By far, one of the best decisions I ever made was to start writing birthday postcards for each student in our district. At first, 1500-plus personalized postcards a year might sound like a lot, but when you break it down that is only like three or four a day. To get the process started, I had my secretary generate a list of student birthdays and I purchased a couple thousand specialty postcards through Vistaprint. I look at my list and write a personalized note to each student a few days before their birthday and then give it to my secretary who addresses and sends the postcard. It might take some time and costs over $1000 in postcards and postage...but the dividends are well worth the investment! You would not believe how many conversations have started with students all over the district because of the birthday postcards. I would highly recommend this activity for any principal or superintendent.
