Working Smarter Through E-mail.

Never before have so many technologies been available to help meet the competitive challenges of the next millennium. Already we can see the 21st century will be a thrill ride for electronic messaging. Just as electronic messaging is changing the way private-sector businesses interact with customers, the same holds true in public education.

The savvy superintendent knows effective and timely communication is important; electronic messaging is one tool that can help get the job done.

Electronic messaging, also known as email, can re-energize communications with all stakeholders by providing greater connectivity within and among schools and school personnel, by enhancing the delivery of goods and services, by reducing confusion, by connecting to parents and community leaders and by extending the instructional reach of schools.

Connecting Professionals

E-mail can provide teachers with the ability to share ideas, identify resources and move critical information about student performance from teacher to teacher and school to school. We are discovering the capacity to connect with other teachers in a school or with staff in other schools brings teachers in closer contact with colleagues.

In larger school systems this capacity may alleviate concerns about disconnectedness and isolation that teachers may feel. When teachers can communicate, they feel connected and part of a team working toward a common goal.

Communications via e-mail among teachers within a building or between schools can reduce redundancy in how they articulate the curriculum in their day-to-day work.

Delivering Services

Electronic documents can be created from most e-mail software. These customized documents can be used to enhance the delivery of goods and services.

In our district, when maintenance is needed in a classroom, a request form can be easily completed electronically and sent via e-mail to the appropriate school official. What previously required days to make it through a labyrinth of offices now finds its mark in seconds, along with a document trail. We encourage maintenance personnel to issue a quick acknowledgement of receipt.

Other uses of electronic forms include orders for school supplies and textbooks and for handling school media needs, such as teacher requests for books, videos and other equipment for instructional purposes. The technology can be customized to fit the need.

Reducing Confusion

With the ability to communicate instantly with faculty and staff through email, district administrators can reduce confusion significantly.

For example, when inclement weather approaches, e-mail may be used to keep school personnel abreast of school closing decisions and appropriate procedures. This keeps all personnel focused and on task, reducing the risk of incorrect information being given to faculty, staff, parents and the news media. From my view, getting the correct information to employees and letting them know you are concerned and care about them provides authentic leadership.

E-mail also has proven valuable for distributing information about untimely and late-breaking changes in school and district events.

Connecting Citizens

Community leaders are an important link to most school districts. These leaders may derive their roles from business partnerships or they may be elected officials. Others are simply recognized as voices of reason and leadership in a community.

These individuals typically appreciate being in the school system's communication loop and e-mail is an excellent tool for keeping them informed. These individuals have unique observations to share on issues confronting a school district. Giving them access to accurate information, along with the chance to contribute their views, provides the superintendent access to the thinking of community leaders.

With a growing number of parents online, teachers should encourage the use of e-mail as the preferred communications tool. The district can encourage this by providing business cards for teachers, listing their school e-mail address.

Extending Instruction

E-mail also enables our teachers to extend their instructional reach by connecting them and their students to universities anywhere in the world.

Collaboration via e-mail between educators, students and university professors can lead to sharing of ideas, reviewing of projects and the access of specialized knowledge.

Our district believes so strongly in this potential that we recently approved the purchase of 640 high-end Dell Inspiron 3700 laptop computers for all teachers and certified staff at a cost of $1.4 million.

Other Uses

Electronic mail has an array of practical uses for the imaginative central office.

Our district has reduced its public relations printing costs by using e-mail for employee newsletters. We send employees a brief report of decisions made by the board of education via e-mail within hours of a meeting's conclusion. This allows us to accurately report the facts to school system personnel and explain positions taken by the board and/or administration.

Board members, too, need to be kept informed of issues that affect the school district. Sometimes these issues arise suddenly and then move rapidly through the public, forcing superintendents to move decisively. E-mail enables board members and the superintendent to speak with one voice on such occasions.

If your board members do not have access to e-mail, the school system might provide them with such technology.

Harold Barnett is superintendent of the Marietta City Schools, 250 Howard St., Marietta, Ga. 30060.