A school newsletter is a great communication tool to keep your staff, students, school families and community connected. It can also help to keep your school brand in front of potential new students and parents while serving as an opportunity to communicate your brand voice and keep everyone informed. Committing to a consistent newsletter

12 School Newsletter Ideas for Teachers

A school newsletter is a great communication tool to keep your staff, students, school families and community connected. It can also help to keep your school brand in front of potential new students and parents while serving as an opportunity to communicate your brand voice and keep everyone informed. Committing to a consistent newsletter with engaging and interesting content can seem overwhelming, but here are 12 school newsletter ideas to kickstart your creativity! 

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Getting Started With a School Newsletter

What is the difference between a newsletter that sits in your inbox unnoticed, and one that you look forward to reading? For one, consistency is important. Whether you commit to a monthly or weekly edition or find that another frequency works best for your schedule, sending your newsletters at the same time is critical in keeping your audience engaged. Research shows email marketing to be most successful when sent on weekdays between the hours of 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. In addition to a schedule and routine, the “From” email address used in your school newsletter should also be consistent. Your audience will know to look for an update from the same person at the same time and cadence, helping to avoid confusion with too many emails from too many different school employees. 

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Consider where your audience will read your newsletter. Do most of your students or parents view emails on their phones? Most email newsletter platforms have options to optimize your newsletter for mobile devices. Make sure your newsletter can be read and that your text sizes are not too small. Test links or buttons to verify newsletter usability when not on a computer.

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Another point to consider is the design of your school newsletter. Choosing a school newsletter template can help to organize your content while incorporating elements of your school brand, logos, colors and more. This is also an opportunity to keep your newsletter from becoming too text-heavy and boring by using photos or design elements to highlight your content or draw attention to important updates. 

School Newsletter Headings and Subject Lines

School newsletter headings should be informative and help to keep your information organized. For regular updates like lunch menus or a school calendar, using the same headings from newsletter to newsletter will teach your audience where to look for the information they need. 

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One area where repetitiveness is discouraged is in your subject line. Imagine getting 4 emails that all use “Weekly Update” as a subject line. How would you easily know which week they are referring to? At the very least, include the month, date or edition information in your subject line. 35% of recipients report opening an email based on a subject line alone, and this is your chance to get creative! Personalize your subject line, play on themes like weather or holidays, or choose the most exciting piece of content in your newsletter and write your school newsletter subject line around it. 

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For example, if your sports team wins a big rivalry game, your subject line could say, “A Weekend Win for XYZ Basketball”. Avoid spam words like “free” that will keep your newsletter from landing in inboxes. 

School Newsletter Topic Ideas 

After determining your schedule, choosing a template and considering your school newsletter subject line and headings, now it’s time to get to writing! If you’re not sure what to write or think you have nothing to share, check out these 12 school newsletter ideas. 

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1. Upcoming Events. 

Share events like field trips, school dances, spirit weeks or parent-teacher organization events. Link back to your school calendar (and make sure it’s regularly updated!) so your audience can refer back to it for more information.

2. Club and Sports Schedules. 

Keeping track of student schedules can be tough for parents and reminders like club meetings or sports practices can help to keep these items top of mind. These are especially important to include if the club meets infrequently (less than weekly), or on different dates/times.

3. Teacher Spotlights. 

Give your staff a shout-out of appreciation in your school newsletter! Celebrate a recent accomplishment, highlight a recent class project, or share a personal detail about a member of your team. This is also a great opportunity to introduce anyone new to your school, from the teachers to the administrative staff and support personnel.

4. Reminders.

If you’re noticing your lost and found is overflowing, remind parents and students to take a look next time they’re nearby. When the seasons change, make sure your staff and students have the appropriate clothing and footwear for the season (i.e. boots and gloves in the winter months). You can even include reminders of where to find school closures, notification of early release dates or other school day schedule modifications.

5. Educational Content.

Learning doesn’t stop in the classroom! Include a writing prompt, or reading challenge or share a math problem that parents and students can work on together at home.

6. Community Events

Strengthen your foundation to the community by sharing events that tie into your school's mission statement. Look for non-profit events, charitable causes, community concerts or other organizations you could support.

7. Share Something Fun

Stay connected with your school families during breaks, long weekends or the summer months. Share fun ideas and activities like summer popsicle recipes, DIY musical instruments with household items, or homemade gift ideas around the holidays. 

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8. Recaps

Include photos, video clips or anything you might have from recent events. Sports games, concerts, and anything your students might be doing are great things to include in your newsletter. Recapping events helps those that were unable to attend to feel included in the school community. You can also summarize quarter or semester activities, students' honors or scholarship awards.

9. Fundraisers

In a recent survey, over 75% of elementary schools participated in at least 1-5 fundraisers in a calendar year. Sharing your fundraising events, the goals, progress and deadlines can give you different options for content. This helps to motivate your donors and keep your fundraising efforts top of mind.

10. Alumni Spotlights

Interview anyone and everyone and share their story in your school newsletter. Look for business owners, legacy families, or anyone who might have an interesting story to share. Accomplishments big and small can be highlighted in your alumni profiles. 

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11. Blog Content

Are you creating content for your website or social media presence? Include it in your newsletter! Re-use and recycle existing content periodically, or share past blog posts at relevant times (starting a new school year, graduation, enrollment tips etc.) to help your families navigate your school process. 

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12. Photo Gallery

We’ve covered lots of opportunities to include photos with your school newsletter headings, but sharing a photo from the day can help to give a sense of what everyday life is like on your campus. Let parents see what their kids are up to or invite prospective families to see the community you’ve built. Double-check any waivers that your students and parents sign to make sure sharing images of the students included is approved. 

School Newsletter Best Practices

School newsletters are a great marketing tool, but they will have more impact if your newsletter mailing list continues to evolve. Double-check that all contact forms on your website feed into your newsletter service provider, or make sure you’re manually updating your subscriber list. Make sure that anyone who tours, donates or is otherwise interested in your school gets on the list too. The sign-up boxes should be easy to find on your website, and you can remind students and parents in person to sign up if they’re not already receiving your newsletters. 

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Other Newsletter Ideas

While the majority of your audience will prefer a digital version, you may find that a small portion of your readers would like a paper copy. This can be inexpensive to accomplish, by providing a handful of black and white copies in your school office, or in another place that receives visitors. Post your newsletter to a bulletin board for extra visibility, just remember to change it out with each edition so they’re not old or outdated. 

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Share Emergency Information

Occasionally, you may have something to share that is time sensitive. If you need to occasionally break from your standard distribution schedule to share urgent updates, notices or important information parents should be aware of, be sure your subject line draws attention to that. Words like urgent, update, or special edition can help your audience understand why they are receiving an additional email. 

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Get Creative and Stay in Touch

School newsletters don’t have to be overwhelming. By coming up with a plan and getting creative with your content topics, you can stay in touch with past, present and potential future students and their families. Take pride in celebrating all of the accomplishments of your staff and teachers, get involved in your community and use your newsletter as an extension of your school brand and school spirit. 

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How SOLVED Can Help You Engage with Your Community

Solved Consulting is here to help you every step of the way, from developing your school brand strategy to implementing it across multiple marketing channels. Schedule your free 15-minute meeting with our team to discuss your school needs, and how we can help strengthen your brand.