The Hall County School District already uses Twitter to share information with parents, teachers and others who are interested in what's happening in the system. As of this week, the district will launch a Facebook page to reach an audience that Director of Community Relations Stan Lewis says is being overlooked.
"We just feel like there are a number of stakeholders in our community who are not using Twitter," Lewis said. "When I think about the grandparents and a lot of other folks, Twitter is a foreign social media platform for them. They're more comfortable with Facebook, and we felt like this was a way to reach those people and get our message out."
Lewis said he understood misgivings expressed by School Board Chairman Nath Morris and Board Member Sam Chapman, who said prior to a vote to approve the idea, they were concerned about people who might post complaints or rumors or other incorrect information on the site.
"I feel the good outweighs the bad, but let me be clear that this is not going to be an opportunity for us to go back and forth with folks. If anybody wants any information from the Hall County School District or they have a question, they shouldn't go to Facebook. They should call the Hall County School District," Lewis said.
Lewis said some individual schools have Facebook pages, but a district page will allow the school system to showcase good news about Hall County Schools in one place.
"[We'll be] spotlighting teachers that are doing an outstanding job, certainly recognizing students who have achieved success in the classroom, in fine arts or in the realm of athletics...there's always National School Nurse Week, Bus Driver Week," Lewis said.
Lewis said the new page should be ready to launch before the end of the week.
District launches fine arts website
In addition to adding a new social media platform to its information offerings, the Hall County School District on Monday night also announced a new website especially for fine arts events.
The new site is designed to more effectively promote programs from stage plays to band concerts. It allows users to locate events at all seven high schools in the district. The site does not allow for ticket reservations or purchases. The new site is live as of Tuesday, Sept. 10.
