Morning announcements in schools can serve as a daily communication tool, offering updates, information, and a sense of community.
Behind the morning announcements and the student council running them is Activities Director Crystal Soria. “Our purpose is to get as much information about everything that is going on at school to all of our students,” she said. “We want to respect the teacher’s time so we try to be short and concise, while also getting a good amount of information out there.”
The goal is to keep these morning announcements between three to five minutes everyday.
Prior to Covid, announcements were done over the intercom. After the shutdown, the announcements were done via YouTube.
That all changed at the start of the year. When Soria began working at Alisal High School in October, there was a slight confusion when it came to morning announcements because the past YouTube account used by ASB to livestream was deleted, which led to the announcements being done exclusively over the intercom.
Fortunately, Soria was able to create an account only for ASB so that it would not be lost once again. Now that it was all resolved, there is a schedule that includes both Intercom announcements and Youtube live streams.
“Right now we are on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule for YouTube and Tuesday, Thursday over the intercom,” Soria said. “This way we are able to respect both wishes from the teachers. We felt that some teachers really liked the Youtube streams, while a good amount preferred the intercom and this is a way to make sure we sort of get the best of both worlds.”
In an informal survey, Video announcements seem to be more popular, with 61.3% of teachers preferring the video announcements. “It’s 2025…video morning announcements are absolutely the way to go!” science teacher Kelsie Schilling said. “Students pay attention to the visual+audio coming from video. They tune out the intercom version.”
Social studies teacher Steven Munoz sees the pros and cons of both forms. “The intercom announcements start right away. The video announcements can take over a minute to start sometimes,” he said. “Intercom announcements stick to 4 minutes or less, while videos get exciting sometimes and drag on. I do prefer to see the students though, as this does draw the attention of the class more. Big downside to video announcements is that PE cannot view them.”
In the student survey, 74.3% find that video announcements make it easier for them to pay attention. “I pay more attention when I can see things more than when I hear things,” junior Chelsy Trejo said. On the other hand, freshman Belen Jacobo states that she would rather listen to the announcements on the intercom. “I get to hear it everyday instead of relying on my teacher to show it to the class,” she said.
With the ASB students, there are differing opinions. Senior Italia Bejarano, who is a member of leadership, states that she prefers the intercom announcements. “Everyone gets to listen to them, some teachers don’t play the videos which can limit many students from receiving needed information of the day.” While there are students like junior Hernan Hernandez that prefer video announcements who said, “I prefer video announcements because if you miss it or aren’t there on time for them, you can just go pack and look at them.”
Moving forward, Soria plans on giving the staff a survey to get their opinions on what they think will work best. But until then, the announcements will continue to alternate.
