Pine-Richland School District E - C O M M U N I C A T I O N P r e p a r e d b y E - n e w s E d i t o r , J i l l G r u b e r F o r Q u e s t i o n s , e m a i l p r n e w s l e t t e r s @ p i n e r i c h l a n d . o r g
Communicating to Families Help me help you communicate…how? Follow Process Be Timely with Submissions For Website, Information Submitted will be posted to the website within 3 business days For Enews, Information Submitted by Wednesday morning (by Monday is appreciated), will be included the week’s enews (which includes Friday’s edition of e -news for each school and Sunday’s The Week Ahead for grades K-6)
Enews Editor Hours Enews Editor position is part-time No set number of hours per week; rather, the editor will work until the job is done The editor’s weekly deliverables and deadlines must be met (even when people submitting information do not meet the deadline to submit information) Editor works every weekday during the school year On average, emails are checked and handled every weekday morning.
Process Important To meet a weekly deadline and communicate information to thousands of people every week across six buildings and the PR Community, an organized process is a must! Key Steps in this Process for those submitting info Submit information only to prnewsletters@pinerichland.org. Submit Information by Wednesday (Monday is appreciated!) Submit a Minimum of 2 weeks before event or a deadline.
Key Step 1: prnewsletters@pinerichland.org Submit information only to prnewsletters@pinerichland.org Do not call, text or send to another email address. Why? With hundreds of individuals submitting information across the entire district and PR Community, email-only to specified address is necessary to keep all submission information organized. Information should be in writing (email) to ensure accuracy.
Key Step 2: Wednesday Submission To be published in the upcoming Friday-Sunday editions, information should be submitted by Wednesday morning. Why? Provides time for questions if information submitted is unclear. Allows time to post information to the website with time for your review before publication in upcoming emails. Allows time for the office staff and parent group presidents to see a preview of the enews being sent to families. It’s very important that each school’s office staff is provided an opportunity to review information that is going out on their behalf .
Key Step 3: Submit Info 2 Weeks Before Event Submit Information a Minimum of 2 Weeks before your event or your deadline. Why? Ideally, we should communicate an event to families a minimum of 2 times (3 is better). Submitting 2 weeks in advance ensures inclusion in at least 1 enews; and for K-6, a second time in The Week Ahead But, communicate no more than one month in advance. Why? Families are not looking that far ahead If items are continuously repeated in enews, the information will become stale and will be ignored.
How to Submit Email the details – who, what, when, where why, how If using VolunteerSpot to recruit volunteers or donations, include link in your detail email. Do not take time to provide special formatting as this cannot be used in enews. Assume no one (including me) knows anything about your event. Flyers – before creating, think about how you want people to use a flyer – event may not need a flyer.
Sample of a Clear Submission Here is a sample of a clear and complete submission; this submission included a need for volunteers. *************************************************************** This is the info for EHUE Field Day. Here's the link for volunteers: http://vols.pt/gf3DxY EHUE field day is at Santacroce Stadium (adjacent to RES). Volunteers are needed to help with activities, and to fill water balloons and deliver them (50 per class). 5th grade - June 1 6th grade - June 2 4th grade - June 4
Volunteers Use VolunteerSpot to recruit Volunteers Contact your Parent Group VS coordinator to set up your event. If volunteer times coordinate with a classroom schedule, have the classroom teacher names listed in VS. People typically want to volunteer when their children are attending the event. Provide all needs including what people will be doing and when (start & end times, when appropriate) Send the VS link with your event details to prnewsletters@pinerichland.org Test the link before sending to ensure the link is correct. If you are not getting responses! Let the enewsletter editor know....can’t help increase responses if unaware!
Registrations or Orders If people are registering for an event or placing an order, submit one of two ways Provide the URL to the online registration or order placement Provide in a word document the registration form or order form. If people are not responding: Let the editor know…can’t help increase responses if unaware! Do not extend deadline until after the original deadline passed. (if you are going to do this, please give the editor advance notice) Most people respond on or just after a deadline
Special Announcements We must be selective about Special Announcements. Why? It’s important that we encourage families to rely on and respond to the weekly enews and the website for all information. If too many emails are sent, people will ignore them; in some instances, people have unsubscribed from receiving all emails from the school….we want to minimize that from occurring.
Why Not Paper or Other Methods In order for families to use enews and the website, they must be confident that all information that they need is included What’s wrong with paper other than not being environmentally friendly? Paper doesn’t always make it home. Paper gets lost once it’s home For separate households, both parents are not receiving information If you insist on paper or other methods Get approval from principal Do in addition to and not instead of enews
Understand Your Audience Most people have children in more than one building. Most children are also involved in activities outside of school. During certain times of the year, there is an increase in activity and demands on our families. A small number of parents are extremely involved in your building and read everything; another small number are not involved and do not participate; the majority of families are interested and wish to be involved.
What to Remember Submit to prnewsletters@pinerichland.org only . Submit no later than Wednesday morning for the next edition (Monday is appreciated). Submit a minimum of 2 weeks before your event or deadline. I’m here to help – keep me posted on your event’s progress!
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