Most FFA advisors know their chapter is doing amazing things.
Most students know their chapter is doing amazing things.
However, most community members do not know their school’s chapter is doing amazing things.
Now that last statement may be a bit generalized, but I found during the nine years I taught that many of my community members still didn’t know what I did as a FFA advisor and agriculture educator, especially at the beginning of my career at Houston High School.
One way I attempted to close this communication gap was through monthly NEWSLETTERS to parents, school staff, community members and other stakeholders.
In this newsletter, my students would include:
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A message from the FFA president
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Important upcoming dates
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A student SAE showcase
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A summary of what each career tech class was learning
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And any noteworthy accomplishments, accolades or articles
This very quick two-page newsletter was extremely easy to compile and was written by the president, co-reporters and historian. This allowed community members to stay in-the-loop while not adding something to my ever-growing to-do list!
Students created the newsletter on Canva and then could easily embed it in an email that was sent out to a gmail group, or you could use an email marketing platform, such as MailChimp, Constant Contact, etc.
Check out the Canva Newsletter Template we used HERE and begin to bridge the communication gap between you and your stakeholders!