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About five years ago, I had an idea….. What if I create a staff wellness newsletter to uplift their spirits and increase mental well-being? I would compile something together in Microsoft Publisher and send it to staff monthly for the rest of the school year.
I threw the idea out to my principal and thankfully, he was on board. I pitched the idea as a way to foster wellness which our district was advocating. For me, if the newsletter only helped one of our teachers, it would be worth the effort.
Until the end of my tenure in that position, I consistently sent out that wellness newsletter. I eventually migrated to Canva after realizing that Canva is the easiest platform to use if I want to make something that looks snazzy. The newsletter’s premise was to be light-hearted and inspire teachers to care for themselves.
The content ranged from recipes to Edutopia articles. I had even gotten staff perspectives on silly questions like, “What is your favorite thing about the winter break?” or “What is your favorite summertime memory?” I found these questions were quite popular and staff loved reading what their peers would share.
Don’t be overblown or maudlin… be sincere in your communications so you can increase that trust which will trickle down throughout the culture.
In my new role, I’ve morphed the wellness idea into a full-blown newsletter that focuses on whimsical topics along with professional learning and motivation. I also use it as a vehicle to remind staff of our purpose and share my appreciation of them.
In this week’s post, I’ll put my saleswoman hat on (my husband would be so proud) and explain why the whole newsletter idea can improve your school culture. Then, I’ll explain the five essentials you must include in your newsletter.
What’s in a Newsletter?
What’s in a name?.... I mean newsletter. 😉 (So sorry… the English teacher in me is coming out!) Yes, that is a reference to Romeo & Juliet… I digress though….
One of the biggest benefits of a newsletter is that it can help with transparency and communication. About 75% of employees feel like they are not in the loop with their company and don’t get enough information. Sending a monthly newsletter can counteract this! You can share where your school is with accomplishing specific goals and create transparency…. easy peasy.
Your newsletter can also help you develop trust. Print media is usually seen as more trustworthy so tap into this with your newsletter. To amp up the trustworthiness, make sure that you share struggles and that you “keep it real.” Don’t be overblown or maudlin… be sincere in your communications so you can increase that trust which will trickle down throughout the culture.
Having a newsletter can make individuals feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves. Newsletters can draw connections where they may be lacking, so ensure your messaging is positive and that you steer staff to the overarching goals.
Now, if the above doesn’t sway you, then maybe this will. Sending out a monthly newsletter that packages information in a nice, neat format will reduce the influx of emails in people’s inboxes! Who doesn’t want less email?
You will also control the messaging with a newsletter. I don’t mean for this to sound totalitarian… instead, I mean that you control the positive and motivational messaging.
A newsletter can be a space for others to contribute their expertise as well. It doesn’t have to be a solo endeavor and shouldn’t be as that is a ton of work on you. Try to get some trusted few to contribute to the messaging of the newsletter. The more helpers contributing to the cause, the better! Give people a voice!
Be methodical in your messaging and purpose.
Now, this final point is probably the most obvious, but a newsletter is a way you can share…. NEWS. Relay important information to your staff so that they have a long-term view of the month.
But it isn’t just news you can share. You can share wellness tips and make the newsletter an opportunity for staff to take care of their professional, personal, and wellness needs. Offer articles or videos to increase staff’s skills around a targeted area.
Be methodical in your messaging and purpose. And don’t forget about those birthdays and other celebrations! We all love wishing someone a happy birthday or well wishes for their wedding.
A newsletter is not a boring medium with humdrum information. It can be an innovative, dynamic approach to motivating your staff, inspiring and encouraging their growth, and strengthening your overall school culture. So let’s get cracking!
5 Newsletter Features to Strengthen Your School Culture
Hopefully, you can see the value in why a newsletter can be just the thing your school needs. If you aren’t quite sure how to get started, then read on… because here are the five essential features you’ll want to include.
1. Motivational Greeting
The first thing you need to include in any newsletter is your greeting. Make it short and sweet and authentically you. With this section in particular, it is so important that the staff hear your voice. Your writing should sound like you. Don’t try to be all pedantic or erudite with what you’re saying (see what I just did?). Be real and simple in your words.
Essentially, everything you put in the newsletter is thoughtfully placed and not just there to fill space.
The other thing is you want to make sure your message is motivational and concise. Keep it to about 50-100 words and no more! You want people to read it, right?
Finally, the more you can craft your messages in a predictable format, the better. This predictability will create comfort and can help build trust.
2. Connections to Goals
Now, this next one is so important to ensure you are building your culture while also making your newsletter purposeful. If you have specific goals for your school, have that be a section. Remind staff every month what you all are focusing on and building toward.
You'll also want to tie all components of your newsletter to your overarching goals or purpose. I wish that when I first rolled this idea out as an assistant principal I included other features such as professional growth which is a major goal I have with staff.
Motivating staff through video can help ensure you reach and reinforce your goals. Find purposeful, engaging, and short videos that tie directly to your purpose/goals.
Essentially, everything you put in the newsletter is thoughtfully placed and not just there to fill space.
3. Community-Building
The newsletter shouldn’t just be all business. Make sure you use it to build community. Incorporate those celebrations like birthdays and weddings. Offer a wellness article or post the community-building events in the newsletter to show you care about staff as individuals.
The newsletter can be a way to build capacity and voice for staff as well. One way to do this is to have staff contribute. See if the librarian would be willing to write a book review section. Or maybe there is a staff member who is super passionate about children’s books. Let them run with their idea.
Finally, what I found to be probably the best way to build community is to throw out a random question and get staff to respond or to have staff shoutouts. Give people a space to share their crazy passions and likes or to show gratitude and appreciation.
When staff voice is embedded within the newsletter, you can build not only community, but also credibility.
4. Professional Learning
Job-embedded professional learning is such a challenge. We never seem to have enough time. One way you can get around this is by sharing an article of the month that connects with your school goals and helps teachers build their capacity.
If you want to get super methodical and strategic, you can even have follow-up incorporated into a faculty meeting or the next newsletter. Give staff a chance to offer their reflections and learnings from the article. Think of this as kind of a discussion board. I haven’t tried out this last method, but who knows, maybe next year we will give it a whirl.
Whatever article you choose, ensure it is purposeful, relevant, and accessible across positions. You don’t want to choose something specific to only one content area because then everyone else will feel left out. 😕
When staff voice is embedded within the newsletter, you can build not only community, but also credibility.
5. News & Information
Well, the newsletter needs actual news, too. So have a “News & Information” section for those who love planning for the entire month. You can also include a printable “Month at a Glance” calendar for visual learners.
One of the nice things about Canva is that you can add hyperlinks, so if you need to reference something in a shared drive, pop that link in the news section. Consolidate all the news into one central location. The staff (and their inboxes) will thank you.
One Last Thought
People are constantly wanting communication and venting about the lack of communication. If this sounds like your school, then try incorporating a newsletter into the mix. It can not only help you achieve some of your goals, but also help you build a healthy culture and a community where individuals feel that they belong and have a voice.
Reflecting on my first experience with that wellness newsletter, the section that always got the most traction and comments was the one where staff would share silly or personal facts about themselves. I can’t tell you how many times staff members would thank me for including staff voice.
They appreciated the laughs and learning a little bit more about their peers. The newsletter had an impact… and even though it may seem small, for me that positive influence is enough.
References
Brown, N. (n.d.). What marketers need to know about millennials and print. MarketingProfs. https://www.marketingprofs.com/opinions/2016/31112/what-marketers-need-to-know-about-millennials-and-print
Cleary, A. (2024, April 12). 57 Best Employee Newsletter ideas with examples. ContactMonkey. https://www.contactmonkey.com/blog/employee-newsletter-ideas
Company newsletter tips and ideas. (n.d.). Indeed.com. https://www.indeed.com/hire/c/info/company-newsletter-tips-and-ideas?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw2uiwBhCXARIsACMvIU0v5X5P3dLtN6-R0cDtmPrKcu_gNBGP5jhhPvr7_HLQ8QkjZFXxSbAaAiIhEALw_wcB&aceid=&gclsrc=aw.ds
Jouany, V. (2020, June 4). 10 Shocking internal communications stats you can’t ignore. Haiilo. https://haiilo.com/blog/10-shocking-internal-communications-stats-you-cant-ignore/
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