San Francisco PTA Gets its Message Across

More than most PTA roles, a communications position needs to be tailored to the school community. Communications modes can range from the old-fashioned phone tree tothe latest in high-tech databases.

As 2006-2008 PTSA VP for communications at San Francisco School of the Arts (SOTA), a specialty high school with a busy calendar of arts events, I had roles that included developing a weekly email announcement of immediately upcoming events, sent to the school community via a database created by a tech-savvy parent. We already had a monthly newsletter and a calendar on the PTSA website, but we discovered that far more members attended when the week’s events landed in their inbox in a concise format.

We also created easy ways for parents and students to promote events and performances to friends and relatives outside the school, mainly with email announcements designed for forwarding and written for prospective guests who weren’t familiar with the school(for example, giving directions). These were effective for specialized needs, such as bringing in audiences and guests to performances, concerts and gallery events at our arts school.

Types of Internal Communications

School newsletter: This is generally produced by our PTA/PTSA volunteers, but could be done by the school staff. Newsletters can be e-mailed, distributed on paper, or announced via e-mail and posted on a school website.

The Wednesday envelope: In some schools, a manila envelope containing materials such as a printed newsletter and fliers about events and other opportunities, such as after-school programs, is sent home in students’ backpacks, traditionally on Wednesdays. This is increasingly outdated, but works for some communities.

School or PTA/PTSA website: Some school districts have staff maintaining sophisticated websites for each school. Some schools have entirely PTA volunteer-run websites. Either works as a 24-hour go-to spot for PTA/PTSA information and event announcements.

Email discussion boards

This can be a one-way communication to particular groups, like parents helping with the school festival, or everyone. When setting up a listserve a key question is: Will it be opt in or opt out?

• Opt-in is when parents are invited to join and only those who choose to respond are included. This requires an active effort to collect all email addresses.
• Opt-out is when names are entered automatically and parents may unsubscribe if they choose. This mode generally requires much less work to make the e-mail list a functional and effective communications tool.

Class lists, school lists, and databases: Sending out class lists is more common at elementary schools. These are opt-in, with parents filling out a form and signing to approve being included on the list. They can be on paper or electronic. Some schools provide schoolwide lists to all parents. Others use an online database or address book accessible only by PTA board members and others with specific authority.

Fliers and announcements for specific events/situations: Some schools just post information online. Some schools still make mass copies of fliers and send them home in backpacks. My kids’ diverse middle school had great attendance at a community meeting after the principal herself spent a few mornings handing out fliers to parents dropping off their kids.

Phone trees: They’re old-fashioned, but these still can work.

Auto-dialer calls: This is the realm of school staff, but sometimes the principal will offer the auto-dialer for PTA outreach.

Fliers, posters, bulletin boards, announcement boards: They’re all good, as many as you can manage. Permanent outside announcement boards are wonderful, but too pricey for many schools and PTAs. (One urban school with an enviable electronic announcement board was banned from using it after neighbors complained about the bright light.)

Language issues: This is complicated. Families at my kids’ K-8 schools needed both Chinese and Spanish translations. Parent volunteers can sometimes handle it; in some cases district or school staff can do it. The state PTA offers some grants for translation. In a perfect world, every communication would be translated. But many times a translated summary or referral number has to do.

Early notice: Some PTAs/PTSAshand out fliers early in the year announcing when and how the newsletter goes out, giving website and listserve information, etc. Some use business cards listing websites and contact information.

Types of External Communications:

Press Releases: Top priority should be internal communications. Informing your entire school community about the new PTA officers or the school musical comes before informing the press. If you can handle both, publicizing school events and announcements can bring visitors to your events and promote the accomplishments of your school and PTA, increasing interest in and support for public schools, youth arts or sports. Find a guide to sending press releases at the Communications section of www.capta.org.

School district and community blogs, listserves and discussion boards: These online tools offer another route for publicizing school events and announcements. In my community, San Francisco, the Second District PTA newsletter offers districtwide communications, and the organization Parents for Public Schools provides another mode. Some communities also have online calendars.

E-mail announcements designed for forwarding: My school creates calendar-style announcements written to provide complete information to outsiders, with “please forward this email to anyone you know who may be interested” across the top. Grandma gets it and forwards it to all the aunties and uncles. One mom told me she brought in 25 friends and relatives to the school musical with one such announcement.

Adapting your role to the school’s needs takes flexibility and creativity, but it pays off by making your community stronger.

– Caroline Grannan
2008-09 President
School of the Arts PTSA