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The concert ends and the room bursts into applause from proud parents, educators, and community members. The students beam on stage as the product of months of rehearsal has finally come together. You captured a beautiful video of the concert to showcase the students’ hard work.
You open your phone to share it…and then you hesitate.
The typical questions that accompany this pause:
- Are we allowed to post this?
- We bought the sheet music. Does that mean we have the rights to share the video?
- Why would sharing our students’ accomplishments be restricted?
- What happens if this video is flagged, muted, or issued a takedown notice?
- Does the District have guidance on this?
- What are other schools or programs doing?
The pause is subtle, but it shifts the tone of the moment. Instead of sharing confidently, you second-guess. Instead of staying present, you start calculating risk and worrying about copyright.
That hesitation appears when a parent asks whether or not the concert will be posted online. It surfaces when a District plans to stream Graduation to family and friends who can’t join in person because of limited space. It lingers when a coach captures the cheer team’s routine to celebrate students but isn’t certain whether it is permissible to share online.
When processes around online sharing are undefined, people tend to respond in one of two ways: they either share everything and hope for the best, or they avoid sharing altogether. Neither approach builds long-term confidence, and both are rooted in uncertainty.
Clarity in online sharing changes the culture of your school community.
Directors no longer hover over the “Share” button when roles are defined and copyright coverage is secured. Administrators are not left worrying about takedown notices. Families understand how and when performances will be shared, no matter how far away they live. Consistency in online sharing builds confidence over time. Families and community members know what to expect instead of needing to ask, email, or check in about whether something will be posted.
And, most meaningfully, when families trust that performances will be responsibly streamed and archived, they release the pressure they feel to record an entire concert while watching their child through a screen. They look up and are engaged. They clap. Students see faces instead of phones.
Confidence creates presence.
Specifying how performances and events are being shared online creates a mutual understanding. It replaces assumptions with structure and turns hesitation into informed decision-making.
Schools and districts tend to fall somewhere along the confidence continuum when sharing events online:
Hesitant
“We don’t post events online. It feels too complicated, and we do not want to risk getting it wrong.”
Inconsistent
“Some groups post, and some don’t. It depends on the event and who is managing the account.”
Reactive
“We post until something gets flagged or muted.”
Developing
“We are starting to seek guidance around what is okay to post.”
Confident
“We share freely because roles are defined and coverage is in place.”
K-12 students across the country invest countless hours into creating moments worth sharing: on stage, on the field, and beyond. Educators and administrators should be empowered to share those moments online with confidence, allowing schools and communities to celebrate these achievements together.
Photo used with permission from Canva.com
