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In its “ Top 10 Best School Instagram Accounts ” list , BuzzFeed named Arcadia Unified School District among the top educational accounts , including college , high school and elementary , in the world .
“ I was shocked when I received a message , fittingly on our Instagram page , with a link to the BuzzFeed article ,” said district Chief Communications Officer Ryan Foran , who created the Instagram page nearly five years ago . “ There are so many great schools and universities running very creative Instagram pages with world-class photography ; it was incredibly rewarding to be recognized among them .”
According to the BuzzFeed article , “ The Arcadia Unified School District ’ s Instagram account shows that public school districts can do Instagram well too . Their feed goes to great lengths to demonstrate the wide variety of extracurricular activities offered in the well-regarded California school district .”
The first picture Foran posted on the district Instagram page was of a 9 / 11 tribute that occurred at an all-school assembly at Arcadia High School in 2013 . The photograph showed the student body of
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more than 3,500 linked arm-in-arm while singing the school ’ s alma mater . Since that first post , there are now nearly 4,000 followers to the page which has posted 1,065 times since 2013 . In 2017 alone , there were 103,646 Instagram “ likes ” on 317 posts .
“ We started the Instagram page to better connect with our students . Our Facebook page was and is a terrific outreach to connect with our parents and community , but we thought Instagram would better cater to our students , who comprise the majority of our followers ,” Foran said .
The keys to creating a dynamic Instagram page are consistency and creativity , according to Foran . He said he has plenty of great stories to share and highlight thanks to the plethora of activities , sports , arts and academics that are offered throughout the award-winning and highly rated schools in Arcadia .
The Arcadia Unified Instagram page has averaged more than one post per school day for more than four and a half years . In order to maintain the volume and consistency of pictures posted , the district page uses a team approach .
In addition to Foran , the district ’ s
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Communications Specialist Amber Nuuvali and several students post on the page . Last year , Foran turned over leadership on the Instagram page to the district ’ s Digital Communications Internship students . Arcadia High senior Naomi Silver , who will be studying journalism at Northeastern University in the fall , was the first student trusted with the account as a student manager . Arcadia High junior Katie Wen has been the student manager of the account for the past two semesters .
“ When I first became Instagram manager , I never expected that our district account could make it on a Buzzfeed article ,” Wen said .
Turning over the login credentials to the district ’ s social media accounts is something Foran said was not an easy decision , but one he ’ s glad he made .
“ I think we need to empower students and teach them the proper techniques when it comes to social media , branding and digital citizenship ,” Foran said . “ Some parents want to keep their children off of social media entirely , I want to trust our kids and provide teachable moments . Our students have done a remarkable job , and
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there is no way that we would have received this recognition without their dedicated work .”
Arcadia USD ’ s social media presence goes well beyond its Instagram page . Facebook , Twitter , YouTube , We Chat and Weibo are also a part of its digital presence to help spread the news about the district , and many of those pages are also run in part by student interns . The district ’ s Facebook page has more than 5,500 followers while its Twitter feed has nearly 3,000 followers . There are almost 300 videos on Arcadia ’ s YouTube page . Very impressive numbers , considering the district has less than 10,000 students .
As Buzzfeed alluded to , schools can indeed make a lasting impact via social media . Here is another heart / like / thumbs up to a school district that can be an example for others of how social media can be used as an effective communication and storytelling tool .
The Buzzfeed article can be accessed at www . bit . ly / arcadiabuzzfeed . The Arcadia USD Instagram page can be found at www . instagram . com / arcadiaunified .
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CTC Liaison Doug Gephart filed the following report from the most recent meeting of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing .
Content knowledge requirement for special education teacher candidates
The content knowledge required of special education candidates has varied over time in accordance with the credential structure , authorization statements , and student ages / grades served by holders of the credential . For example , during the Ryan credentials era , special education teachers were required to hold a general education teaching credential prior to earning a special education credential , and thus the content knowledge requirement was satisfied by the preparation for the initial general education teaching credential .
During a meeting earlier this year , the Commission considered two options for candidates to satisfy content knowledge deferred action to the April meeting .
Option 1 : Maintain the current content knowledge requirements . ( Current standard )
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• Same content knowledge requirement as a multiple subject candidate , or
• Single subject candidate in any one of the following content areas : English , Mathematics , Science , Social Studies , Art , Music , Physical Education , and World Languages
Option 2 : Require special education candidates to meet the multiple subject or the single subject content knowledge requirements in a more limited number of content areas .
• Same content knowledge requirement as a multiple subject candidate , or
• Single subject candidate in one of four core academic content areas : English , Mathematics , Science or History / Social Sciences .
During last month ’ s meeting , the Commission considered a third option :
Option 3 : Require all special education candidates to meet the Multiple Subject Content Knowledge .
Upon discussion and reflection , the Commission opted not to change the content knowledge requirement at the present time and continue with the present requirement identified in Option 1 above .
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Credential options addressing teacher shortage
The teacher shortage in California continues to be a major challenge for human resource departments to adequately staff teaching assignments within their schools . To help address the teacher supply deficit , the Commission on Teacher Credentialing has created several options over the past several years to legally address the shortage of teachers that include but are not limited to the following :
• Short Term Staff Permits ( STSP ). A STSP may be requested by an employing agency when there is an acute staffing need . An “ acute staffing need ” exists when an employer needs to fill a classroom immediately based on an unforeseen need . STSPs are restricted to service in the employing agency that requests issuance of the permit , are valid for one school year and are not renewable .
• Provisional Internship Permits ( PIP ).
A PIP may be requested by an employing agency when there is an anticipated staff need . An “ anticipated staffing need ” exists when a district is aware that an opening is going to occur and conducts a diligent search for a credentialed teacher , but is unable to recruit one . PIPs are
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restricted to service within the employing agency that requests issuance of the permit and are issued for one calendar year .
• Teaching Permit for Statutory Leave ( TPSL Substitute Option ).
The CTC developed the Teaching Permit for Statutory Leave ( TPSL ) to address the teacher shortage . The TPSL allows an employing agency to fill a position where the teacher of record is unable to teach due to a statutory leave ( medical or otherwise ) with a temporary teacher of record for the duration of the leave . TPSL may be issued with one or more authorizations in the areas of Multiple Subject , Single Subject , and Education Specialist , depending on the individual ’ s qualifications . The permit is renewable upon verification from the employing agency that specific requirements have been completed .
• Variable Term Waivers . Waivers are the final option for public school employers within the hiring priority . Variable Term Waivers give the employer the ability to meet staffing needs when a suitable fully qualified credentialed employee cannot be found . Employing agencies must complete a diligent search for a suit-
See CTC , page 3
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