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Education Dive
Indiana district runs afoul of state officials with enrollment promotion
Roger Riddell
Jan. 28, 2020
Dive Brief:
Indiana's Gary Community School Corporation, currently under state
takeover, is facing backlash from state officials over potential
violations of state law related to enrollment incentives it marketed in
the fall, The Northwest Indiana Times reports.
In addition to offering a $25 Visa gift card to parents providing
successful enrollment referrals, numerous posts on the district's
social media profiles on Sept. 12 and 13 advertised entry in a raffle
for two iPads for students enrolled by 5 p.m. on Sept. 13, the paper
reports.
Under Indiana law, public, charter or private schools receiving state
funding can't offer incentives that include "any item that has monetary
value, including cash or a gift card," but Gary district officials say
the items weren't purchased or awarded, and that the district's
enrollment didn't increase as a result of the promotions.
Dive Insight:
In an environment where public schools face increasing competition from
charters, private school voucher programs, and other choice options,
marketing has grown as an important means to keep students (and
per-pupil funding) within districts. But, as this incident highlights,
there are right and wrong ways to go about doing that.
When it comes to convincing families that a particular school or
district is their best option, rather than trying to entice them with a
superficial giveaway, it's far more important for administrators to use
social media and other tools at their disposal to tell their schools'
stories.
Among administrators who excel at this are Miami-Dade County Public
Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho and Joe Sanfelippo,
superintendent of Wisconsin's rural Fall Creek School District.
Carvalho recently told Education Dive that authenticity is key in
telling the story, which includes admitting where improvement is needed
along with what's going well.
"Don't tell a story that doesn't exist because it will be punished,"
Carvalho said. "But if you tell a story realistically portraying the
work and the results and the community understands that, the community
shall reward you."
What opportunities to grow do students have that they won't get
elsewhere? How are the resources at their disposal accommodating this?
By using Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and other platforms to engage
members of the local community on such questions, schools and districts
can successfully take control of their stories and focus on the good
things happening with students in their classrooms, which in turn can
open new partnership and funding opportunities within the community and
beyond.
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