritizing that data privacy and consent and transparency, just outlining that and making sure those ethical considerations are being held accountable. I think start there. Start somewhere. It’s better than nothing, right?

Host (15:16):

Yeah. You’ve got to start somewhere. Such good advice. I’m going to give you a moment. I’m going to drop into the chat just an additional guide that we worked on with your team over the summer as well around cybersecurity and a guide for school leaders. But I wanted to give you a moment to just give us the pitch for software M S P. Just tell everybody where they can find more information about your team.

Preet Singh (15:39):

Yeah, no, appreciate that. We’re coming from a group of people that are fractional CTOs and have worked in a lot of different industries and highly regulated industries and nonprofits and charter schools and small municipalities. Those are our focus now and has been for several years. So I think software, M S P, you could find us online, software msp.com. There’s a lot of really great technologies and a lot of great services and guides that we’ve helped create with a lot of great partners like C S C. So we have a full fledge of technology services and the resources that we provide are more of just, Hey, this is what’s the right thing to do. We’ll help you get there if you choose to work with us from a network voice, digital transformation security perspective. But ultimately we just want to make sure everyone’s doing something with their technology and always looking to enhance it and secure it. So we’re here as a resource and happy to chat with anyone that might have any questions.

Host (16:39):

Well, we appreciate that offer, and if you want to learn more about what software M S P does, we also did a great webinar with your team a couple months ago just before the national conference. You can pop over to charter school capital.com, just search cybersecurity. And that webinar along with these guides that I’ve popped in the chat will show up in your search results webinars completely free. And I believe there was an exclusive offer to anybody that joined the webinar, which continues on in infamy through an on-demand platform. So you can go take a look at that webinar and still take advantage of that offer. But it was a really good primer for this conversation. Pret, I just want to say thank you again for joining us. We really appreciate the time we’ve gone over by several minutes, but this is always a hot topic and we’ll look forward to bringing you back on Tuesday TIPS when we’ve got some room in the calendar and just say thank you for everyone joining us alive. We’re here every Tuesday at 10:00 AM Pacific, 1:00 PM Eastern talking all things challenges for school leaders. We appreciate you being here, and we’ll see you next Tuesday. Take care.

Preet Singh (17:42):

Thank you.

Today’s classroom relies on more forms of technology every year. Training sessions empower teachers and staff to use technology effectively and safely.

The Importance of Training Sessions

Training sessions are pivotal in shaping your school’s technology integration, digital literacy, and security awareness. By incorporating technology training into your school’s professional development program, you’re investing in your staff and in enriched learning experiences for your students.

Teacher addresses the class

What to Cover
1. Effective Technology Integration

Staff and teachers should be able to seamlessly incorporate technology into their instructional practices. Consider covering teaching methods, student engagement, and how technology can nurture—rather than disrupt—a dynamic learning environment. Technologically proficient teachers can create dynamic and interactive learning experiences that captivate students and foster improved learning outcomes.

2. Digital Literacy

Staff training on administrative software and tools streamlines school operations, boosting grading, scheduling, and attendance-tracking efficiency. Students, too, need to be digitally literate to succeed in a technology-driven world. IT training helps educators instill this literacy, enabling students to navigate digital tools, conduct online research, and responsibly utilize technology resources.

3. Staying Current

Educational technology is constantly evolving, so you’ll want to be sure your teaching staff is well-versed in the latest technological innovations, such as AI. This will help them adapt quickly to changes and integrate new tools into their teaching strategies.

4. Cybersecurity Awareness

As the digital landscape expands, cybersecurity threats become more prevalent. IT training empowers staff to identify and prevent cyberattacks, safeguard sensitive data, and foster a culture of digital security within the school environment.

5. Data-Driven Decision-Making

With data playing a significant role in education, technology training equips staff with the skills to analyze data effectively. This allows for informed decision-making to enhance instructional strategies and school management.

6. Family and Community Engagement

Educating families and the community about classroom technology fosters better understanding and involvement in the learning process. This engagement enriches the educational journey for students and encourages a collaborative environment.

 

Free IT Resource for Your School
IT Services For Charter Schools

Download this guide to learn how your school can stay technologically safe, competitive, and relevant in the digital world.

The information in this guide comes to you in collaboration with the team at SoftwareMSP, providing technology solutions to schools across the country.

About the Author

Preet Singh is a technology leader who empowers businesses with technology. Preet believes that the right technology is critical for non-profits and schools to help them better serve and make a meaningful impact. He has an extensive background in helping organizations make the best financially responsible technology choices.

You can partner for IT and cybersecurity support by reaching out to SoftwareMSP.

Your school board helps make critical decisions, sets strategic goals, and fosters a conducive environment for students and educators. The best boards accomplish these things with efficiency and transparency—and a continuous eye on the future. Whether your building your board from the ground up or would like to strengthen your existing board’s efforts, it’s helpful to focus on these five areas: what we call, the “Five P’s.”

1. Priorities:

Strong boards that consistently meet and exceed their promises have clear goals for the CEO and trustees. Are the C-suite and the board maintaining focus on what matters most? Time-consuming distractions not only keep everyone from their most important tasks, but they can also lead to burnout. Set priorities so your board is effective and efficient.

2. People:

Remember: it’s a privilege to serve on your board! Aim to be in a position where non-voting committee members and people in the community are working to earn a spot on your board. Recruiting the right people to a school board results from a strategic plan that aligns potential members’ skill sets to the school’s goals and challenges.

3. Process:

The best process maximizes your board’s time and talents. An exemplary process for a school board includes regular and robust attendance, complying with your state’s open meeting law, taking clear minutes, and assigning a board member to oversee operational excellence. The process can also mean building the school’s institutional memory, including a record system for organizing and accessing bylaws, governing documents, and financial documents.

4. Performance:

For a school board, performance comes down to accountability for the board members and the CEO. For example, if a board aims to fundraise $10,000, you’ll want to assign each person a specific task. The board should also assign the CEO three to five clear and achievable goals for the school year. Pay special attention to priorities affecting the application or renewal, including closing achievement gaps, retaining teachers, maintaining and/or increasing enrollment numbers, and closely monitoring attendance.

5. Progress:

Mastering progress can be challenging for a school board. It means keeping an eye on the future at the same time as you work toward achieving the current school year’s goals. And just like your school, your board will evolve from year to year. Ideally, the governance committee analyzes the board’s governance capabilities each year and sets goals to recruit new members or to train and coach existing members to improve in needed areas.

Your Resource for a Strong School Board

A strong school board is a cornerstone of success for your school. By assembling a diverse group of individuals aligned with the school’s mission, promoting transparency, upholding ethical standards, and strategically overseeing the institution’s growth, the board contributes to an environment where students thrive, educators excel, and the community prospers.

Learn more by downloading the free Charter School Board Governance Guide. Created in partnership with BoardOnTrack, you’ll learn the essential roles and responsibilities of your governance board and how to govern for growth at every stage.

House Bill 3, School Safety Bill

House Bill 3, from the 88th Regular Session of the Texas Legislature, is jam-packed with various school safety and security measures, including the requirement of an armed security officer for each campus and random-onsite annual audits and compliance monitoring by the Texas Education Agency (TEA). HB 3 takes effect September 1, 2023, and applies to both traditional districts and public charter schools alike.

Fiscally, HB 3 authorizes the use of bond proceeds to be used to pay the costs associated with complying with school safety and security requirements. HB 3 also amends the school-safety allotment, providing $15,000 per campus and raising the allotment to $10 per student in average daily attendance plus $1 per student in average daily attendance for every $50 basic allotment increase.

As for the armed security officer, each school board must determine the appropriate number of armed security officers for each campus, with at least one-armed security officer present during regular school hours. The security officer must be a school district police officer, a school resource officer, or a commissioned peace officer employed as security personnel. A school board can claim a good cause exception to the armed security officer requirement due to lack of funding or qualified personnel.

As noted above, TEA is required to monitor compliance with the new HB 3 security requirements. This includes conducting random onsite audits annually and intruder detection audits. HB 3 also authorizes the establishment of an Office of School Safety and Security within TEA. John P. Scott is the Chief of Safety and Security at TEA.

Each school shall provide to DPS and all local law enforcement agencies and emergency first responders an accurate map of each district campus and school building and provide DPS and local law enforcement an opportunity to conduct a walk-through of each district campus and school building using the provided maps.

TEA will adopt rules governing new and existing instructional facilities to ensure student safety, including construction quality and other standards related to the safety and security of school facilities. The Texas School Safety Center, at least once every five years, must review the building standards for instructional facilities and make recommendations to TEA on necessary changes to ensure student safety.

As we move towards September 1st when HB 3 takes effect, stay tuned to TEA and the Texas School Safety Center for critical updates on implementation of HB 3 requirements.

In this session, Ashley MacQuarrie joined us to answer questions on using newsletters to foster stronger communication with families and the broader school community. They talked about tailoring newsletters for different groups, prioritizing content, and using newsletter sections to highlight important information.

Join the experts as they answer all your questions live on Tuesdays on YouTube at 10am PT / 12pm CT / 1pm ET. Charter School Capital – YouTube

Read Full Transcript :

Michael Barber:

Hi, everybody. Welcome back to Tuesday Tips. I’m Michael Barber. I’m joined by a familiar face this week, Ashley MacQuarrie. Ashley, welcome back.

 

Ashley MacQuarrie:

Hi. Thanks, Michael. Good to be back.

 

Michael Barber:

It’s good to have you here again. As always, we’re here every Tuesday around one o’clock Eastern, 10:00 AM Pacific, talking challenges for school leaders. And this week we have what I think would probably be a top of mind topic right now, given, top of mind topic, that’s an interesting turn of phrase, but a top of mind topic I’m sure as we are in back to school season, and that is enrollment marketing.

And I wanted to ask Ashley to come in and talk about all things newsletters this week because it feels like we have been getting a lot of questions lately about crafting newsletters and email in general. And so I thought Ashley would be a good voice to bring back to the conversation and talk about how to create an engaging school newsletter for your students and your community and your constituents and advocates. So we’re bringing Ashley back to have that conversation. But I thought I’d start us off with just a warmup question, Ashley. You’re around 30 plus school leaders talking about how enrollment is going for the back to school season. Would just love a sense of, hey, how’s it going out there? What are you seeing? What’s working for school leaders, what maybe isn’t, any lessons learned thus far?

 

Ashley MacQuarrie:

Yeah. It’s going well. I would say about half of our schools have started school, with the exception of a lot of our California schools, which had to push the first day of school back because of the hurriquake.

 

Michael Barber:

Yes, the hurriquake. I love that. I haven’t heard that yet.

 

Ashley MacQuarrie:

And then the rest of our schools, they start back around the end of August. But I think it’s been going well. It seems like the students who are back at school have been engaged. I mean, it depends, of course. There are always schools that have more of a challenge with getting those kids back, making sure that parents even know that it’s the first day of school. One thing that we have seen is staffing just continues to be a challenge. And even we’ve seen a lot of leadership turnover. So in a normal season, we might have one or two school leaders who change roles, and we’ve had about 10 schools where school leaders have felt that it was time for a change. And so that with it brings some uncertainty, but it also brings a lot of excitement because there is a lot of excitement around these new leaders. But it can also be kind of a double-edged sword where sometimes families leave. So it’s been an interesting time.

 

Michael Barber:

Got it. So not for the faint of heart as usual, working in education, continues that trend. And it feels like it is probably that time if a school leader is going to step away after what is a few challenging years of pandemic-related management that this might be the time as things have certainly not calmed down, but feel like we’re in a endemic period. So I can totally get that. But one way to turn this conversation back to topic of hand, newsletters, one way that school leaders can build a relationship and a two-way communication with their parents and constituents and community advocates is certainly in the inbox. So would love to understand how are you seeing school leaders that you’re working with or schools that you’ve seen in the past, how are they leveraging newsletters? What’s the purpose that they’re leveraging that newsletter for in their schools?

 

Ashley MacQuarrie:

So mostly we see schools use it for communication with enrolled families. And hopefully starting as soon as a family enrolls, you get added to that list so that you can include information throughout the summer that’s relevant to a brand new family. And we also see schools that use newsletters for people who have just started the enrollment process or expressed interest. I can tell you that the rates at which families engage with those newsletters is very different. So for an enrolled family, we’ll see open rates, so that’s just the percentage of people that open those newsletters, of anywhere from 50 to 80% is typical for those newsletters. And when we have our audience segment, that’s just folks who have expressed interest, we see that a much lower, maybe sometimes more typical five to 10% open rate. So your families who are enrolled though, they really want to hear from you and they’re looking in their inboxes and they’re engaging with that content. So it’s a really great tactic to stay top of mind.

 

Michael Barber:

Yeah, I think you bring up a good point about making sure, at least explicitly making sure who are the parents in your subscription lists or who are the individuals in your subscription lists that are connected to the school and who is maybe you’re trying to attract to the school. And probably a good case to be made for segmenting those lists so that the content that’s going out for current students, current parents, current advocates is targeted for them. And then the content for trying to attract school talent and school enrollments and kids to fill your school, you’re getting content that’s specific for them. Is that a good way to approach at least a baseline segmentation of how to write content and think about your audiences?

 

Ashley MacQuarrie:

Definitely. And then as schools get further along in this journey, we see schools start to segment even further with fundraising folks who might be interested in supporting the school and then people in the community. We’ve seen credit recovery schools have newsletters for district and councilors where they get referrals for students. So there’s opportunities as well to reach outside. But again, your biggest advocates, people who are going to hang on every word of your newsletter, are definitely your enrolled families.

 

Michael Barber:

Yeah. So let’s talk about those enrolled families segment. What are the types of things beyond, I think of the types of content that those families want to read about, I would assume it’s teacher stories about some of your school leaders. It’s events, it’s stories about the students. What are you seeing school leaders leverage well for newsletter content for your enrolled families?

 

Ashley MacQuarrie:

Yeah, I mean, a message from the principal’s always nice, especially if you have new leadership. Staffing spotlights are always great. We usually see schools start… I mean, you have to remember that especially on mobile, you want to put the most important stuff that you really want people to know about at the very top because people may not read all the way through. So any highlights, events, activities that you want people to know about, you would put those at the top. That’s where you’d start.

So we’ll usually see things like In The News or a science night or photos are great. We want to include photos and that can keep people reading and scrolling. So, “Here’s some photos from the recent field trip.” Student or staff spotlights are great. Any deadlines or important dates that people need to know about. And then one thing that I loved that some of our schools started doing, they would have a resources or a parents’ corner area of their newsletter which had tips for staying organized or how to prep for the first day back to school. And then we actually saw open rates start to increase a little bit when they added a students’ corner. So they would include a little printable PDF or coloring page or something, kids’ corner. And the families really enjoyed that as well. So different sections. Don’t try to cram too much and you can rotate out those different featured areas each time you send.

 

Michael Barber:

Yeah, such a good tip to make the thing that’s most important for those enrolled families upfront. Make it large, make it impactful so that you get across the thing that you really want to get across in that inbox. When you consider different platforms that are out there, because obviously there’s a ton of what we in the business called email service providers… As a school leader you may hear this referred to as an email marketing platform or something along those lines. What types of platforms, specific names that you’re hearing school leaders utilize and what’s working well for them? And across the board, maybe there’s ones that we want to let school leaders know that might be a little bit more complicated that they should maybe stay away from.

 

Ashley MacQuarrie:

So a lot of schools use ParentSquare or Smore for those enrolled families communications. You can create a newsletter in those kinds of platforms. Really, the limitation with those is if you do want to do that external communication, it’s more limited. You can’t necessarily import a list of interested families as easily. So when schools want to do that, we’ll usually see them use Mailchimp. We find Mailchimp to be pretty easy to use and very affordable for schools. But then ultimately it’s whatever you’re comfortable with. So whatever the person who’s running your newsletter feels like they can use is okay. So we’ve had schools who like, “I know Constant Contact and I’m just comfortable in that and it works,” and that’s great. We say the same thing with websites. If it works for you and it does what you need it to do, then it’s the right platform for you.

 

Michael Barber:

Yeah, good rule of thumb that, I guess, I’ve become well-known for inside Charter School Capital, is you don’t want to kill a bumblebee with a bazooka. So is the tool right sized for you? And I think you’re hitting on that very point there, is whether it’s Mailchimp or Constant Contact or any one of the, I’ll say hundreds, I don’t think that there’s thousands out there, but hundreds of different email service providers that you can use as a school leader, is pick the right one that works for the business. And if that’s the one that’s been working, then really no reason to rock the boat unless you’re thinking of potentially integrations that you need or something along those lines.

Yes, just some really incredible tips there. You mentioned open rate. I’m just going to do a bonus question as we cross over the 10-minute mark. And just a reminder, we’re here every Tuesday, 10:00 AM Pacific, 1:00 PM Eastern, talking all things challenges for school leaders. We’re talking to Ashley MacQuarrie today. Ashley leads our enrollment marketing services at Charter School Capital. Her and her team work across about 30 plus schools this year on their enrollment efforts. And we’re talking all things newsletters. Our bonus question for the day, you mentioned open rates. Specifically for engaged families, they can be 50 to 80%, and for those families you’re trying to attract to the school, they’re probably more along industry averages below 10%, depending upon how good you’re keeping that list up to date and relevant for those subscribers. But are there other metrics that you have conversations with with school leaders, and if so, what are those metrics and why are they important?

 

Ashley MacQuarrie:

Yeah, I mean, we definitely look at click rates, especially if there is a link that we want folks to follow to take action. And if you do have something like that, again, you want to put it higher up. So we would look at that. We also look at your bounce rate. So if your list isn’t up-to-date and your emails are bouncing, then you need to look at your newsletter list and make sure that you remove those bad emails because that can impact your email deliverability to different mail clients, which can be a problem that affects not just your email newsletters, but important emails that your staff might be sending. So that’s really important. And then your unsubscribe rates, I think. If people are routinely hitting unsubscribe, that’s a problem as well. If they’re just folks who no longer go to your school who are opting out, that’s okay. But if you have very high numbers of people marking your email spam or unsubscribing, that indicates a problem. So we would look at all of those kinds of things.

 

Michael Barber:

Yeah, super good tips there to keep in mind beyond just that simple open rate, that click-through rate, that bounce rate. You’re looking for those hard bounces, right, those email addresses that don’t exist, which, good news, most of the platforms do a pretty good job of filtering out for you, so you shouldn’t have to suffer from that from the beginning. But really great tips for newsletters, Ashley. I really appreciate you coming back and just want to say thanks for all the good work you’re doing with the schools. And I think we’re going to have multiple members of your team on over the next few weeks. We had Cheryl last week on all things video, so if you want to pop back to last week’s episode and you’re listening to this week, just head back a week and you’ll find that all things on video.

But really appreciate the time, Ashley. We’re going to wrap it up. We actually did a blog post that debuted, I believe, yesterday or today on how to create an engaging school newsletter. I will pop that into the chat right now so that anyone that is listening can hop over to that blog post and take a read of some really great tips that have come from the team looking at different school newsletters and what’s working and what’s not. But we’ll wrap it up and say thanks to Ashley MacQuarrie for joining us today on all things newsletters and enrollment marketing. We’ll have her back soon enough as well as multiple members of her team. And we’ll see you next week for our next Tuesday Tips. Until next time, bye, y’all. Take care.

 

Ashley MacQuarrie:

Bye. Thank you.

 

Newsletters are a great communication tool—one that, when used effectively, can help you build a strong school community and foster family engagement. Newsletters are more than just a simple email—when carefully crafted, they can deliver value to your community. Here’s how.

Planning Your Newsletter Strategy
1. Know Your Audience

Everything that goes into your newsletter comes down to one thing: knowing your audience. Understand your audience’s interests, concerns, and preferences. Keep the tone friendly and approachable as you feature a mix of valuable information, upcoming events, student highlights, and resources.

2. Find Your Purpose

Think about what your newsletter is trying to achieve. Include clear calls to action (CTAs) that guide readers on what to do next—whether it’s attending an event, volunteering, or reading an informative article. Also decide who will be writing them—a principle, school leader, or other administrator.

3. Decide on a Regular Schedule

Set a regular schedule for your newsletters, whether it’s weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. Stick to it so your readers know when to expect updates—and remember that consistency builds trust.

4. Choose a Platform

There’s a plethora of newsletter platforms—find the right one that aligns with your school’s needs. Here’s what to consider.

  • Templates: You don’t have to create your newsletter from scratch every time!
  • Cost: Find a platform that fits your budget.
  • User-friendly: Building your monthly missive should feel like a simple process.
  • Analytics and reporting: Understand how your newsletter is performing.
5. Work with your IT Team 

Create and securely manage opt-in lists of families.

Newsletter image

 

Crafting Your Content
1. Capture Attention

The subject line and main headlines are your audience’s first impression. Rather than sticking to the basics, try out intriguing headlines that hint at the content’s value. Use action words, pose questions, or share snippets to ignite curiosity.

2. Use Images

Include photos of students, teachers, and school events to add authenticity to your newsletter. Avoid stock photos if you can—they come across as generic. You can also experiment with infographics, charts, and visuals.

3. Make It Accessible

You’ll want to be sure your newsletter is accessible. Use accessible fonts, and consistent colors that contrast appropriately, and don’t rely on images alone to convey information. You’ll also want to be sure your newsletter is optimized for various screen sizes—smartphones, tablets, and desktops.

4. Be Concise

Break your newsletter into smaller sections with clear headings. Use bullet points and write short paragraphs. Lead with, highlight, or bold key takeaways and important dates to ensure your audience doesn’t miss it.

5. Share Success Stories

Highlighting student achievements, teacher spotlights, and event recaps can humanize your newsletter. Showcase the impact of your school’s efforts and the contributions of your staff and students.

6. Ask for Feedback and Continually Improve

Invite readers to share their thoughts, feedback, and suggestions—that way your newsletter is always evolving toward the needs of your community.

You’ll also want to regularly analyze open rates, click-through rates, and reader engagement. Experiment with different content types, layouts, and subject lines to understand what resonates best with your audience. Use these insights to refine your newsletter strategy.

Your Newsletter is One Part of Your Digital Marketing Strategy

An effective newsletter is one component of your overall digital marketing strategy for your school. For a deeper look, you can download the free Charter School Digital Marketing Guide.

This workbook will empower you to build and follow through on a simple digital marketing strategy for your school. You can use these pages to set goals for your school, refine your messaging, set strategic marketing goals, and achieve them through various digital marketing programs.

Digital Marketing for Charter Schools Guide (charterschoolcapital.com)

In this session, Cheril Clarke and Isabella Marenco joined us to answer questions on using video to promote your school. They discussed how videos can feature glimpses into daily life at your school, how to use trending background audio, and embracing short, engaging content.

Join the experts as they answer all your questions live on Tuesdays on YouTube at 10am PT / 12pm CT / 1pm ET. Charter School Capital – YouTube

Digital Marketing For Charter Schools

Want to dive deeper? Download the Digital Marketing Guide. This workbook will empower you to build and follow through on a simple digital marketing strategy for your school. You can use these pages to set goals for your school, refine your messaging, set strategic marketing goals, and achieve them through various digital marketing programs.

 

 

 

Read Full Transcript :

Michael Barber (00:24):

Hi everyone, and welcome to Tuesday Tips, our weekly conversation on all things challenges for school leaders. My name is Michael Barber. We are here every Tuesday on our YouTube channel, charter School Capital, at 10:00 AM Pacific, 1:00 PM Eastern. Talking about challenges that school leaders face Today, we are tackling a timely topic as we head into the enrollment marketing season of many school leaders, and that is social media, specifically video in your usage of driving enrollment and your marketing efforts at your school. So I have gathered two incredible names to have a chat today. Mm-hmm. It’s on my right, but it may be on your left, depending on how we’re looking at this. That’s my colleague Isabella Renco. She leads our social media practice at Charter School Capital. And on my left, maybe your right is Cheril Clark. Cheril is on our enrollment marketing team, and I asked them to come in today to have a chat about video. So we’re gonna get right into the questions. As just a reminder, we spend about 10 minutes here every Tuesday talking challenges for school leaders. So let’s get into some of these questions. We’ll start with this, and I’ll tee this up first for Cheril, if you will, would love to know how you’re seeing school leaders that you’re working with or the team is working with, what they’re using video for right now.

Cheril Clarke (01:40):

Um, the first thing that comes to mind would be campus tours or virtual campus tours. So that has been, um, so that’s something that’s been really good and gotten some traction to kind of, you know, bring people into the school, through, through their phones or their, their, their tablets or what have you touring, you know, getting a sense of what does it look like outside, what does, what do the playgrounds look like, um, inside, you know, the classrooms, the hallways, everything from, you know, just the music room versus wherever the kids do science, or if there are some, some schools have really outdoor spaces. So, um, that’s a great way to highlight the uniqueness of a school. So the first thing definitely would be virtual campus tours. Um, I would also say another thing could be, um, a particular program highlight. So if you’re, if there’s a school that has, um, a really, really good, um, artistic program or music, art, dance or something like that, so highlighting a particular program, which could kind of go high hand in hand with, um, highlighting, specific faculty and staff too. So, virtual tours, highlighting programs, highlighting staff teachers, because yeah, really, the principal doesn’t always have to be the spokesperson for the school. It could be someone else, it could be a different teacher. It could even be the other parts of the staff. It could be the janitor or someone that the kids see every day anyway. And, you know, show some love to someone who’s working in another capacity in the school. All these people matter because all these people help make the school a great place for the kids to come to every day.

Michael Barber (03:13):

Yeah. I think what I heard you say there is to make sure you’re using video for telling those unique stories about your school. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, bring some different voices because people want to hear all the types of individuals they’re gonna interact with at the school. Um, bring those voices that, you know, may not have to do with only just education, but making the school what it is, like, the janitor team, like admin individuals, maybe as teacher assistants and whatnot. Tell that full story. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, that’s, that’s a great answer and some great insights there. Um, I’m gonna ask the next question to Isabella Isa. I know you spend a ton of time watching some of our school’s social media channels. Do you have some examples? I’ve got one top of mind that I want to tell in just a second, but I wanna offer you the opportunity first, but what are you seeing, like key examples of schools name the schools, what they’re doing interesting right now when it comes to video in their, social media channels?

Isabella Marenco (04:07):

I think the KIPP charter school team they’re amazing. I love that they do. I like to Cheril’s point they do classroom tours and teacher tours or teacher takeovers on their stories. And even if I’m not in school, but I, I feel like I know them, and I feel like even as a partner, I’m like, I love her. I’m rooting for that teacher. I can’t wait till she’s live again. I think you do grow a connection with them when they take, do story takeovers, um, or classroom, I think right now is back-to-school season, so it makes you excited to go to school.

Michael Barber (04:38):

Yeah. Seeing those kids come back and, you know, as they run in from the buses or the drop off spaces and, um, and the back to school excitement is always fun. I’ve, I’ve been loving the last few days of seeing my friends and family post, you know, the, the token, kid photo with what grade they’re entering in, and suddenly you realize how old you are as well when you’re seeing kids that were babies now, you know, entering middle and high school, you’re suddenly like, where did the time go? My last question, I should say next to last question. I’ll pose that same one to Cheril, are you seeing any specific schools do something interesting? Have you seen a school that’s just like, oh, that’s an example of something I think is really interesting?

Cheril Clarke (05:20):

I would say Creative City has put some great stuff out. Um, they are in Baltimore. Um, they, they, they just got it. It’s just an inherently cool school that there’s so much, um, there for visual stimulation for parents and prospective parents watching their social media to say, oh my gosh, this is really, um, a, looks like a, not just, you know, a school, but a, a community, a school that’s rooted in a community that really anchors and, and uses it shows, these students, really enjoying themselves while they’re learning.

Michael Barber (05:54):

Yeah. So we’ve got the KIPP team, of course, just doing a stellar job; a really good example there from Cheril on Creative Circle in Baltimore. I’ll add one more. There is an elementary school, excuse me, a preschool in the San Diego area of California where I grew up, Carmel Mountain, I think it’s called Carmel Mountain Preschool. If I recall correctly, they had a, TikTok video go viral that, at the end of June and maybe the end of May, the beginning of June, um, of their pre-K and K graduation ceremony. And they ti they, they paired the video with a trending music background, a trending track, if you will. And it was just one of the cutest videos I’ve ever seen, and it’s had something ridiculous, like two and a half million views, you know, and generated like 30,000 followers for them on TikTok. Speaking of these great examples and, and bringing up TikTok and reels and, you know, YouTube shorts, a question I’ll start with Sharon, I’ll come back to Isabella, is sort of what’s working when it comes to video in social media, the different formats. What should school leaders be considering, um, or potentially what should they discontinue behaviors from a video that you’re seeing? What’s working, what’s not working? I mean,

Cheril Clarke (07:13):

One thing you just nailed was if and when it’s possible to take advantage of a trending song, um, if they’re using TikTok, because that can help a lot. Now obviously, you got some of the songs that you just can’t use for schools, but if there happens to be a happy-go-lucky kind of song that’s appropriate and it’s trending, definitely try to use that with your video because people may be searching for the school or they just may see stuff randomly in the algorithm, but songs can really push and drive the views on a video. I would say, of course, shorter is, is definitely where it is right now. Um, people are kind of just, people are fatigued and they’re exhausted with long-form videos. So I would do, you know, try to find that sweet spot where it’s not so short that it’s not substantive, but it’s not so long that, like, they’re like, okay, I’ve had enough of this. So, um, that, and sometimes the, the cut, the ones that don’t look super, super polished actually do very well. Um, so you don’t feel like you can’t do a video because you don’t have this big great setup. Cell phones are fine. I mean, we’re on them all day long, so, um, I would keep that in mind too.

Michael Barber (08:17):

Such good tips there, Isabella, anything to add?

Isabella Marenco (08:21):

Yeah, I agree. I say utilize the app, and edit in the app. The tools are there, it’s available, it’s doable. The audio will show you what’s trending. Um, especially if you’re just starting. And I feel like the best tips that I see or really lean into your niche. And I think, especially for schools, show that uniqueness. What makes your school different? What are you not trying to sell, but what would make somebody wanna go to your school and just lean into it? And I love how Cheril said, like, the rougher cuts are the best because I think that too, I think the more candid, the better. What’s real, you know, I wanna see that.

Cheril Clarke (08:58):

And for, for your audience, one more thing just made me think of really quick, because also with the music, there’s a big difference for what might be, you know, really what might hit an audience that’s in Miami Gardens Florida versus an audience. That’s audience that’s in Philly. Those are two distinct sounds and, and cultures that are different. So keep that in mind too. And Atlanta, that is

Michael Barber (09:17):

<laugh>. Yeah, that is, that is such a good insight because you know, especially on TikTok, um, the rise of these musicians that are very locally, you know, sort of geographically local in certain areas, right? Leveraging their audio background could be really interesting to generate views inside a very specific demographic, a very specific geo geographic area, because people will have interacted with likely that local musician’s content because they like them. So that’s like, that is such stage advice. That’s why we do these YouTube lives. I mean that’s like, that’ll encapsulate, that’ll have to be our headline for our email next week that highlights this conversation. Um, so what I heard was this is focus on those rough cuts don’t necessarily make, it does not necessarily need to be that polished video, especially in social, you’ve got all the editing tools at your disposal, the cameras in your phones, in, in the actual application themselves.

(10:15):

You can use third parties, but you can also just edit right in, the apps themselves. Leverage those trending background audios. You might probably wanna stay away from like, you know, some questional, you know, lyrics for certain artists, right? I think of like Lizzo, I like big butts. Like those sorts of lyrics are probably not gonna work for schools, but maybe they work for other brands, right? Just be careful of that background audio. Um, and I think the, the takeaway, the headline from our conversation today is think about the geographic area that you are in and the music and the background that works well for that area because a trending audio from a certain area may not work well in another area. I think that’s our headline takeaway for the day. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Um, we are right at 11 minutes and I wanna be respectful of our audience and just say thank you to you both for hopping on today and talking all things video for school leaders.

(11:09):

We will bring you both back as this is a topic that we continue to hear from our school leaders is a challenge of, you know, what do I do with social, how do I generate enrollment from social? And video is just such an important component for us. So we’ll have to bring Isabella Marenco on my rate, maybe your left, and Cheril Clark back again from our team. Greatly appreciate both of you and thanks for everyone for tuning in. Again, we’re here every single Tuesday for our Tuesday tip series, challenging or excuse me, having conversations on all things Challenges for school leaders Tuesday 10:00 AM Pacific, and, 1:00 PM Eastern. We’ll be back next week. Look forward to seeing you then. Take care. Bye

Cheril Clarke (11:47):

Bye.

Many schools host Back-to-School Night at the beginning of the school year—by planning it well and using some creative strategies, you can foster a sense of community that resonates.

Your School’s Enrollment and Why In-Person Events Matter

In a world increasingly dominated by virtual communication, in-person and physical marketing are still essential. This is especially true for incoming grades like Kindergarten, sixth, and ninth grades—the transition to a new school is a significant life event, and families want to experience the atmosphere, meet your staff and teachers, and immerse themselves in your educational environment. Feeling like they are a part of your school community will strengthen their commitment to your school—leading to more steady enrollment over time.

In-person events are not just about showcasing your school; they’re about creating memories and forging connections that digital channels can’t replicate. The impressions left during these events have a lasting impact, driving retention and re-enrollment in ways that emails and social media posts can’t.

A Sense of Community

You can incorporate Back-to-School Night into a broader strategy of community involvement. Engage with families and encourage them to participate to help build a sense of unity and collaboration. By demonstrating your school’s commitment to community engagement, you establish a positive reputation and can attract families seeking a supportive educational environment.

Students at seminar in IT classroom
Strategies for Your Back-to-School Night

Here are some strategies to ensure your Back-to-School Night and other in-person events leave a lasting impact:

  1. Make them Predictable and Get the Word Out

Schedule back-to-school night along with other regular open houses where families can explore your school, meet teachers, and interact with staff, which fosters a sense of familiarity and comfort. Make sure you get the word out in your newsletter when school starts so it’s on your families’ calendars!

  1. Offer School Tours and Meet-and-Greets

Offer guided tours led by students or teachers. These personal interactions provide insights into daily life at your school and allow for direct Q&A. Involve current students in leading tours or sharing their experiences. This personal touch resonates with both prospective families and current ones.

  1. Themed Activities

Incorporate engaging activities tailored to different age groups, like STEM challenges or interactive games. These activities draw people in, showcase your innovative programs, and spark their interest.

  1. Tangible Takeaways

Provide informative flyers, swag, or other tangible items that families can take home. These serve as reminders of the event and encourage further engagement.

  1. Staying in Touch

Have methods in place to get contact information from each member of enrolled families so they can receive announcement emails and newsletters. This can include simple sign-up sheets or digital forms.

Partner for Event Support

Embrace the power of face-to-face engagement to make a lasting impact on prospective students and their families, ultimately driving enrollment and solidifying your school’s place in the community. You can also benefit from a partnership to fill your classroom with kids.

Watch the overview of an Enrollment Marketing Partnership here to find out how to get started.

A recent research study conducted online by The Harris Poll on behalf of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools has shed light on the perspectives and challenges faced by teachers in the Pre-K–12 school settings of public charter and public district schools. The survey, conducted between May 10 and 30, 2023, involved 1,211 full-time educators.

Key Findings
Diverse Needs in Education

An overwhelming majority of public school teachers (97%) agree that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to education. The sentiment is even stronger among district teachers at 98%, and 89% of charter school teachers share this view.

Challenges and Support

Teachers expressed the need for greater support from school districts and the public. Virtually all public school teachers (99%) believe that changes are needed to recruit and retain educators, and 97% wish people understood the demanding nature of their profession. The study also notes that 78% of teachers view teaching as a “thankless job.”

Stuck in a “Culture War”

Teachers are actively engaged in political matters, yet they are resistant to the idea of politics infiltrating their classroom activities. A significant 91% of public school teachers express feeling caught in the middle of a “culture war,” suggesting that their role in education is becoming entangled in broader societal debates. This sentiment is consistent across different geographic locations and political affiliations.

Diversity and Teachers of Color

The study reveals that even though charter schools have a higher percentage of teachers and leaders from diverse backgrounds compared to district schools, there’s still significant room for improving diversity throughout the public education system. Racially matched teachers contribute to improved relationships, lower absenteeism, and reduced suspension rates among students. 96% of charter school teachers report feeling aligned with their current school’s culture in terms of values and beliefs about education. Only 75% of district school teachers feel this way, which the National Alliance feels may partly explain the difference between the two groups in terms of feeling motivated.

Call for Teacher-Centric Solutions

Teachers who participated in the study emphasized the importance of solutions tailored to teachers’ needs, as identified by teachers themselves, including providing better benefits and compensation (75%) and allowing more time for teaching (66%).

Student Well-being and Mental Health

A significant concern among the teachers surveyed is the decline in student mental health, with 84% of teachers acknowledging its impact. Many teachers are spending a considerable portion of their time addressing students’ mental and physical well-being, contributing to their challenging workload.

Teacher addresses the class
Student Behavior Issues and Safety Concerns

Behavioral problems have emerged as a significant challenge for teachers(74%). The study noted that there is continued aftermath from the pandemic’s disruption to routine and socialization, likely contributing to the rise in behavior issues. Teachers also expressed the need for better safety in schools (67%). When asked to identify education-related crises, 84% of teachers agreed that “being a teacher feels like it becomes less and less safe by the day.”

Motivation and Engagement

Charter school teachers appear more motivated and fulfilled compared to district teachers. The study suggests this might stem from differences in work environments, with charter schools offering more autonomy. The research underscores teachers’ desire for their voices to be heard and valued in decision-making processes that impact their profession and students’ lives.

Teacher Turnover and Retention

A significant percentage of both district (97%) and charter (88%) teachers express understanding about the reasons why fellow teachers leave the profession. Additionally, 39% of public school teachers have either seriously contemplated leaving their profession in the past or are actively considering or planning to do so by the year’s end. While 84% of public school teachers believe that improved compensation and benefits could enhance teacher motivation to remain in the field, the study suggests that additional forms of support may be required for the majority of educators who are primarily motivated by their ability to positively impact their students’ lives (59%).

Learn More

In the words of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, “Teachers are arguably the most essential component of our education system. It’s time we listened to them—and the Listen to Your Teacher report is a great place to start.” Read more and download the full study here: Listen to Your Teacher: An Analysis of Teacher Sentiment on the State of Public Education | National Alliance for Public Charter Schools

Artificial intelligence (AI) in schools presents exciting opportunities and challenges, and school leaders are navigating that balance—harnessing AI’s potential while safeguarding student privacy, data security, and ethical considerations. With the emergence of sites like ChatGPT, some schools are choosing to draw up an official AI policy to help them navigate this complex landscape.

Here are six steps to putting together an AI policy for your school.

Step 1: Understand Your Purpose

Begin by defining the goals of your AI policy. If you are allowing AI in some capacity in your school, are you using it for personalized learning, administrative tasks, or enhancing classroom experiences? Clarify the intended benefits and outcomes, keeping the students’ and staff’s best interests in mind.

Step 2: Assemble Your Team

Your board probably already consists of a multidisciplinary team—comprising educators, IT professionals, legal experts, and administrators. Their insights will ensure a holistic approach to AI policy development, addressing technical, educational, legal, and ethical aspects.

Step 3: Identify and Secure Data Usage

Your IT team can clearly outline the types of data that AI systems might collect, process, and analyze. Specify whether it includes student records, attendance, behavioral patterns, or assessment data. Ensure you take data protection measures and compliance with relevant privacy laws, such as FERPA. Adapt your cybersecurity measures to protect sensitive data from breaches or unauthorized access.

Step 4: Define Your Ethical Guidelines

In your policy, you’ll want to clarify what your school considers “Appropriate AI Use.” Provide examples of proper AI usage as a tool, such as using AI programs for research. Outline what students should not do with AI, which might include avoiding using AI to replace their own work, or using AI when teachers have asked students not to. Encourage students to report instances of AI misuse or violations and define potential consequences. Establish a set of ethical principles that guide AI usage: you’ll want to address bias, transparency, accountability, and fairness.

businesswomen typing
Step 5: Establish Transparency

Make sure your policy is distributed to your board, parents, educators, and students. Foster open communication about its use, and be open to questions. Highlight that the AI policy is a living document subject to updates as technology evolves and the school’s needs change.

Step 6: Practice Continuous Assessment and Improvement

Revise your policy at least once per year, if not twice per year—to ensure alignment with emerging best practices and legal requirements. This gives you the chance to regularly assess the impact of AI on student outcomes, teaching practices, and administrative efficiency.

More Resources

Creating an AI policy is a vital step in fostering responsible AI integration within your school. You’ll also want to offer training programs to ensure that teachers and staff are equipped to effectively integrate AI tools into their roles. You’ll also want to define procedures for obtaining informed parental consent when AI technologies involve students’ personal data.

For more on how to navigate AI usage, check out the following resources:

  1. How To Write an AI Policy for Schools: Examples and Resources (weareteachers.com)
  2. How ChatGPT Can Improve Education, Not Threaten It – Scientific American
  3. UNESCO: AI and Education Guidance for Policy Makers
  4. ChatGPT is changing education, AI experts say — but how? – DW – 01/24/2023
  5. Banning ChatGPT In Schools Is Like Banning Calculators In Math Class (forbes.com)
  6. Artificial Intelligence – Office of Educational Technology

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