“Meet them where they live” is an adage that Jeff Erickson, principal of Minnetonka High School, subscribes to—140 characters at a time, connecting with students in the Twittersphere. The administrator creates “an avenue to connect with students and build a school culture,” he says, by communicating through Twitter. “It’s been a phenomenal tool,” Erickson says.
While it’s not unusual for students to rub shoulders with Erickson in the hallways, he says there’s value in reaching the student body in other ways. “It’s important to me that students know I’m approachable,” he says. Erickson uses Twitter to make school announcements, showcase MHS clubs, organizations and teams (especially those that sit just outside the limelight), touch base with students on college visits, and maintain relationships with graduates.
“I do think Mr. Erickson’s tweets have an impact on our school culture, because he aims to include every club, every group and every individual,” says Gigi Anderson, a senior at MHS. “By doing this, he sets an example of unification and provides an opportunity for all students to feel connected to the happenings around the school. People get so excited when their clubs or their personal achievements get featured on his Twitter feed because it means the whole school can see it and be excited with them.”
Mollie Pohlad, a 2015 MHS graduate, watched Erickson’s efforts evolve over his three-year tenure at the helm of the school. “While I was a student, I experienced the start of [his] time as principal and saw how his use of Twitter began,” she says. “It got more people talking about events and made people excited to tell Principal Erickson what was going on for their club or sport.”
Erickson has hosted Twitter town hall meetings to get a feel for how alumni are faring and glean their perspective on MHS. “It was a powerful event to simply connect,” Erickson says of the last town hall event. “For [graduates], it was really a natural way to communicate.”
The process allows for a two-way flow of information. “Principal Erickson tweeted at me, asking how my time at the University of Denver was, and we had a conversation talking about the great ways Minnetonka prepared me for my classes and how it’s really helped make my time at Denver great,” Pohlad says. The session also fortified the MHS community that Erickson is so intent on building and maintaining. “It was a great way not only for alumni like me to connect back with Principal Erickson, but for all of us to hear from each other and see how our classmates are doing,” Pohlad adds.
Of Erickson’s more than 6,400 followers, some are parents. “If they want to know what’s going on in the high school, they can find out in real time,” Erickson says. It also gives parents a taste of the school’s culture. “We have an evolved community, and they want to know what’s going on in the high school,” he says.
When Erickson has more to say, he enlists YouTube to get his message across with “Beyond 140,” referring to Twitter’s character limit. He uses the video-sharing website to highlight a host of topics: featuring seniors, welcoming freshmen, reminding students to “do the right thing,” and once going undercover as a food server in the MHS food service program. He’s even tried to out-spoof Airplane!, the movie some consider the quintessential disaster film spoof.
The videos and Twitter give Erickson opportunities to blend humor and communication, two important methods he uses to reach his tech-savvy audience. “He is sociable and clever, and all MHS students get to see that side of him from his efforts on social media, and I greatly appreciate that about him,” says Elliot Syverson, an MHS senior.
“Jeff is a humorous man in general and definitely uses it to his advantage,” Pohlad says. “Humor gets his messages out, which some students might otherwise not pay attention to. Mr. Erickson will reciprocate students’ humor and make sure everyone feels included on Twitter.”
Inclusion is part of the bedrock of creating a healthy high school environment, and students appreciate Erickson’s efforts. “I am really grateful for Mr. Erickson’s willingness to reach into the world of his students in order to best communicate and relate with them,” Anderson says. “I think Mr. Erickson’s Twitter has connected him on a level that makes students feel like they have a voice to tell him what they need or what’s going in their school. He’s not a principal who exercises a one-sided form of leadership over the students, but rather one who immerses himself into the world of the students to best serve them.”
Tweets from Jeff Erickson, Minnetonka High School principal
- A RECORD 23 seniors signed their National Letters of Intent today! Congrats to this impressive group!
- Enjoy the extra sleep tomorrow, Tonka. Remember it is a LATE start. See you @ 10. Welcome back!
- Tonka, take a look at the advice fr Classes 14/15 from our Twitter town hall. Graduates: thank you! It was amazing.
- Today I was the client for Vantage Graphic & Product Design Course team sharing ideas on how to market @TonkaVantage.
- Today: Class of ’19 met in small groups w/ First Mates to share highlights of Q1 & goals for the rest of the yr!
(Students Sam Peters, Peter Pfankuch and Carly Lietzke (at left) and Lewis Freese (far right) share a laugh over their smartphones with principal Jeff Erickson.)
Connect with MHS principal Jeff Erickson @tonkaprincipal.
