Waterloo board highlights new communications push and weekly 'Waterl Wednesday' updates

The Waterloo Local Schools Board of Education heard a superintendent report on district communications and endorsed a new weekly video update called "Waterl Wednesday." The superintendent, identified in the transcript as Joe, said a recent communications survey of 176 parents, guardians and residents showed a strong preference for weekly updates and text messaging.

The superintendent told the board the district has rolled out Waterl Wednesday to highlight "the awesome things" happening in schools and to provide a single weekly touchpoint for families. He said the district now operates two YouTube channels — one for board meetings and one for superintendent messages — and invited staff and community members to submit content for the weekly video.

Board members also discussed consolidation of social media accounts, noting the district combined elementary and high school Facebook pages into a single district account and set Instagram to cross-post to Facebook. Board members emphasized the intent is to use social media for positive news and recommended that concerns be handled through the chain of command (teacher, building administrator, superintendent).

The president also mentioned outreach and training opportunities, including a Summit County ESC event on levy strategy and the Ohio School Boards Capital Conference in November, which board members may attend for professional development. The board did not take a formal vote on communication policy changes at this meeting; the matter of meeting/training compensation was listed as a first reading of policy.