As a school communicator who has been in my role for almost three years, I have worked strategically to reshape my day-to-day contributions to the district. One way I gain insight and ideas for initiatives to help strengthen our district’s communications is through professional organizations like NSPRA. As a one-person department in a rural district like Watauga County (N.C.) Schools, access to NSPRA’s research and tools has been especially valuable. Our “Student Voices” initiative, for example, was developed using insights from the 2025 national report published by NSPRA and SchoolStatus, Elevating Student Voice in School Communications: A Data-Informed Look at Emerging Practices in School PR, which sparked new thinking about how we could further elevate student perspectives in our own district.

Watauga County Schools introduced the “Student Voices” initiative to the community, building early awareness and momentum as the work began to take shape.

As I began exploring what that could look like, I worked with our superintendent, high school principal and several staff members to map out an approach. Together, we focused on how to create more opportunities for students across the district to contribute content that reflects their experiences, interests and voices. From there, the “Student Voices” initiative took form, with a goal of not only elevating student voices, but also allowing students to explore interests and skills that will benefit them beyond their K-12 experience. While the full structure was still taking shape, I knew it was important to begin and build intentionally over time. Introducing the initiative early helped generate interest and allowed me to begin developing the structure alongside students and staff. At its core, the initiative engages students in creating photos, videos and stories that are shared across district communication channels, ensuring student perspectives are regularly reflected in district storytelling. 

This year, I have focused on building a strong foundation for the work, with the goal of expanding and more fully implementing the initiative district-wide in the 2026–2027 school year.

To begin putting that foundation into practice, I started by connecting with faculty at our eight K-8 schools, as well as at the high school, to identify educators who are advisors to student groups and classes that are already doing work that aligns with the content I want created and shared at the district level. I'm currently working with four of our smaller, more rural K-8 schools, with plans to expand district-wide. Starting with these schools was intentional, as they are often under-represented in communications due to their smaller size and location in the county. Equity is important to me as a school communicator, and from the beginning, I knew I would create this project to be district-wide because of differences in representation across our larger and smaller schools. 

How Students Are Contributing

The staff members I'm working with oversee the student council or teach middle school classes. I would like to eventually involve elementary-age students, but I am currently working with students in grades 6-12 with assistance from their teachers, helping to guide them as they take on meaningful roles in telling the story of their schools, including:

• Sharing student-created content at the district level. I regularly feature content from high school students in student council, DECA, and journalism/yearbook on our district Facebook account.

• Supporting student-led coverage of district leadership. We are fortunate in our district to have two student representatives (junior and senior) on our Board of Education. They created their own Instagram account, which I supervise, and are publishing Board of Education recaps as short videos. They have been wonderful to work with and take pride in representing their peers. This will be an account that is passed on each school year for student representatives to manage. 

• Partnering with classroom programs to build content skills. One of the schools I am working with already has a dedicated class called “Content Creators” with 6th- and 8th-grade students enrolled. I visited the 6th-grade class and had great conversations with them about what they are interested in and how they want to be involved, using skills they are already learning in their class. When developing project ideas, I have been intentional in ensuring they align with curriculum standards while enhancing and applying students’ knowledge.

• Coaching students through content creation and storytelling. Student Council members at three K-8 schools are using digital cameras to capture photos and conduct video interviews, and the other K-8 school uses iPads. This school year, like many other districts, we have implemented a cell phone policy for students. This initiative gives them an opportunity to learn to use digital cameras, which they may not have previously experienced using. I suggested that they focus on short interview videos as their first project because it allows the students to practice different roles based on their comfort levels and interests. Students collaborate to develop interview questions, with roles divided among filming, on-camera participation, and editing. In some cases, I assist with editing and provide targeted feedback based on the software they are using. I also plan to visit schools to offer mini-lessons and hands-on support as they continue developing their projects.

Learning as We Go

Allowing students the freedom to create their own work and send it to me to share has empowered them and let me evaluate what equipment or skills they may need to improve their work over time. There has been some camera shake in videos, or the volume has been too low. So far, I have ordered SD card readers for the schools that use digital cameras to transfer what they capture to their computers. I also ordered lapel microphones, podcast microphones and tripods to improve stability and sound quality. One of the schools has middle school students working with their classroom teacher to produce a monthly news program, and I ordered them a green screen and a ring light to support their professional setup. 

Expansion and Next Steps

As this work continues to take shape, I applied for a classroom grant through our Education Foundation to officially kick off this initiative district-wide in August 2026 for the 2026-2027 school year, which I am excited to more widely launch. The grant will provide similar supplies, which will be housed at the central office and loaned to schools to support project implementation.

This next phase will build on what we’ve learned during this initial year, expanding opportunities for students across all schools to contribute and refining the structures and supports needed to sustain the work over time.

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned through this process is to start small and be intentional. While this work can feel overwhelming at first, taking that initial step creates momentum. You will be pleasantly surprised and excited to realize that students and staff are ready to be on board, but may just need a little guidance and support to get started. By building this foundation and continuing to grow it over time, I believe initiatives like this can help bridge the gap between students, central office administrators and the community while working together on something that really matters and makes a difference. 

Looking for more insights like these? NSPRA’s research reports offer data-informed strategies, tools and examples to support school communication efforts.