Brick School Board, District Work To Expand Communication

BRICK, NJ — In the age of social media, where bits of information fly faster that you can read even one letter — both good and bad — the Brick Township School District has been one of the outliers.

No Facebook page. No Instagram. Just a website and a YouTube channel where it posts replays of Board of Education meetings.

As of last week, the Brick schools have begun to join the social media world, albeit with trepidation: a Twitter account was opened for acting Superintendent Dennis Filippone.

"This is a scary one for me but I'm getting used to it," Filippone said. The goal, he said, is to give the public greater access to what the district and the board are doing.

"We're embarking on that course tonight," Filippone said, addressing the livestreaming of the meeting on YouTube. Meetings that are livestreamed are then available as soon as the livestream ends, meaning the replay of the meeting is readily accessible to anyone with a computer. You do not need a YouTube account to watch the video. (Thursday's video is at the bottom of this article.)

"It's important for people who can't get to meetings to be able to see them in real time," Filippone said.

In response to questions from residents George Scott and Victor Fanelli about the broadcasts on BTV, the Brick Township local channel on Comcast that provides township announcements and replays of meetings, Filippone said he would speak with township officials to find out why school board meetings have not been on the channel in several months. Scott and Fanelli noted many of the township's senior citizens rely on BTV to see the meetings.

Filippone said that in addition to the Twitter account and the livesyreaming, the district's tech staff is looking into what other districts are doing with Facebook, with the possibility of creating one for the Brick school district.

It's no secret that social media gives school district administrators the heebie-jeebies; SnapChat and Instagram and Twitter and Kik and countless other apps are a continual source of the cyberbullying that causes so much conflict among students that spills into schools daily.

What some districts have found, however, is social media can be a useful tool for spreading good news about a school district, or even for spreading routine messages like snow closures.

Of the districts surrounding Brick Township, Toms River Regional has Facebook and Instagram accounts but no official Twitter account. The Facebook account primarily is used to promote items on the district's website, including good news about students or programs. In Howell, the K-8 district has a Twitter account as do each of its schools. The Freehold Regional High School District has Twitter accounts for its superintendent and each high school, along with accounts for athletic programs. That district also has a Facebook page that is used to promote website content, including good news about students or programs. Manchester Township has both Facebook and Twitter and makes he . However, Jackson has only a YouTube channel for broadcasting meetings and Lakewood does not use social media channels at all but relies on its website.

Filippone said it's not just about social media, however. The district's website is being updated with lists of the various Board of Education committees and which board members sit on them, along with a list of the district's professionals.

Filippone and Board President Stephanie Wohlrab said the district also is working on putting a link on its website where residents and parents can submit questions and get answers.

Photo via Brick Township School District board meeting YouTube video