Really, We Wrote a Book

If you told me a year ago that at this point I would have co-authored a book with Joe Sanfelippo on the importance of school branding and telling your school story, I would have two reactions... I would have laughed out loud (LOL) and I would have asked, "Who the heck is Joe Sanfelippo?" Seriously... who is this Joe guy? Just kidding... everyone knows that he is the #GoCricket guy!

Truth is, although Joe was a member of my PLN at the time, I wouldn't have considered him a member of my inner circle at that time. We periodically exchanged tweets and participated in the same chats every so often but we never really connected beyond those 140 characters. Then, out of the blue, he sent me a message on Twitter and we exchanged phone numbers and started talking. He was preparing for a trip out east last fall (he and his family came to NY) and was planning on attending #EdCampNJ, which I was going to attend too. Through this connection and the few interactions that followed, we were ready to collaborate on something new and exciting - we decided to do a session together at #EdCampNJ on Telling Your School Story/Branding Your School. 

That is when everything changed - Joe went from a random member of my "outer PLN" (there is a future piece coming about how the PLN is stratified based on my research) to someone who has become like a brother from another mother! Joe is a colleague who I respect tremendously and learn from each day. As a result of that session in Jersey, we connected with the moderators from #edtechchat (Thank you Tom, Sharon and crew) and they gave us the platform to build on this session and on the next day continue the conversation through a well attended Twitter chat. We were suddenly giving voice to the Power Of Branding across the country and educators from every corner of the nation were talking about branding and the importance of telling the school story. People were buzzing about telling their story before someone else tells it for them and thus, the power of branding was born!

Now, how did this connection and experience turn into a book you ask? Well, the awesome, amazing and brilliant Peter DeWitt had the idea for a series of books (he is working with Corwin) based on the experiences of Connected Educators and he wanted us to be part of that series. Needless to say, we were shocked, honored and excited to be included in this group! We said YES without even reading a contract or considering the expectations and demands of writing a book or even really thinking about what we would write in the actual book... we just said YES! Well, a google doc, a few text messages, phone calls and months later, our book was done! Check out the cover...

So, if you are an educator you NEED to consider your brand... whether you are in the classroom or running or school or leading a district, you NEED to consider your brand! What do you stand for? What do you believe in? Does the brand promise you are making to the community match the brand experience? If you are not sure or have not considered these questions the time is NOW!! Read our book (you can click HERE to pre-order your copy) and get ready to BRAND YOUR SPACE and TELL YOUR STORY!!