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PROGRAM PRACTICE:
Factor in Special Needs for Recruiting Diverse Populations
Desert Sands Unified School District pays special attention to achieving racial and economic diversity when recruiting students for its nine new magnet schools. The district’s marketing team includes a grant facilitator who coordinates, creates, and provides information on all of the programs within the district; a public information specialist who assists the facilitator and is a liaison for community functions; an administrative assistant; 15 school site coordinators who provide the community with details about their specialized programs; and an assistant superintendent who oversees the office.
Members of this team create a number of materials in both English and Spanish: brochures, radio spots, movie theater and television commercials such as the Cutting Edge advertisement, and the Desert Sands Movie Theater advertisement, which cleverly mimics a movie ticket to convey the idea that “choice” is your ticket to education. The theater advertisements run throughout the three-month open enrollment period each year, starting November 1.
Every other Saturday during the school enrollment period, staff members from the schools of choice meet prospective students at local malls to promote their schools. Prior to these visits, flyers with the question “Heading to the Mall?” (in English and in Spanish) are mailed to students.
The district also markets through school tours, parent-to-parent communication, and information sessions targeted at helping parents understand that the programs and school transportation offered to their children are free. Every choice-related event is staffed by people who have the language skills necessary to respond to parent questions.
The district has found that many of its advertisements for informational events are more effective if they take the form of an invitation. In one instance, a postcard invitation elicited a phone call to the choice office from a young boy who said that his mother did not speak English so he was calling to find out more about “the party” to which they had been invited. The call provided office staff with an opportunity to explain choice and why the boy and his family might want to attend the event. The postcard not only attracted the attention of a student who probably would not have otherwise attended the information night, but also drew the mother and son into an event where they could receive more personalized help on making their choice decision.
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