The New Jersey School Boards Association marked an impressive achievement Nov. 4 in presenting its 100th Facebook Live episode since the COVID-19 pandemic washed over the globe.
In a concerted effort to increase membership outreach, training and vital information, the NJSBA launched a weekly — sometimes, up to three times a week — online series of informative sessions to compensate for the lack of in-person programming available at that time.
Now, 20 months later and after a monumental 100,000 views, the Association continues the online series as a supplement to its multitude of services available to members.
“We have served so many board members and others within the education community in a variety of creative ways. These NJSBA Facebook Live sessions have unexpectedly become a remarkable service that we continue to offer using a free online communication tool showcasing collaboration, partnerships and important industry information to the New Jersey K-12 public education community,” said NJSBA Executive Director Dr. Lawrence S. Feinsod. “It is one of the silver linings that have come out of the COVID-19 world that forced so many of us to work from home and come up with new ways of connecting with each other.”
Michael Kvidahl, NJSBA manager of digital communications and marketing, who hosts the Facebook Live programming, recalls anxiously setting up a makeshift studio in his living room back in March 2020. Like the millions of people who have had to work from home, he has had to shift his home “office” space multiple times from a nursery in-the-making, to the actual baby’s room, to an upstairs bedroom that became too stuffy during summer months, now to his basement.
“I wanted to do this for so long and I remember once the pandemic hit, Dr. Feinsod asked me, ‘What can we do?’ And, I thought about doing this,” Kvidahl said.
He added that he likes to think of the NJSBA Facebook Live programming as “real-time type of sessions where members could attend from anywhere on their smartphones, tablets and computers, and ask questions and leave comments for content experts” in a variety of fields. The sessions also are recorded and can be viewed on demand via NJSBA’s Facebook page.
NJSBA is open to ideas for upcoming Facebook Live sessions and would like to connect with experts interested in sharing their knowledge on the public platform. Contact Michael Kvidahl for consideration.
Check out some of the most popular NJSBA Facebook Live sessions:
- Celebrate International SEL Day: March 27, 2020.
- NJSBA I-Steam and Sustainability Lessons, with John Henry: April 8, 2020.
- Announcing the “Future” of FRS-NJ: Sustainable Jersey Digital Schools, June 2, 2020.
- The Road Back to School: A Conversation about Equity: July 9, 2020.
- A Conversation with ARTSEDNJ: Feb. 10, 2021.
- Governor’s Educator of the Year Program: Jan. 28, 2021.
- Sustainability Principles in a School District: March 31, 2021.