Schools move news online to cut paper usage

A recent edition of Island Lake Elementary's Wolf Call took on the job of predicting its own demise.

Starting in the fall, the Shoreview school's biweekly newsletter will go almost exclusively online. Families that don't have Internet access can get hard copies in the office.

Other schools and districts have tried, in varying ways, to reduce the amount of paper shuffling. Experts call the move to use less paper the vanguard of the future, while warning that a narrower communication focus might leave some families behind.

At Island Lake, the change is meant to advance a more earth-friendly campaign at the school, but it originated in a budget committee of parents, teachers and administrators. The move is expected to save the school a little more than $100 next year.

"It's a combination of using our resources wisely and wisely using our resources," said Stacey Jo Volna, a fifth-grade teacher and member of the operations/budget committee at Island Lake.

"The green thing played into it, as well as the cost, as well as effectively communicating with our parent population."

Other schools and school districts have been examining their communication tools, said Bill Morris, president of Decision Resources Ltd., a polling group that specializes in gathering information for school districts and municipalities.

"There seems to be a move more and more toward the electronic, rather than the old printed newsletter, but the printed newsletter still dominates all their sources of information," he said, adding that hard copies are still most effective in reaching out to non-parent community members. "Parents are more and more getting used to going up on the computer to monitor their children's progress."

Still, the saturation rate will depend on the school or district's location and demographics. And pockets in one district might be more or less tech-savvy than others.

"If they've worked with their parents, so they're fairly certain that most parents have access either at the library or the coffee shop or at home and parents are OK with it, I think they're in the vanguard of the future," he said. "They may find, however, that some parents are disenfranchised."

Tracking parent connections

Island Lake plans a paper newsletter first thing in the fall that will provide parents with information on how to sign up for the electronic newsletter, Principal Michele Brouse said. The school will check in with families that don't sign up to see if they need help getting into the system, or to arrange for a hard copy.

Volna said she already has access to e-mail to communicate with 29 of her 31 students.

"For day-to-day contact, e-mail is just so slick," she said.

At Lake Harriet School in Minneapolis, parents have had options for how to receive the Connection for the past two years, said interim Principal Hank Taxis.

Parents still can opt for a hard copy, can receive e-mailed "blasts" with the week's highlights, and can go to the school's website to see the newsletter in its entirety.

"What I think has worked for Lake Harriet has been having so many options," said Connection editor Claudia Miller, parent of two Lake Harriet students. "It's been a really nice transition. Maybe ultimately we go paperless, but now it gives everyone something that works for their style or what they have at home."

That kind of flexibility is vital, said Rosie Loeffler-Kemp, president of the Minnesota PTA.

In some families, the backpack-borne paper newsletter is most likely to be read; in others, it's better to bypass the student and send it directly to parents via mail, e-mail or targeted websites, she said. Whatever the way, parents need to be able to look for regular communication from the school.

Parents accustomed to checking backpacks and Friday folders may just need to be trained to expect electronic communication, Morris said: "For parents, that is going to be the future, although it isn't going to roll out as evenly in some areas as other areas."

Still, Morris said, schools may be trading one resource drain for another. E-mail and even telephone broadcasts require someone to constantly update contact information and post information on a listserv (electronic mailing list) or the Web.

Island Lake plans to have the office staff take up the slack. At Lake Harriet, 18 parents work on a communication team, which includes putting out the Connection.

"What they're trying to do is substitute a money-intensive type of thing with a staff-intensive type of thing," Morris said.

Maria Elena Baca • 612-673-4409