Storytelling for a new school year: creating a plan

It's time! The school year has started and classes have begun or are about to start. There's that fabulous buzz in the air that signals to everyone that a brand new year has launched and that the year lays ahead, a blank canvas. 

Already, your mind might be thinking about headlines for stories you would like to see this year. "School launches new sustainability plan" or "Learning by design: being deliberate about how we engage with the world" or "Cafeteria reveals new plant-based options for sustainable lunches". Your hopes and dreams for this new year will reflect the best of what you imagine for the year. 

So, how can we be deliberate about shaping this year’s experience to reflect these hopes and dreams? When it comes to service, sustainability and global citizenship education, how can we use our community forums, newsletters and communication channels to galvanize others to our programs, and to share the good news of what is happening? 

No matter how developed your school's communication channels are, you can use existing opportunities to spread the news. This will begin to create momentum and conversation about what you and your team are doing, and you might find you begin to attract allies and supporters, too. 

Some things to consider if you have a service/sustainability/global citizenship experience, course or project you'd like to promote in your school community:

* What existing communication pathways exist in your school community? Options may include a website, newsletters, emails to parents/teachers, community gatherings (such as parent meetings, staff meetings, assemblies), and other social media platforms (such as WeChat, WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram: whatever your school already uses). Create a list and see if you can share information using any or all of these options. 

* How can you write an article and share it with your community? Check out my guide on how to write an article quickly and efficiently. Sometimes it can seem daunting to write something that you're going to send out to the broader community, but this doesn't have to take hours of your time and it can be the best way to get the ball rolling with your communications plan. Click here to access my free guide to help you write that article!

* How can you take that article and whittle it down for use in social media posts? What are the essentials and how can you break those down into a bite-sized post for social media? Do you have a photo to augment your words, or could you take one? All you need to do is grab your reader's attention for a few seconds to help them become aware of what you're doing. 

* Who can you talk to in your school community to get help with your efforts? Does your school have a marketing team and could someone help tell your story or promote your event/program? Could your school leaders, including your principal or assistant principal, help you? Are there significant connectors in your community (people connected to many others who could help spread the word)? If you can get a few people on board, you'll now have a team of people helping to share your message. 

* Community storytelling: could you start a community storytelling platform for your community, something like a blog or website or podcast channel? Or a regular face-to-face event where people could share news? This could be something that a team of teachers launches together, or maybe you have a group of keen students who would like to help. Creating a community storytelling platform in a powerful way to share your own stories and to encourage others to begin sharing, too. 

As we launch this new year, let's imagine how we can start building momentum for our service, sustainability and global citizenship initiatives using the power of stories and communication. Thanks for reading!