Two key personnel figures in the South East Cornerstone Public School Division鈥檚 (SECPSD) communication and connection system, delivered some key connectivity information to the board members attending an online version of their monthly general business session on May 19.
Calli Cugnet, who is advancing the division鈥檚 social media presence, and Carolyn Thompson, executive assistant to the director of education/CEO, made the presentation following an introduction to System Goal 4 by the Director of Education, Lynn Little.
Cugnet referred to the division鈥檚 social media outreach through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. She said all these platforms are used by SECPSD with Facebook getting the most engagement.
鈥淲e started the school year with 816 followers of our page and have grown to 1,484 as of today. You find our page by searching South East Cornerstone Public School Division,鈥� she said.
The division鈥檚 Twitter account currently has 702 followers. Cugnet pointed out that since both Facebook and Twitter have options for followers to share, the division鈥檚 posts may end up reaching more people. She said she knows that a few Twitter posts have reached up to 2,000 readers and Facebook posts have reached as many as 12,000.
Cugnet said she created an Instagram account for the division in December 2020 and it currently has 294 followers.
鈥淔or the most part, I try to post the same things (on each platform) so parents who only follow on one are all receiving the same information,鈥� she said.
LinkedIn is more engaged as an employment platform. 鈥淎s soon as employees of the division joined LinkedIn and listed the division as a current or past workplace, the platform creates a business page. This was beneficial because I just started utilizing this platform this month and we already have 245 followers. Posts on LinkedIn will differ from the other three because it is more of a niche platform, focused around job openings and things that make it an attractive workplace.鈥�
She said the social media posts have highlighted items such as the French immersion program that is to start this fall, plus employment postings, treaty education information, staff efforts that call for additional recognition and other issues.
Mental health consultant Raylene Forseth and Cugnet started a weekly social media campaign to bring awareness of issues around mental illness by offering simple strategies for families to use to optimize mental health.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been calling this campaign Mental Health Monday and use that title as a hashtag,鈥� she added.
A newsletter is the other medium used to directly share information with parents and caregivers. It is posted on the division鈥檚 website and email at the beginning of each month. It brings stories from the schools, retirement announcements, coming events and other important messages.
The Cornerstone @ Home page is within the Families Tab on the website and is dedicated to the partnership between home, school and community.
鈥淵ou鈥檒l find links to videos, articles and information for parents and caregivers that connect academic learning with physical, social and emotional wellness,鈥� said Cugnet.
Within this site there are links to the social media accounts, and kitchen table connections that is a video series created by the student services team.
Thompson added to the report by noting how she connects with the provincial Ministry of Education through a special communication program on a bi-weekly basis. She said they are usually about a half-hour in duration and it brings school divisions and the Ministry together to share information and ideas.
She also noted she posts highlights from the board meetings on the website along with a contracted media report of board sessions.
In her summaries, Thompson said she fields a number of media requests that are usually forwarded to the people or departments that are responsible for various areas of expertise. Those queries usually request information on such things as curriculum and faculty decisions, classrooms, speed zones, enrolments, cell phone use, negotiations, return to school decisions, the upcoming French immersion projects or perhaps remote learning options.
She said she has fielded 1,601 鈥榗ontact us鈥� emails this school year, and they may be media requests or emails referring to parental concerns, forgotten passwords, transportation issues, board highlights or other news items.
