Secrets of Reputation Management for Educators: A Field Guide for Protecting Your Academic Reputation Online

It’s every school administrator’s nightmare: a staff member, teacher, custodian, student or even parent of a student posts something online that damages the school’s reputation and, by proxy, your own.

Your reputation is your most precious asset, the one you spent countless years developing with education, dedication to the students and the school.

The fact is, every person has an online reputation. Just like any other kind of reputation, how we present ourselves online creates a kind of perception – either conscious or subconsciously. Whether it’s our personal social media accounts, such as Facebook or Twitter, or our professional ones, such as Linkedin, we create what is known as an online “footprint” that is unique to us.

As school administrators, we are essentially “ambassadors” for our schools, our staff, our teachers, our students, our parents and our district. Whether or not you realize it, your profession propels you online similar to a public figure. You are held to a higher standard as a leader of the young. Therefore, what our online footprints look like is extremely important. Not just to us, but a whole lot of other people as well.