Sharing Your School Story

ANDREA GRIBBLE SOCIAL MEDIA FOR SCHOOLS Proven Storytelling Strategies & Ideas to Celebrate Your Students & Staff—While Keeping Your Sanity

I can’t tell you enough how much I enjoyed this book. I have never met Andrea Gribble in person, but I got to talk with her by phone one day. I’ll never forget it. I was in the initial stages of sharing our school story on Facebook. Our district had purchased a membership in #SocialSchooll4EDU for support while we built our family and community engagement. I was learning while leading with limited time and expertise.

I had a technical question, an urgent one, in my mind, and I couldn’t move forward until I understood what my next step should be. So I reached out, and who did I hear back from? Not a member of the #SocialSchooll4EDU team, but Gribble herself. She not only did she calm my irrational fears, but her response was insightful, helpful, and supportive...exactly the content readers receive page by page in her book Social Media for Schools.  

Each chapter begins with an introduction to a school or district in the format of a case study. Their social media challenges are shared, followed by the process they went through towards reaching a positive outcome. Gribble then provides a deep dive into components of social media systems, branding, storytelling, best practices, and the professional development needed to “help you create a framework to celebrate your school on social media.”

Strategic tips, key points to remember, plans to make, and a doable to-do list flow seamlessly throughout her book, with references on how to “Grab It” for even more resources on the #SocialSchooll4EDU website. Gribble also acknowledges we are all on a different continuum in implementing social media to celebrate our schools and districts. Start where you are but with a mindset of moving forward with her book as a tool to guide you. 

In the forward of Social Media for Schools, Dr. Joe SanFelippo one of Gribbles many advocates on the relevance of sharing your school story said, “Nobody will change the way they talk about school until we change the way we talk about school.” The following are the leadership changes I will begin to learn more about in order to celebrate and recognize our students, staff, and families.