Storytelling in Schools Part 2: The Storytelling Gap
- Chantal Gamble
- Jan 30
- 2 min read
This is Part 2 of a three-part series exploring how storytelling shapes culture, alignment, and long-term success in international schools.
In Part 1, we looked at why storytelling matters beyond marketing. If you haven’t read it yet check it out here first:In this article, we’ll explore where schools often lose their stories internally and in Part 3, how leaders can rebuild systems that allow stories to flow naturally across the whole organisation.
Every school has stories worth telling.
It might be the independence a Grade 3 cohort showed on their first residential trip. It might be the innovative activities in a Grade 5 classroom that sparked curiosity about archaeology. Or it might be a student winning 1st place for gymnastics, or a team overcoming challenges in a STEAM competition. These moments happen every day.
In schools that do this well, these stories flow easily with content calendars that are jam-packed months ahead. In others, finding stories feels like squeezing water from a stone, and content planning becomes a recurring source of stress.
When storytelling is difficult, it is usually not because these stories do not exist. It runs deeper than that. It’s the school culture. There is a disconnect between perception, collaboration, and belonging inside the organisation.
Let’s explore the first barrier.
The Perception Gap Inside International Schools
International schools, and private education more broadly, live with a built-in identity tension. They are both a school and a business.
Schools are expected to be child-first, caring, and values-led. Businesses are often perceived as profit-first, numbers-driven, and impersonal. These identities feel contradictory, and how a school navigates this tension has a direct impact on trust, morale, and storytelling.
For teachers and parents, this tension often creates cognitive dissonance. Teachers usually enter the profession to make a difference. Parents choose a school because they want the best possible future for their child. Viewing the school as a business can feel uncomfortable, even threatening, because it clashes with their values and the story they tell themselves about why they are here.
Marketing and admissions teams, however, must hold both realities at once. They understand that a school must be financially sustainable in order to serve children well. That said, strong marketers usually...
Comments