Getting the Word Out

Tips and best practices for making your PTO communications more effective, both in print and online.

01/22/2014

It wasn’t long ago that PTO and PTA leaders kept in touch with parents mainly through newsletters and flyers. Now many groups have added email, websites, and social media to the mix. You don’t have to be a pro to get your point across; whichever communications tools you use, the best way to reach parents is to keep your message simple.

We've compiled specific guidelines to help your parent group get the most out of its communications:

 

Communications Checklist

Some best practices just make good sense no matter what medium you choose. Use this checklist anytime you're getting ready to reach out to parents.

  1. Before you print or hit send, make sure all the key information is listed and is most prominent.

  2. Verify that the dates, times, and locations of all gatherings are correct.

  3. If you update an existing document, make sure to replace all the old information with new information.

  4. Run a spell checker, and always double-check the spelling of all names.

  5. Ask someone else to look over the document. They may see errors or problems you don’t.

Comments   

# Melba Rhodes 2011-10-06 02:05
Number 5 is the most important tip to me. Spell check can "miss" misspelt words and ignore grammactical mistakes (or even suggest them to you!). But the biggest thing is that you know a LOT MORE information than you can put in the newsletter so you write something that makes prfect sense to you (and the others "in the know" that you get to proof) but the average parent will read and say one thing "WHAT????" I like to get several people to proof - one for facts and dates, another for grammer and spelling and the last an average parent for what I have to say just making sense to them. After all, the average, realitivity uninvoled parent, is the one the newsletter is aimed at and it needs to be understandable to them.
# Melba Rhodes 2011-10-06 02:06
I struggle with this a lot becasue I start out with a BIG, WHOPPING amount of information, facts, tidbits, good to knows and must whittle it down to fit a doublesided page (even though a parent TEACHER told me one time, "Oh, I only read the front page and threw it away. DESPITE the front page ending in the middle of a sentence and it SAYING "continued on back"!!!!). So, newsletters probally don't get read very much but the people that do always seem to find the one mistake in it (I tell them, "Great! You've found the one typo and won the contest! I'll send you a prize for winning!")!!!! BUT, I'll never give up!!!

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