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Now that you have your school email address and signature set up, here are a few important reminders on etiquette. The expectation is that all communication is responded to within 24 hours.

Email:

  • Remember that your email correspondence is a reflection upon you and our school
  • Student first names should not be written out in their entirety in the subject or body of an email. When addressing a student via email, please use their first initial only. Some parents might find this impersonal. Please explain that it is to maintain their privacy and safety.
  • When communicating with other departments regarding a student, please use their first initial, last name, and District ID to ensure the department is supporting the correct student.
  • Please be professional in your email correspondence with staff, departments, students and families by using a greeting (Dear xxx or Good Morning)
  • Use appropriate language (refrain from using text shorthand in emails)
    • Refrain from over-punctuation
    • Use of ‘Reply All’
      • DO NOT use ‘reply all’ to emails sent to All Staff (staff@pacificcoastacademy.org) such as ‘Welcome’ or ‘Congratulations’ emails. Instead, reply only to the person being welcomed or congratulated
      • DO use the ‘reply all’ feature in all other cases so no one is cut out of the loop
    • Be careful about forwarding information that includes long threads. Often times, the person receiving the forwarded information does not need to see all threaded responses.
  • Emails are documents that can be requested for legal review and shared with all parties

Phone:

  • All work communication (calls and texts) should be conducted using your Zoom phone number.
  • It is very important that the number you are using for work is monitored/answered by you only.
  • When answering the phone let the families know they’ve reached you
    • ‘Hello, this is’….. or ‘Thank you for calling’.
  • Record a professional voicemail
    • Sample message:
      • Hello, you have reached ___________, teacher with Pacific Coast Academy. I am either supporting a student or away from my desk. Please leave a detailed message and I will return your call within 24 business hours. Thank you and have a great day!

Social Media:

  • Please send all posts and fliers to your director for approval prior to posting on social media or printing.
  • It is very important that as a school we have consistent and clear messaging. We need to maintain professionalism at all times when responding to posts as a Pacific Coast Academy employee.
  • Maintaining a professional tone and response is expected.
  • Please DO NOT under any circumstances provide information on our program that is false as that is a misrepresentation and can result in negative consequences.
  • All information needs to be 100% accurate.
  • If ever in doubt, please seek the answer directly from your director before posting a response.
  • As school employees, we need to be advocates of accuracy and ensure accuracy 100% of the time

Key Words: Communication, Social Media, Phone