Creating an Effective & Engaging Staff Newsletter

Wisconsin Principal Matt Renwick shares four ways he improved his newsletter and increased readership.

The following is excerpted with permission from Marshall Memo #979 (March 27, 2023).

In this Read by Example article, Wisconsin principal Matt Renwick says that when he first started publishing a staff newsletter, it was “basically a long e-mail in print format” – a list of upcoming events that wasn’t inspiring or visually appealing. Sensing that it was being read by only a few colleagues, Renwick made several improvements:

• Making it visually appealing and accessible – Renwick sends the newsletter as an e-mail (one click), uses white space and formatting for easy readability, and keeps reading time to an absolute minimum.
• Starting with an image that captures the school’s purpose and spirit – He often uses a photo he’s taken in a classroom or activity (after getting permission from students and staff involved) – something funny, charming, or affirming of good instructional practices. He keeps track of who is recognized in the newsletter to make sure everyone is celebrated at some point.
• Leading with an anecdote or story – Renwick describes an experience that showed him in a learning-curve moment – for example, how a conversation with a teacher clarified an inaccurate assumption he’d made while visiting a classroom. “When I position myself as a learner and mistake-maker,” he says, “it gives everyone permission to do the same… When I am vulnerable as a leader, I am perceived as more approachable, which helps me build trust with faculty.”
• Providing a brief list of staff updates – The middle part of each newsletter is a bullet-point list of school activities, events, and projects. Colleagues read this section because they know that important information about meetings, PD, calendar items, and deadlines will be in one place.
• Highlighting professional reading, listening, and viewing – Renwick suggests articles, books, podcasts, or videos that he believes will be worthwhile for colleagues to check out, condensing longer articles to a few key takeaways.

[From my years writing a newsletter as principal of the Mather School in Boston, some additional ideas: noting student and staff birthdays; a calendar event from Chase’s Calendar of Events (for example, March 27th is the birthday of Mariah Carey and the birth anniversary of Sarah Vaughan); floating an idea for staff reactions; a cartoon; and raffling a desirable item (we occasionally had four Red Sox tickets from our corporate partner).  K.M.]

“How to Write a Weekly Staff Newsletter That At Least 80% of Teachers Will Read” by Matt Renwick in Read by Example, March 25, 2023