Christina Communications.

Christina Communications.
Christina Perez
Journalism 471

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Executive
Summary
3
Situation
Analysis
.4
Research..
5
Challenges &
Opportunities...
..6
Target
Audiences
..7
Goals and
Objectives
..8-10
Evaluation &
Recommendations
11
Appendix..
12
Appendix 1..
13
Appendix 2..
14
Appendix 3..
...15
Appendix 4..
16
Appendix 5..
...17

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Synopsis
Rio Vista Elementary is amongst four other schools within the El
Rancho Unified School District. The campus is located in the heart of
Pico Rivera and conveniently connected to the Rio Vista local park.
Their mission is set to committing a safe, nurturing environment of
high expectations in which all students can learn and succeed.
Rio Vista Elementary is a neighboring school that has developed and
educated multiple generations of families. Within the generations,
many of the families are from a Latino descent. The elementary offers
the ability for bilingual learners to excel in their academic in a social
and educational environment. In working together, Rio Vista focuses
on preparing each student for all the upcoming challenges in the
twenty-first century.
By building strong character and personal responsibility, Rio Vista
students develop critical thinking skills and a passion for life-long
learning. The elementary strives in preparing their students for a
successful future with well-equipped information. Rio Vista has
continued a pattern of consistent academic growth centered on strong,
focused instructional practices and had become an award winning
campus. In 2014, Rio Vista was named one of the National Blue

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Ribbon Schools in California. This achievement had
presented the elementary as a distinguished school in
receiving an overall academic excellence or their progress
in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups.
Now that they successfully attained an amazing award, it is important
to communicate with parents and the community of the importance of
their childs education. Through the use of social media, Rio Vista staff
will offer a new gateway channel to foster their academic events. As
we begin the New Year, Rio Vista will focus on creating awareness of
their new social media accounts to their public and creating stronger
relationships with the parents. Teachers and faculty will play a major
role in spreading the word of the sites through varies ways.
The plan will educate the community of the valuable resources through
physical Rio Vista flyers, parent and teacher workshops, using display
boards and parent letters. Also through the use of the school website,
people can easily connect to the social media sites and explore the
pages. The purpose of this goal is to create a friendly and open
environment for the parents to retain information of upcoming and
occurring events. This way, parents can manage their time effectively
and quickly refer to Calendar dates and reminders on the social media
sites
With the launch of the new communication tactics, Rio Vista will
exceed to a higher level of excellence and will service to the students
educational needs.

SITUATION ANALYSIS
The importance of integrating social media into the elementary
campus is to construct a two-way communication channel for parents
and staff. In addition, this opportunity will offer the ability to allow
teachers to provide educational websites for students to learn in the
comfort of their home. The engagement of combing both
environments may help the students perform better because they will
be able to recall doing certain activities with their parent.
These social media accounts are directly intended for adults since the
internet site is designed for an older mindset and responsibility. As a
distinguished school, Rio Vista aims to protect their students of the
violence and hateful remarks that are made on social media. Although
Rio Vista will not generate any explicit information on their site,
children always need parental guidance when surfing the web. The

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purpose of the sites is directed in establishing an
interactive and open environment for the parents to be
engaged in their childs education. As result of the
purpose, the Facebook page will be crafted in a learning style for
parents and children.
The page will offer educational games, campus resources, and direct
links to Rio Vista staffing. The Twitter account will be designed for
quick reminders and fun facts of the schools history. Since local
schools follow the account, followers can also see retweets of the other
campuses. This will be beneficial to parents who have children in the
other schools. The school will also provide informational workshops for
parents to learn how to go about visiting the page. The workshop will
be presented in two languages for those who do not speak English. The
description for the workshops will go in depth in the tactics.
While other schools are using their accounts for varies reasons, Rio
Vistas accounts will be centralized on reaching out to parents and
forming personal relationships with staffing. If everyone comes
together in researching the potential goal, the issue can be resolved
through simple steps. The social media outlets can serve as a
networking source to Rio Vista. This specific topic can spark a larger
project the campus future actions.

SECONDARY RESEARCH
For the secondary research I decided to observe Rio Vista Elementary
and another local school, Birney Elementary. The schools are among of
the El Rancho Unified School District in Pico Rivera, California. Both
schools recently represented themselves in an educational manner and
eagerly driven towards academic success.
Birney Elementary does not offer enough information through the
twitter account. One productive post on Twitter had a photograph of
students focusing on the white board meanwhile the teacher used an
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Ipad to show to the school website. This post can be
influential to parents who would like to do a similar
situation with their child.
Birney is more active on Facebook and uses the site effectively. On
Facebook, Birney has created calendar events made open to the public.
After researching the page, the school has had 1,845 visits and 261
likes for the page. Although the site does not have many likes or
comments, it effectively presents the information needed. The page
actively posts photographs and flyers of upcoming events. The flyers
are relatable and designed to for the elementary campus. In addition
there are weekly reminders of PTO meetings for the parents that are
interested in attending. I do not see the Facebook page connected to
the Twitter account. When looking at both social media sites, the
Twitter does not produce as much information as the Facebook page.
In the beginning of September, Birney did post about the schools
within the district starting new Twitter accounts. This post is essential
in collaborating and supporting other schools. The reviews that are
also written from followers helps the site come to life.
In comparison to Rio Vista Elementary, Birney has a year of activation.
Rio Vista founded their site in October of this year. Unfortunately, the
school did not start posting on the page until the middle of November.
Rio Vista has strategically synced their Twitter and Facebook page into
one to send both alerts to the public. They too have inputted
photographs into the Facebook page of recent events such as their
Halloween parade. Like Birney, Rio Vista notifies their public of
upcoming events through a post. I think the campus should consider
inputting calendar events for more information. Rio Vista needs to find
more ways to promote their page since the page only had 31 views
and 6 likes. While the Facebook page is not as responsive or produces
enough information, the Twitter is actively retweeting and posting
quick messages. Rio Vista is constantly posting and retweeting
photographs and achievements from schools within the district. They
have also integrated their achievements on their Twitter account. This
information is important within describing the elementary so this
should be recognized in another section of the social media site.
Both schools present useful information to the public, however each
campus only is effective in one social media site.

CHALLENGES & OPPORUNITIES

Challenge 1: Lack of campus awareness of social media

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When first communicating with the principal, it came to my
attention that Rio Vista Elementary did not effectively use
their Facebook and Twitter accounts because of the lack of
awareness to the community. They are many applicable ways to bring
awareness of the emerging social media sites to the elementary
school. Through the use of printable flyers and on campus display
boards, Rio Vista can increase their audience awareness by 40%. In
addition, Rio Vista staff can advertise their upcoming activities by
creating calendar events and inviting followers to attend the event. In
addition the involvement of teachers, they can incorporate homework
assignments to the links provided on the Facebook page. I believe
there is an opportunity to use these websites as key tools in advancing
with technology and in the childrens academics.

Challenge 2: Lack of communication with parents and

school staf
One of the main challenges Rio Vista Elementary faces deals with the
lack of communication with parents and school staff. This issue
creates students declination in grades and being left out in monthly
events. The current generation is greatly advancing with all the
emerging technological and social sites. The staff needs a more effect
way of communicating with parents and loved ones. I believe this
challenge brings a great opportunity for staff to connect with El Rancho
Unified School District and the Pico Rivera community on a higher
level. Rio Vista staff can customize social media tools to their liking to
communicate and notify parents about school topics. There will be a
wide range of topics that will allow all grade levels to be
acknowledged. Staff can reduce the amount of paper use for parent
notes and focus on the social media sites.

Challenge 3: Low amount of social media posts

After comparing the research that I concluded from other local
campuses, I came to the conclusion that the school is not producing
enough information to their social media audience. The individuals
that are following Rio Vista are looking for daily outlets to get
information about upcoming events and student-parent interaction. If
there is not enough movement, readers lose interest and start to forget
the purpose of the websites. This challenge presents the opportunity
to keep followers engaged and interactive with Rio Vista. With a few
consist posts, followers will communicate with other individuals at local
schools about the trending topics. The opportunity will create a buzz
for social media and helps parents to learn about new ideas that Rio
Vista elementary is offering to their children.

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TARGET AUDIENCES
PRIMARY AUDIENCE:
Parents
The campaign will focus on the parents of the Rio Vista Elementary
students. The grade levels for the students will range from
Kindergarten to 5th grade.

SECONDARY AUDIENCE
Rio Vista Elementary Staf
A section of this campaign will also be targeted to the Rio Vista staffing
department. This will include all teachers and the school principal. It
is important to create a communication tool for the staff to apply in
daily routines with the parents and community. Involvement of all
parties will create a more affective school environment.

KEY MESSAGES
Rio Vista will provide a communication tool for parents and staff
involvement.
Rio Vista Elementary will expand the involvement of parents through
social media.
Teachers who use social media sites will generate educational support
in the classroom and family bonding at home.

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GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

GOAL: Increase awareness and daily posts on social media sites.
GOAL: Build sites into a valuable resource for parents.
GOAL: Increase the level of communication with parents and staff.
OBJECTIVE: Launch new ideas on social media sites for parents and
staff use.
OBJECTIVE: Increase visibility of social sites by 30% through a variety
of new approaches on campus.

Strategic Approach

This campaign will target Rio Vista Elementary parents and staff by
creating an emotional appeal. The purpose in choosing this approach
is to show parents and staff the importance of a childs education and
effectiveness of their involvement in their academic years.
STRATEGY: Create posts of value publics
TACTIC: Integrating educational games or links for students to use
with parental guidance
RATIONALE: By using Facebook and Twitter as an educational
resource, parents can click on provided links for students to learn
about current topics and watch videos on websites such as Brainpop.
This will allow parents to have control on what is seen on the social
media sites and will allow the families to join together during
homework. Students can return to their classrooms with the
knowledge that they learned the night prior. The supervision of the
social media accounts will allow parents to learn about the variety
subject their child is absorbing in the classroom.
TACTIC: Inputting photos of campus events onto social media sites
RATIONALE: Capturing a childs moments are priceless so it is
important for Rio Vista to help parents take part in their childs life.

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The photos should be presented in order of the academic
year. Events such as Back to School night, Halloween
parade, cookie decorating activity, and Christmas
performance should be photographed. In addition, staff must be
recognized in the photographs with the students to show their
involvement in their education. This tactic will bring more attention to
the social media websites, which will help bring more followers.
TACTIC: Post about upcoming events.
RATIONALE: There are more than 200 students within the campus.
Parents receive a great amount of information during the year and it
can become difficult for them to remember all the upcoming events.
Through the use of Facebook calendars and reminders posts, Rio Vista
staff can inform parents about important events such as report cards,
city council meetings, and school registrations. Including Facebook
and Twitter as two of the major channels of communication, Rio Vista
Elementary can create a larger foundation for their education system
and be an example for the school district.
STRATEGY: Bringing awareness to parents of social media sites.
TACTIC: Create flyers to post around campus for awareness.
Rationale: To raise awareness of the social media sites, it is essential
for the campus to utilize the open area for flyers. While parents wait to
pick up their child from schools, parents will be notice the flyers which
will give them a chance to look at the flyers. The flyers can be
displayed in the main office, teacher lounge, pick up area, and
cafeteria. The flyers will be large enough for all parents to see in a far
distance.
TACTIC: Send small notices to parents through childrens homework
RATIONALE: Rio Vista teachers can send a small notice that attaches
to the childrens agenda or homework to notify the parents of the new
social media sites. Parents are required to sign agendas every night so
this simple attachment will inform them. Teachers are required to
staple the notice on the agenda to validate that it was stapled.
TACTIC: Use on campus display board for visual approach
RATIONALE: The campus has a large display board in the front of the
school. This display board lets drivers who pass the school or parents
who drop off their children know about upcoming events. By simply
adding a letter box for Twitter and Facebook logos, the public will be
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curious in learning more about this and become interested.
The logos will be the best way to present the sites in the
limited space that is offered. There will other locations on
campus that the public and retain more information.
STRATEGY: Teach parents and staff how to use the new resource.
TACTIC: Conduct an info session for staff to approach social media
site.
RATIONALE: This session is important for the staff to be involved in
the success of the social media sites. In the appendix is a media alert
that will be posted in the teachers lounge and printed into each of the
teachers mailboxes. Although not all teachers will want to participate
in the seminar, it is important to ask all teachers to attend to make
their academic year a success. The session will take place in the
computer lab in which all attendees will have a computer to visually
follow. There will also be a step-by-step guide to reference back on if
they forget once the workshop ends. The course will show them how
to add educational links to the site and how to implement their
learning subjects into a post. A teacher from each grade level will be
given a specific week to post on the page. Knowing that parents will
have questions for the teachers, there will a direct link that will allow
parents to contact the teacher assigned. The link will transfer to the
teachers individual site or to the school website. Once all the
information is gathered there will be Q&A. The trial week for the
postings will occur one week after having the session so the
information can be fresh in their memory.
TACTIC: Hold informative workshop for parents to learn about the new
resource.
RATIONALE: Seeing that social media is a trending topic for the
current, youthful generation, it is important for parents to understand
the opportunities it offers. By creating six workshops for the parents,
Rio Vista staff can teach the parents the fundamentals of Facebook and
Twitter step by step. The workshop will be held in the computer lab
and have instructions printed out for them to follow. The workshops will
also be held in two languages for those who do no speak English or
prefer to be taught in Spanish. It is crucial for everyone to be
welcomed into exploring the social media accounts since they will give
way to any new ideas parents would like to explore. This interaction
will also help parents to unite with teachers and understand their
teaching methods.

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TACTIC: Create a permit school hashtag that will symbolize
Rio Vista Elementary.
STRATEGY: Raise awareness of the existence of social media pages
TACTIC: Link school website to social media sites
RATIONALE: The most efficient way to connect the public to the social
pages is by connecting them the school website. The website can
have the small logos displayed on the corner right near the search
section. People will always reference back to the main site in case
they have trouble finding it on their own. The direct links make the
process quicker and easier for everyone. The school website can also
create a small brief detailing the new social media sites and what each
one will offer to the public.
TACTIC: Follow local schools for recognition and collaboration
RATIONALE: The purpose of this tactic is to engage all local schools
within the district. Seeing that the district has implemented the idea of
starting Twitter accounts, it is beneficial to support and brainstorm
ideas to help the education system have a solid foundation. When
collaborating with other schools, the followers too will take interest in
Rio Vista. The effect of this cycle will generate a larger public and
bring awareness to the two social media sites.

EVALUATION & RECOMMENDATIONS

Evaluation
The overall purpose of this campaign is centralized on creating strong
communication amongst parents and Rio Vista staff. Rio Vista is eager
to educate their students with the greats abilities and connect with the
parents a deeper level. Through the courses of workshops and visual
aids, Rio Vista will be able to communicate to its public through a
technological approach. To determine if these challenges were
successful, we must evaluate the tactics and the future outcome of the
campaign.
The first evaluation is set to display the success of the campaign and
see the interest of the social media sites increase by 40%. To measure
the increase of traffic in the sites, there will be weekly updates on how
many followers click to follow the sites. Once the totals are taken from
week, we can total the amount for the month. It is best to measure the
amount of followers within a span of four months. The number of
followers will increase as time proceeds and Rio Vista must effectively
communicate the necessities of the elementary.
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In order to determine the overall awareness of the
campaign, we must improve the amount of traffic that is
directed towards the sites. With the implementation of the flyers and
use of the display board, Rio Vista can use their campus to inform the
parents. By creating more awareness, more parents will be eager to
constantly check both accounts and stay on topic of their childs
education. The social media sites will be heavily promoted throughout
fundraisers and on campus events.
Recommendations
Continue spreading the word of the new social media sites
Use Facebook as an educational tool and family bonding
Twitter can be designed as reminders and simple fun facts
Create an informational seminar for teachers to learn about the
accounts and how to provide links for students
Have the posts and tweets designed in bilingual settings for
equal understanding
Use campus area as a useful resource for bringing awareness of
accounts
Designing bright and engaging flyers to post around campus and
present to parents
Create various workshops for parents to learn about the new
social media pages

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APPENDIX

APPENDIX 1

MEDIA ADVISORY
Rio Vista Elementary will host a Social Media
Information Sessions for Parents
WHAT: Please join the Rio Vista Elementary staff in hosting four descriptive info
sessions for the parents and community in regards of the new social media sites.
The meeting will allow attendees to learn how to check weekly postings and

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communicate with the school on a new dimension. The session will
begin with instructional steps in reaching the social media sites and
will follow with Q&A. There will be four sessions available for
parents who cannot attend one of the times given and presented in bilingual
settings. Please sign up for the information session through your childs teacher.
As an award winning elementary, Rio Vista focuses on the education provided for
their students and their success in their academics. These sites will allow parents
to stay informed with school events, connect to learning websites, and allow twoway communication with the school.
WHO: This meeting will be open to all parents and community.
WHEN: Tuesday January 27, 2015
4 p.m. 5 p.m.
Wednesday January 28, 2015 4 p.m. 5 p.m.
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
4 p.m. 5 p.m.
Wednesday, February 4, 2015 4.pm. 5 p.m.
WHERE: Rio Vista Elementary
8809 Coffman and Pico Road
Pico Rivera, CA 90660
Room 12 Computer Lab
QUESTIONS: For more information on the event, please contact Principal
Cochran through the Rio Vista Website or call (562) 801-5049.
Rio Vista Elementary School Website: http://rve.erusd.org

APPENDIX 2
MEDIA ADVISORY
Rio Vista Elementary will ofer a Social Media
Informational Seminar for all Staf and Faculty
WHAT: Please join Rio Vista Elementary for a social media
seminar. This seminar will provide useful information in
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applying Facebook and Twitter into teaching
assignments and Internet activities.
The workshop will begin with an introduction of the two sites
and have a step-by-step process of how to obtain
information. We will also show you how to insert educational
links of websites and games for students to use in their
comfort of their home. We would like to have our staff to
have an equal opportunity of inputting useful resources for
student growth. We want to offer this opportunity so you
can communicate with parents of the emerging social media
sites.
WHO: We recommend faculty and staff are welcome to
attend the informational seminar.
WHEN: Wednesday, January 7, 2015 3 p.m. 4:15 p.m.
WHERE: Rio Vista Elementary
Room 12, Computer Lab
8809 Coffman-Pico Rd., Pico Rivera, CA 90660
QUESTIONS: For more information on the event, please
contact Principal Cochran at dcochran@erusd.org or (562)
801-5049.

APPENDIX 3

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APPENDIX 4

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APPENDIX 5

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1.
2.
3.
4.

Facebook Shortcuts
BLUE This is the Facebook Homepage
PURPLE Messages can be directly sent to our staff
ORANGE Posts will appear in section of the page
RED You can find albums of photographs taken within the year

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