MARKETING YOUR SCHOOL AS A SCHOOL OF CHOICE

How will your school compete when parents decide which school their child will attend? In these days of charter schools, private schools, home schools and for-profit ventures, how can your school be a school of choice?

We believe this information is especially important for those of you who are members of your school's Campus Advisory Team. As you work with your principal and colleagues on CAT in developing your Campus Improvement Plans, we encourage you to consider some of the suggestions and ideas we'll offer during this series.

Keep in mind that "Climate and Marketing" is one of the areas for you to address in your campus plan. As we discuss making and marketing your school as a school of choice, I hope you and your colleagues will come up with creative ideas of your own in this context.

I would also encourage you to talk to other campuses about what has worked--or hasn't worked--for them.

We begin with a simple question:

Why? Why worry about marketing our schools? Why bother? We've always been here....and we'll always be here. We're the public schools. Parents need us. Society needs us. We don't have time to do this "marketing thing" on top of everything else we're expected to do.

That's a reasonable question to ask. Here's my answer:

Communication leads to understanding. Understanding leads to broader public support. Broader public support leads to progress in education.

Support for public education is absolutely essential if it is to survive and continue to be one of the cornerstones of our American democratic society. As our schools face the challenges of the future, the need for strong public support is clear.

Edward Bernays, the father of public relations, said, "Today's public schools must have the support of parents, civic and government leaders and the business community. Educational communications is not, as some believe, a one-way street of dissemination of facts and opinions about public education.

It functions as a two-way street, interpreting the public to the school system as a basis for its actions, as well as interpreting the public education system to the public."

Marketing is an essential part of our school district's communication plan, as it is in any successful business. If it is not, we could very well be out of business.

Tax revolts, charter schools, schools of choice, home schools, for-profit schools which guaranteed results, attacks from special interest groups, continued pressure for accountability, and the ongoing threat of vouchers-- all increase the need for public schools to market their wares--not simply churn our favorable p.r.--but market.

Many private and religious schools--some in desperate need of new students in order to survive--have learned the importance of marketing. So have many successful public schools.

Take a look at this ad from a private school in the Austin area.

We're not suggesting parents shouldn't be able to decide what type of educational setting is best for their children. Of course they should.

And, the truth is, there are schools in need of improvement. We're not perfect. No system is perfect. We make mistakes.

What we are saying is that public schools, in many cases, have been unfairly criticized by politicians, the news media, special interest groups and others for not making the grade.

And we, as public school educators, have been slow to respond to the unfair attacks....which, by their very nature, place us in a reactive, defensive position. Instead, we need to be strategically proactive.

The most effective principals, teachers and other school leaders at all levels--public and private--learned a long time ago that marketing is a necessary tool for support, credibility and--in today's world--survival.

The issue of choice--whether we agree with it or not--presents us with a perfect opportunity to talk about what's RIGHT with our schools.

Ask yourself these questions...and be honest....

If choice became a reality tomorrow, would my school be the school of choice?

Would I send my child, grandchild, niece or nephew to my school?

Is my campus team equal to or better than the competition?

Are my customers satisfied?

Did you answer "no" to any of these questions? If you did, then take a closer look at the area of concern and brainstorm some realistic strategies to make it better.

This information will help you learn how to get feedback from your staff, parents and community, how to develop a plan and set realistic goals.

Make it part of your Campus Improvement Plan for next year...or for the next few years.

Bill Banach, a nationally-known marketing consultant and strategic planner, says you are ready to plan if:

-You understand that planning is a process, not a one-time event.

-You are prepared to commit human and financial resources to the planning process.

-You understand that planning is an evolutionary process but something visible has to happen.

-You want to be customer-oriented.

-You understand that organizations need a planning process which allows them to continually adapt to changing environmental conditions.

Our goal, as public school educators, should be to stay focused on continuous improvement, be proactive, share our successes as well as our challenges openly and honestly, and, in a planned and systematic way, work hard to create understanding and build support for our schools.

Remember, staff attitudes play a big part in making your school the school of choice.

Employees--especially teachers--not only need to be competent, but responsive and customer-friendly to thrive in a competitive school marketplace.

All employees--secretaries, bus drivers, food service workers, custodians, maintenance workers, aides, and all support staff--need to be represented in order to feel important and a part of the process.

My favorite definition of school public relations comes from John Wherry, former executive director of the National School Public Relations Association.

Dr. Wherry says:

"Public relations is first doing a good job--and then making sure people know about it."

Remember, the primary mission of a good public relations/marketing plan is to communicate the work of students and staff--and the mission of the schools--so that people know and understand what they are paying for with their tax dollars and how it benefits them.

This is vitally important since, in most communities, the majority of people who pay for the schools no longer have children attending them. In Spring Branch, more than 80 percent of the registered voters no longer have children in school. 80 percent!

So what is this thing called marketing?

Here's how the Capistrano Unified School District in California describes it:

Marketing is as easy as one, two, three.

One: You must recognize, and truly believe in your heart, that your students and their parents are your customers. Customer service must be at the very core of how you run your school.

Two: You must motivate your employees to serve as dedicated champions for you students and cheerleaders for your school. In other words, they must live the concepts of excellence and service.

Three: You must, literally, take your school message on the road. Don't wait for people in your school community to come to you. You must aggressively reach out to them. Only through the combined support and efforts of everyone directly and indirectly associated with your school will you attain meaningful and lasting public confidence.

Barbara Keebler offers this quick summary of the concept:

"Marketing is a three-step process of

(1) determining customer needs,

(2) developing a product to meet those needs, and

(3) delivering that product to the market place.

It is a systematic approach to building a relationship between your school and the people you want to attract--students, parents, teachers, alumni, potential consumers, and the wider public."

Marketing is absolutely essential for us to build positive images about our schools and instill pride in our staff and students. It can enhance internal and external awareness of the good work being accomplished by our schools and our district.

Perhaps the first challenge in any marketing campaign is to establish in the minds of your customers--or potential customers--what your product or service stands for. What does Spring Branch ISD stand for?

What does your school stand for? And don't say, "Education." That's like saying, "Drink Coca-Cola because it's wet." If you want parents to feel confident that your school is the very best place to send their children, you have to tell them why.