My name is Tasha Candela and I am the Digital Media Manager for Lake Shore Public Schools. As an alumnus of
Central Michigan University, I have many reasons to be proud of my education. I graduated with a major in Business Teacher Education, minor in English, and vocational certification in business services. I am also a National Board Certified Teacher. I started at Lake Shore in 2007 where I have taught 16 different subjects; My favorites were Web Design and Career Field Experience.
In order to serve you best in this Manager role, I thought it would be helpful to share a reference list of the three key areas in digital presence that I develop, create, and maintain on behalf of the district.
1) Social media presents the opportunity to break down what we do in a way our community can relate to and truly see all of our positives day in, day out.
I am always looking for ways to leverage social media to tell the department's story so people can understand what we do, why we do it, and how our work benefits students. One way I do this is by visiting the people and document their work to fulfill the LSPS mission. Whether it's showing our staff distributing food to our community, interviewing a student about a science experiment, or building ongoing campaigns and managing district events, showing that we are constantly creating meaningful experiences for the betterment of the people in this district and beyond is necessary.
The district uses Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram as their social media platforms.
2) The website is one of the most effective tools a school has to improve communication, engage parents, market its strengths, and build a solid, trusting reputation within its community. It is a one stop shop for information and access to about almost anything.
Located on the district website, you will find quick links, district news, upcoming events, embedded social media, flyer, eNews, and reviews, and quick facts. These are all areas I update and maintain on a regular basis. Last year I completed a website refresh where I spruced it up while leaving the core of the site's functionality intact. The homepage now has fresher content, navigation, illustration, and data visualization.
The website is located at http://lakeshoreschools.org/.
3) Communication is the best way to keep everyone connected and informed about what is going on. In addition to social media and our website, I create an electronic newsletter that is distributed biweekly as a reliable way to communicate with our stakeholders. I am also responsible for sharing messages from district leadership. I work closely with head secretaries in all buildings to manage marquee sign messaging, webpages at the building level, flyers, and advertisements. I also coordinate and collaborate with our incredibly talented Video Productions teacher, Ms. Blaszkowski, to produce district videos!
The district uses SchoolMessenger to communicate across devices and platforms.
4) I plan ongoing campaigns and events on behalf of the district. A list of examples can be found here.
