Class Intercom’s 2025 Social Media in Education Report Shows Student Voices Taking Center Stage
Class Intercom has released its seventh annual Social Media in Education Report. The survey compiles voluntary responses from educators, administrators, PR specialists, and technology professionals across the U.S. This year’s findings make one thing clear: schools are building more structured social strategies, leaning on collaboration across roles, and giving students new opportunities as content creators. The numbers illustrate both growth and growing pains.
Who Responded to the Survey
The participant pool included professionals across education. Thirty-seven percent of respondents work in communications-related PR roles, 27% in marketing/communications, 16% as educators, 14% in other roles, 3% as administrators, and 3% as technology professionals. Public schools made up 93% of the sample, private schools 7%. Two-thirds (66%) manage social media for an entire district or multiple schools, while 19% manage social media for a single school.
How Schools Use Social Media
Social media is no longer optional. Seventy percent of schools reported having social media formally integrated into their communications plans for 2024–2025}. This shift shows that schools view social not just as an experiment but as a strategic channel for engagement, recruitment, and community-building.
| Platform | Adoption % | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 99% | Favored for parents (84%), community (81%), staff (66%), alumni (70%) | |
| 95% | Top channel for students (81%) | |
| X (formerly Twitter) | 58% | Down from 92% in 2022 |
| YouTube | 59% | Up from 58% last year |
| 48% | Declined in 2025 | |
| TikTok | 3% | Sharp drop this year |
| Threads | 8% | Small but rising |
Facebook is favored for parents (84%), community members (81%), staff (66%), and alumni (70%). Instagram is the top choice for students (81%). Schools are tailoring messages accordingly.
How Schools Use Paid Social Media
Most schools remain focused on organic posting. Paid social use is rare and highly targeted. Among schools that do invest:
- 48% use paid social for student enrollment and recruitment
- 43% use it for staff recruitment
- 28% use it for program promotion (summer camps, courses)
- 26% use it for event promotion (sporting events, productions, open houses)
The trend reflects budget sensitivity and the need to tie spending directly to recruiting and retention outcomes.
What Schools Are Posting
Schools have shifted toward people-driven storytelling. The top content types include:
- Student and staff highlights – 68%
- Classroom highlights – 67%
- General announcements – 43%
- Extracurricular highlights (after the fact) – 30%
- Event announcements – 28%
- Student life updates – 20%
- Campaigns – 14%
- Promotion of extracurricular events – 13%
Posts featuring people consistently outperform others. Alumni stories, celebrations of achievements, and campus spotlights were also reported as high engagement drivers. Live event updates and contests remain rare and less effective.
Content Creation and Management
Schools manage multiple accounts—district, athletics, clubs, classrooms, even mascots. This makes oversight complex. Rogue accounts are a pressing issue, with 83% of respondents reporting they deal with pages not run by administration. These can disrupt branding, increase risk, and complicate compliance. To combat this, 68% of schools now use social media management software for scheduling, approvals, and audit trails.
Archival and Records Requests
School social media posts qualify as government records under FOIA and state laws. Yet many schools lack systems to manage this obligation:
- 22% use archiving software or services
- 8% export manually
- 23% are unsure of their process
- 32% report having no system at all
The lack of structured archiving leaves schools exposed during public records requests.
Collaboration Across Roles
Content creation is a community project. According to the data:
- 85% of school administrators contribute or will soon contribute to social media
- 83% of district administrators contribute or plan to
- 73% of teachers contribute
- 59% of coaches, sponsors, and advisors contribute
- 55% of media specialists contribute
- 54% of support staff contribute
- 33% of technology specialists contribute
This wide participation builds authenticity and a fuller picture of school life.
How Students Contribute
Student involvement continues to rise:
- 25% of schools have students actively contributing
- 43% do not but want to
- 18% do not and have no plans
- Only 2% expressed regret in seven years of data
Contributions often occur through clubs (33%) or classroom settings (31%). Concerns include quality (61%), accountability (43%), and teacher/admin workload (34%). Still, schools report that student-created content increases engagement and improves culture.
Educational Value of Student Content
Student-led social media creation doubles as education. Reported benefits include:
- Improved design, photography, and storytelling skills
- Awareness of marketing and branding
- Improved digital citizenship
- Higher student engagement in activities and clubs
- Improved written communication
- Greater interest in media-related career paths
These align with research-backed strategies. Creating social content provides authentic assessments, encourages collaboration, builds confidence, and engages students with locally and globally relevant topics.
Quick Reference: Top 10 Stats
| Stat | Value | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Facebook adoption | 99% | Best for parents and community |
| Instagram adoption | 95% | Best for students (81%) |
| X usage | 58% | Down from 92% in 2022 |
| YouTube usage | 59% | Incremental growth |
| TikTok usage | 3% | Sharp decline in 2025 |
| Student/staff highlights posts | 68% | Most common content type |
| Classroom highlights posts | 67% | Second-most common |
| Schools with student contributors | 25% | Another 43% plan to add |
| Rogue accounts issue | 83% | Reported by respondents |
| Schools using archiving software | 22% | Compliance gap remains |
The 2025 report underscores a shift from experimentation to structure. Schools are embracing formal strategies, collaborative creation, and student participation. Facebook and Instagram remain the anchors, but what matters more is the content: authentic, people-centered stories. Schools that involve students responsibly are not just improving engagement—they’re preparing the next generation with real-world skills.