Assignment 1: Using Social
Media
The kindergarten teachers at
Kilpatrick Elementary in the Texarkana Arkansas School District (TASD) have
been in the midst of trying times. Most
of the students fit under the poverty label, and need extra help throughout the
day, but all of the classes tend to be maxed out with their student
enrollment. I have worked there for
thirteen years, and have had the benefit of needing an aide/interpreter for certain
students for four out of those thirteen years.
Those four years were the best of my experience, and I think it’s
because of having that extra adult in the classroom. I want to make this happen for every K
teacher, every year, through a policy change.
To do this, I first want to sign up volunteers. Texarkana is populated
with families that have a long history with its traditions. Any time something new and different comes
around, everyone hears about it somehow, and it can be a welcome chance to
many.
I am organizing a “sign up” event
to take place at a local, widely used park in Texarkana. This will be a fun-filled festival type of event,
complete with food, games, and music. At
the center of this event will be opportunities for people to sign up to
volunteer some time with the kindergarten classrooms. Parents, local university students,
grandparents, retired fellow employees, and others will have opportunity to be
recognized as volunteers of the week and the year.
This will take some advertising, and the year-long process will need some opportunities for viewing by the public. I will use a Facebook page for discussion about today’s demands on kindergarten classrooms, and to reach users between the ages of 20 and up, thereby targeting fellow educators and parents with an invested interest in the topic. Youtube and/or Teachertube provide a chance to show video presentations or clips of k classroom dynamics, and small group lessons, which can then be uploaded and saved for future reflection by other educators and policy makers. Another way is through the district class website made apparent to parents, which can include links to registration and sign-up event information, as well as videos/photo clips and on-line educational tools for and resources in support of one-on-one and small group learning. To provide continued discussion about current K standards and the need for increased small group instruction, therefore an additional adult in kindergarten classrooms, I will publish a blog specifically for the kindergarten group at Kilpatrick, dedicated to this effort. It seems that now, with social media on our side, a change for the kindergarten teachers in TASD is possible!
This will take some advertising, and the year-long process will need some opportunities for viewing by the public. I will use a Facebook page for discussion about today’s demands on kindergarten classrooms, and to reach users between the ages of 20 and up, thereby targeting fellow educators and parents with an invested interest in the topic. Youtube and/or Teachertube provide a chance to show video presentations or clips of k classroom dynamics, and small group lessons, which can then be uploaded and saved for future reflection by other educators and policy makers. Another way is through the district class website made apparent to parents, which can include links to registration and sign-up event information, as well as videos/photo clips and on-line educational tools for and resources in support of one-on-one and small group learning. To provide continued discussion about current K standards and the need for increased small group instruction, therefore an additional adult in kindergarten classrooms, I will publish a blog specifically for the kindergarten group at Kilpatrick, dedicated to this effort. It seems that now, with social media on our side, a change for the kindergarten teachers in TASD is possible!
Hi Jaime,
ReplyDeleteHaving an event sign up to help in kindergarten classroom is a good idea. It is also a great way for the community to meet one another and discuss common educational goals for the local schools and maybe establish a PTA or PTO. If successful maybe other grade levels could do the same the following semester or school year. Will the volunteers have to get a background check before volunteering in the classroom? Who will pay for the background check the school or the volunteer?
Yes they would have a background check. The district already has forms and monies allocated for that every year for all the volunteers who sign up.
DeleteI am unclear of what you are signing up. Is it a volunteer or paid position? Will a volunteer work everyday? How will you screen volunteers? If its a paid position how is paying the salary?
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of having extra hands in Kinder-it just makes sense!! I just wasnt sure what you meant by the sign ups. Having lots of volunteers rotating can be confusing and getting someone everyday to help may be hard....
It is completely a volunteer position, with fringe benefits, such as recognition and insight into events, fundraisers, trips, and other school-wide efforts. As far as how volunteers are screened, we have a district form that all volunteers must fill out at the start of the year for background checks, and we would also include a checklist for volunteers to fill out about any background experience they might have, such as babysitting, previous volunteering, working nursery at church functions, etc.
DeleteThe committee would then look at the sign ups and try to establish a person per week or part of the week or certain days, depending on what would work best for the volunteers. You are right, getting someone to sign up every day would be tough, and rotating could be confusing, but with organization and solid back and forth communication, it is possible.
Hello Jamie. I never heard of the tool Teachertube? Can you tell me how this tool can be used for communication, I would love to look into using it? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteSorry for the delay.
DeleteTeachertube.com has a collection of videos, much like youtube, only they are all educational. These videos are safe and specifically designed to reinforce skills, concepts, and content for teachers, but they also include some videos of schools participating in their own efforts for improving teaching methods. I was considering using videos from teachertube as a way to demonstrate the benefit of increased small group instruction.
Hi Jamie,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate how you added the idea that to make your campaign successful, you need to take a full year to create it. It does take as much thought to research the media campaign as it does to research the project.
Thanks for the reminder!
Victoria
I like very much how you set up/refreshed our memory about your issue and the detailed way you presented your marketing plan. You are quite right in realizing that the kick-off event is just the beginning and that continued marketing will be needed to keep this effort rolling. Thanks for this!
ReplyDelete