Busy? Here's the TL;DR
- One way principals boost engagement is via rewards
- They tap into emotional rewards by posting pictures
- They encourage healthy competition amongst parents
- And they offer up prizes parents can claim for their kids
We asked educators to share a school newsletter engagement hack with us.
Turns out almost a quarter of them use rewards! The rewards themselves fall into 3 categories: emotional, competitive, & tangible.
![](webp/kardash.webp)
Letโs walk through each ๐๐ฝ.
1. Emotional - a picture is worth, well, you know!
What parent doesnโt enjoy finding a picture of their own child in a school newsletter?! It just gives it that much more meaning and importance. Educators know that, too, and use it to their advantage. Here are a few different ways they put photos of students to work for them:
![screenshot of typed suggestions from principals for how to use photos in newsletters](png/screenshot-2022-09-19-at-15.12.02.png)
That last one is interesting, right? It serves a dual purpose ๐ค.
2. Competition has its rewards.
Sometimes a competitive incentive is the best โ it depends on the vibe of your community. If this is a direction you could go in, there are lots of ways to have fun with it. Hereโs a principal whose parents get a competitive advantage from simply reading the updates:
![](png/screenshot-2022-09-19-at-15.21.57.png)
And hereโs one who gets parents competing to score points with the principal:
![](png/screenshot-2022-09-19-at-15.21.39.png)
And a third who gets an entire positive community competition going! ๐ ๐
![](png/screenshot-2022-09-19-at-15.21.03.png)
3. Lastly, actual ๐ for reading school updates!
A small cohort of educators give out a variety of school-related prizes for children whose parents read their updates. Some would argue that prizes for reading are counter-productive, but these are thoughtful, school-based rewards! Here are some suggestions from folks in the field:
![typed suggestions from principals about rewards for students whose parents read weekly updates](png/screenshot-2022-09-19-at-15.59.10.png)
So, if youโre looking for ways to get more parents to read your updates, try one of these ๐ฅ๐ฅ. And let us know how it goes!
Hereโs a template to help you get started.
![](jpg/principal-weekly-update-to-families.jpg)
![](jpg/what-can-esser-funds-be-used-for-2.jpg)
![](jpg/september-weekly-schedule-template-.jpg)
![](png/meet-the-teacher-template-2.png)
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