Many Authors.
One Masterpiece.
Apptegy uniquely enables shared storytelling across a district by empowering all staff members to share positive moments within the district outward to the school community. This approach values first-hand experiences and fosters a culture where many voices can share the masterpiece that is their district's collective story.
If you’ve ever said, “If we don’t tell our story, someone else will” this is the answer.
From One Voice to Many
Saginaw ISD launched Our Story™ in 2022, developing a concept of Collective Authorship, which has since been trademarked and expanded to both small and large districts.
"Without a story, our communities don't understand who we are. When we don't capture the story, we aren't sharing the joy and inspiration of what happens in the classroom every day."
Why Shared Storytelling?
Shared storytelling reimagines school marketing by shifting from a singular, top-down narrative to a decentralized model where every staff member contributes to the district's story with their own voice.
Increased Visibility and Engagement
When more individuals are contributing stories, the district can saturate its narrative across multiple platforms, making the amazing things happening in schools more visible to the community, prospective families, and potential staff.
Strategic Alignment
With shared storytelling, individual stories are connected to broader district goals, such as student enrollment and achievement, family engagement, and staff recruitment and retention, demonstrating the impact of daily efforts on the overall mission.
Authentic Storytelling
Instead of a singular, controlled message, Apptegy allows for a multitude of first-hand stories to be shared, creating a more genuine and relatable portrayal of the district.
Enhanced Culture and Climate
Instead of burdening staff with a form to fill out, staff participate in sharing their story out directly (with moderation) to their school, district, and into entire community. This improves a sense of ownership, belonging, and engagement that reshapes organizational culture.
Overcome Barriers
By providing easy-to-use tools and a supportive environment, Apptegy can help your district and schools overcome common barriers to storytelling, such as lack of time or discomfort with technology, making it simple for everyone to contribute.
Why Shared Storytelling?
Shared storytelling reimagines school marketing by shifting from a singular, top-down narrative to a decentralized model where every staff member contributes to the district's story with their own voice.
Authentic Storytelling
Instead of a singular, controlled message, Apptegy allows for a multitude of first-hand stories to be shared, creating a more genuine and relatable portrayal of the district.
Increased Visibility and Engagement
When more individuals are contributing stories, the district can saturate its narrative across multiple platforms, making the amazing things happening in schools more visible to the community, prospective families, and potential staff.
Enhanced Culture and Climate
Instead of burdening staff with a form to fill out, staff participate in sharing their story out directly (with moderation) to their school, district, and into entire community. This improves a sense of ownership, belonging, and engagement that reshapes organizational culture.
Strategic Alignment
With shared storytelling, individual stories are connected to broader district goals, such as student enrollment and achievement, family engagement, and staff recruitment and retention, demonstrating the impact of daily efforts on the overall mission.
Overcome Barriers
By providing easy-to-use tools and a supportive environment, Apptegy can help your district and schools overcome common barriers to storytelling, such as lack of time or discomfort with technology, making it simple for everyone to contribute.
FAQs for Leaders
For school leaders, particularly superintendents and communications directors, shared storytelling offers a powerful strategy to build a reputable district brand.
By rethinking how schools communicate, superintendents canlead a culture of agency and achievement, recognizing and amplifying the remarkable work already being done.
For communications directors, shared storytelling amplifies their work and helps share the burden of a difficult job. It significantly increases the volume and authenticity of content, allowing a shift from being reactive to being proactive and supportive —not overwhelmed.
Traditional storytelling often involves a singular, controlled narrative. With Apptegy's platform many individuals across a district or organization can share their unique, authentic experiences. It shifts the focus from marketing initiatives to a positive dialogue of the incredible work taking place, built on first-hand experiences and trust.
Give voice to the amazing moments
Giving voice to the teachers, staff, and leaders throughout your district offers an opportunity to show your broader community all the incredible moments that happen in a week.
Give voice to the amazing moments
Giving voice to the teachers, staff, and leaders throughout your district offers an opportunity to show your broader community all the incredible moments that happen in a week.
Who's Telling Your Story?
In so many districts all over the country there are, paradoxically, too many good stories to tell and not enough stories to share. Does that sound like your district, too? It’s no wonder: Your comms team can’t bend time and space to cover every single outstanding moment happening in every school every day. But have you considered asking your teachers to help?
What if & Why Not?
Leading a small district like Au Gres-Sims and leading Saginaw ISD are vastly different experiences, to say the least. But in both circumstances, Dr. Jeffrey Collier has prioritized acting as a servant leader. That means constructing an organizational identity that includes and empowers those around him.
SchoolCEO Podcast: Collective Authorship
This episode is a look inside how to grow a reputable district brand. While storytelling is often preached about, Saginaw ISD is actively telling its story with the help of hundreds of voices within the district.
In this episode, you'll learn:
How can you share different perspectives across your district?
How do you get teachers and staff to be your district’s ambassadors?
Can storytelling impact your district's culture?
Is culture more important than tools and tactics?
How can you make your district’s strengths more visible?
Brand Ambassadors
Over the course of a year, Lynette White developed 10 modules to train Santa Ana employees. Crucially, the very first module became brand training—showing trainees how to align their storytelling to the district’s vision, mission and values. Additional lessons ranged from how to use the most popular social media platforms to capturing high-quality photos and video to creating content calendars to using Canva.
Learn how to:
Teachers and staff who choose to become brand ambassadors have a lot to gain
Find or develop a course to train interested employees how to tell stories that align with your brand
Have a brand cheat sheet and a technical FAQ ready for brand ambassadors to help them as they go