Talking students’ language Prijatelj, other superintendents engage with Twitter
Prijatelj, other superintendents engage with Twitter
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About three years ago, Altoona Area School District Superintendent Charles Prijatelj's Twitter presence "really started to take off," he said.
Prijatelj uses the social media platform to engage with the community, promoting sporting events and other extracurricular activities, as well as reporting on school closures, cancelations and progress on construction projects.
"Students love knowing about delays and cancellations first because I Tweet it out early most of the time," Prijatelj said.
His account, @AASDSuper, has more than 500 followers, as well as the hashtag #GoMtLions in the bio.
The superintendent said his Twitter presence has been an effective way to reach the community and promote the district.
"Twitter is a great way to get the great things our students and faculty are doing out to the public," Prijatelj said. "Even (the media) pick up the Tweets and find stories to pursue."
When sharing updates on the districts' happenings and what students are doing, Prijatelj has one thing in mind.
"My main goal is to get the positive things happening in the school district out to the public," he said. "In this day and age of internet instant news, Twitter helps us to stay positive and bring the excellent work of our students and staff to the public."
Often, Prijatelj attends students' sporting events, providing live score updates via Twitter.
He has promoted various school sports such as football, baseball and soccer on his account. Prijatelj said he does this, "to keep everyone in the loop and to cheer on our teams."
Claysburg-Kimmel School District Superintendent Darren McLaurin uses the platform, too. McLaurin often retweets posts from other districts to show his support for students and schools beyond his own.
Social media, he said, "allows us to see what other districts across the country are doing without leaving the area."
"I post to our social media accounts, Twitter and Facebook, daily, to keep parents up-to-date with what is happening in our schools," McLaurin said. "I use a program called HootSuite, which allows you to post to both Twitter and Facebook simultaneously.
McLaurin, who said his audience is more responsive to his Facebook posts, wants to share his district's story.
"I believe we need to tell our story and show the community all the great things happening at Claysburg-Kimmel," he said. "If you don't tell your story someone else will."
McLaurin described social media as a useful tool, especially with current events.
"I believe social media is a great resource for professional development," he said. "Social media has been invaluable during the pandemic. It allows us to target messages to a certain school or grade level in our district."
The use of Twitter by superintendents also has spread to neighboring regions.
Bob O'Donnell of the State College Area School District sometimes retweets posts from his district's account, and uses his platform to highlight elements of human interest not only in his district, but from the Penn State community, too.
In the Philipsburg-Osceola School District, Superintendent Gregg Paladina Tweets messages of encouragement in wake of the pandemic.
"Instead of worrying about the uncertainty, why not embrace it?" he asked in a recent Tweet.
In another, he said, "It is hard for sure. Seemingly impossible. But we will get through this. One day at a time!"
"Obviously, the pandemic has been difficult psychologically and emotionally for teachers, staff and community members," Paladina said. "The message of hope is for all of us. Posting those messages and updating people, you have to because if not, they'll watch the news and be afraid again. You have to update them and give them all the information."
Paladina estimated that he reaches about a third of his district community through Twitter, but said that using Facebook, too, has helped him connect with more people.
"We definitely have a lot of followers on our Twitter account, and if they're not following our Twitter account, (messages) get shared on Facebook," he said. "It's an easy way to get things out and people can comment, and it's usually positive."
Mirror Staff Writer Andrew Mollenauer is at 814-946-7428.