Learning and Pedagogy / Sep 19, 2022
Four Steps to Make Education a Family...
Getting parents involved in their child’s education is crucial to the success of that child, but other…
6 min read
Creating an effective classroom or school newsletter is an important way to communicate with your school community and inform them about important events, updates, and achievements. But creating newsletters can take time and effort.
However, with the right approach and tools, creating a newsletter can be fun and engaging for you and your school community.
Read on for best practices in creating a top-notch classroom or school newsletter.
Define Your Newsletter Audience and Goals
Before creating your first newsletter, consider the audience and the goals you’re trying to achieve. Not only will this save time in the long run, but the reader will also better understand the message.
Best Practices for Newsletter Audiences
As a school leader or teacher, you may have a variety of audiences you are writing to. Sometimes, it might be easier to split the audiences into multiple segments. For example, as a school leader, you may want a separate staff newsletter from your schoolwide parent newsletter.
The content and tone of your newsletter may change according to the audience. With parents, you may want to inform them of upcoming events or opportunities to participate. Staff newsletters require more actionable information and might be more direct than informative.
When newsletters are directed to an audience instead of generalized, you can expect users to pay attention longer, and you might even see an increase in participation!
Newsletter Goal Setting
You have a limited amount of time to gain your audience’s attention, and having a few goals will help you prioritize and organize information accordingly. Focus on 2-3 important takeaways you want readers to have – the rest is just icing on the cake!
Here are a few questions to consider to help you orient your goals:
- What is the purpose of your newsletter?
- What are essential pieces of information in your newsletter?
- What actions do you want staff or parents to take from your newsletter?
Keep Your Newsletter Simple and Engaging
Having an easy-to-read, visually appealing, simple newsletter will make it easy for readers to get essential information and take action.
A few key things to remember to keep Newsletters visually appealing and easy to read:
- Write at a 3rd-grade level for parents and a 6th-grade level for staff. This keeps the language concise and easy to read for everyone, including ELLs.
- Break up text into smaller paragraphs and bullet points and use headings to help chunk information.
- Include media, such as pictures, tables, or colors, to keep readers engaged.
- Use a font type, color and size that is easily readable.
- Put the important information at the top – so you know all readers will see it!
Clear and Concise Writing
Experts recommend writing at a 3rd-grade level for parents and a 6th-grade level for staff. To do this, avoid difficult vocabulary words or lengthy sentences. This keeps the language concise and easy to read for everyone, including ELLs.
Break up and Chunk Information
Like students, chunking information and eliminating clutter can help readers pay attention! Try breaking up text into smaller paragraphs or using bullet points. Headings also help draw attention to important sections of information.
Include Engaging Media
Readers are constantly barraged with content. To keep parents and/or staff engaged, include pictures, tables, different colors or videos to keep it interesting.
Keep it Readable
Font size, color and type are critical to reading fluency. Use easily readable font sizes and colors and stick with a basic font for paragraphs.
Maximize Readership
As much as we’d like readers to read everything – it is unlikely that they will. Remember this when prioritizing content. Stick the most critical items at the top; less important things can go toward the bottom.
Be Consistent
Like students, readers will lean on pre-knowledge, and consistent formatting is helpful for users to code and remember information. If the reader knows that you always put Events at the top, they know exactly where to go to double-check what is happening.
Also, consider sending out the newsletter at a similar time each month. Readers will know when to expect the newsletter and will look forward to it.
Simple solutions such as proper formatting and a consistent newsletter schedule will help you get more participation from your school community!
Personalize your Letters
We’ve learned that connected parents are more engaged when they see their children and what they do in the classroom and at school. Surprisingly we also found that students perform better when their parents share in their classroom activities and successes!
Also, kids do the funniest things! Post student quotes or funny work to keep parents laughing and engaged.
Include Accessible Resources
Many teachers and schools are aware of additional resources parents can use but aren’t aware of. Newsletters are a perfect way to get those resources in one place.
Additionally, some parents need help keeping up with digital resources – especially important calendars, contact information, cafeteria menus, etc. Include a section of your newsletter dedicated to resources and information for quick access.
If you send out a staff newsletter, this is a good place to remind staff of HR resources, information, and important upcoming PLCs and learning opportunities.
ClassTag Newsletter Builder
We’re excited to announce we’ve created a newsletter builder!
ClassTag’s Newsletter Builder offers several key benefits to help you create better newsletters.
- Auto-Translation: ClassTag’s Newsletter Builder can automatically translate your newsletter into 150+ languages, making it easier for you to communicate with families from diverse backgrounds.
- Multi-channel Reach: ClassTag’s Newsletter Builder lets you reach your school community through email, text, push notifications, in-app, or even shared publicly on social media or websites.
- Community Engagement: With ClassTag’s Newsletter Builder, you can create interactive quizzes, polls, and other engaging elements to increase reader participation and foster community engagement.
