As a school or district leader, your role goes far beyond managing operations—you’re tasked with building strong teams, maintaining clear communication, and supporting ongoing professional development. While video is often seen as a classroom tool, it can be a game-changer for leadership. From strengthening school culture to streamlining training, here are five unexpected but impactful ways administrators can use video to lead more effectively and build thriving school communities.
1. Strengthen PLCs and Professional Learning
Video can transform your professional learning communities (PLCs) into collaborative, evidence-based spaces. Instead of relying on memory or general observations, teams can analyze real classroom footage to reflect on teaching strategies, student engagement, and instructional impact. This leads to deeper, more focused conversations that promote continuous improvement.
Try these practical strategies to make your PLCs more dynamic and impactful:
- Share video prompts ahead of time to guide discussion.
- Pair video examples with readings for a “PD Book Club” format.
- Use clips of student work analysis to drive standards-aligned conversations.
- Encourage staff to upload short reflections between sessions to sustain momentum.
2. Boost Morale and Celebrate Success
Recognizing educators doesn’t need to take extra time. A short, personalized video can go a long way in making staff feel seen and appreciated. Whether you’re celebrating great instruction or a birthday, video allows you to build a culture of recognition that’s meaningful, consistent, and easy to share.
Try these video ideas to build positive staff culture:
- Create a “Lesson of the Week” spotlight to celebrate strong practice.
- Record video messages for birthdays, milestones, or team wins.
- Promote peer learning with staff-submitted strategy clips.
- Highlight support staff—librarians, SPED, ELL teachers—with classroom-friendly tips.
3. Support New Teacher Induction and School Culture
Onboarding new teachers is about more than compliance, it’s about connection and clarity. Video allows new hires to experience your school culture, values, and expectations before ever setting foot on campus. It also provides a consistent message and fosters early relationship-building.
Ways to use video for teacher onboarding and culture-building:
- Invite new staff to share video intros to break the ice.
- Share school-wide norms and expectations through short, reusable tutorials.
- Use video libraries to showcase veteran teachers modeling classroom routines.
- Reinforce a growth mindset by spotlighting real student progress and perseverance.
4. Improve Communication and Transparency
Video makes complex school communications more digestible and engaging. It conveys tone, simplifies logistics, and gives staff and families something they can revisit anytime—leading to fewer questions and more clarity.
Use video to improve communication across your school or district:
- Launch an “Ask the Admin” series to respond to anonymous staff questions.
- Share policy updates or special event details via short videos.
- Record event highlights for families or staff who couldn’t attend.
- Provide video summaries of staff surveys or major initiatives.
5. Train, Troubleshoot, and Save Time
Skip the long emails and make “just-in-time” training a reality. Short, targeted videos are an efficient way to deliver PD, reinforce procedures, or walk staff through day-to-day tools. Best of all, they’re always available for replay—so staff can revisit them when it matters most.
Practical ways to streamline training with video:
- Record how-to guides for tech tools or building-specific processes.
- Demonstrate emergency protocols or compliance procedures.
- Use video to walk through parent-teacher conference prep or co-planning strategies.
- Enable asynchronous observations when live visits aren’t feasible.
Video is more than a teaching tool—it’s a powerful asset for school leaders. Whether you’re reinforcing school culture, empowering PLCs, or streamlining onboarding, video supports more consistent, engaging, and human-centered leadership. With the right platform, you can lead with clarity, celebrate your team, and support every educator’s growth—without adding more to your plate.
Looking to put these ideas into action? The Teaching Channel’s Empower Platform helps school and district leaders implement video-powered professional development, collaboration, and communication—all in one seamless system.
About the Author
Erin Theriot is an Engagement Manager with Teaching Channel. She spent 10 years in PK-8th grade education as a certified teacher, and in her last school-based role, she was a technology integration coach. She helped teachers to learn and leverage new tech-based resources in their practice, aligning their content to valuable tech-based resources, which set the standard for technology education for teachers and students across her district. Erin enjoys traveling and spending time with her husband and their two cats.
Fun Fact: Erin is Cajun, which means if you ask extra nicely, she just might give you her family’s gumbo recipe.
