CONNECT: Fast forward thru February - We can’t wait to see you!

Conference Time is Here

This issue has us sliding into the annual charter school conference. Catch up on this month’s CONNECT cohort activities and see what’s in store at our pre-conference workshops — just for you!

Hint: it includes an opportunity to learn more about HB21-1110 requiring charters to comply with online accessibility requirements by July 1 AND a practical working session.

Plus, peek at upcoming events in March and peruse a few resources for admissions follow-up and retention as we continue to navigate the various charter enrollment windows in Colorado

A Peek Ahead

CONNECT Pre-Conference Session
New Web & Tech Accessibility Requirements for Schools
Monday, Feb. 26 | 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM | Marriott Denver Tech Center | Free
Attendees are welcome to join us for lunch following the presentation
Join us for a special pre-conference session with Karen Pellegrin, Senior Manager of Technology Accessibility with the Colorado Office of Information and Technology. Karen will speak to the new accessibility requirements of HB21-1110 which go into effect July 1 for all government agencies, including public charter schools. Join Karen to learn more about the technologies affected — including websites — and gain valuable insight for developing a path to ongoing compliance.

This pre-conference working session is FREE for school leaders and CONNECT members. Register here using the free, pre-conference registration option.

Can’t make it in-person? 🖥️ Join us virtually.

CONNECT Pre-Conference Session
Closing the Numbers Gap: Refining Strategies Between Open Enrollment Rounds
Feb. 26 | DTC Marriott | 12:00-4:00 PM in-person | 1:00 -3:00 PM virtual
Enrollment and lottery season is upon us! Bring your laptops and your most current enrollment data for the 24/25 school year because this session will show you how to use frameworks and tools to refine your community engagement and marketing strategies during and post-open enrollment windows.

Vanessa Barry, Founder of Mariposa Consulting Group & former Chief Operating Officer for KIPP Texas Public Schools, will take us through a two-hour, three-part exercise to (1) diagnose your school’s enrollment needs; (2) identify the appropriate pathways to address those needs and (3) create an action plan that will have you responding effectively to your school’s data and driving enrollment outcomes through spring. Both Vanessa and facilitators will be on-hand to guide you through the process.

Next, Bloomwell Group’s founding partner Lyman Millard, will deep-dive into one of the pathways most effective in meeting enrollment goals: online advertising. Based on his experience running about 30 campaigns a year, he’ll share best-practices to increase your school’s ROI for both student and teacher online recruitment ads.

This pre-conference working session is FREE to CONNECT members.

Come for lunch at noon, join our workshops from 1-4 PM and then stay for networking, happy hour and the Hall of Fame ceremony. 🏆 View our full conference schedule here.

Can’t make it in-person? 🖥️ Jump on our virtual session with Vanessa from 1:00-3:00 PM.

2024 Annual Charter School Conference
Feb. 27-28 | DTC Marriott | 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Please join us at the 2024 Colorado Charter Schools Annual Conference, a two-day charter school event dedicated to empowering educational excellence. Transform your professional practice with over 55 total sessions across two days, including handpicked workshop sessions specifically for individuals responsible for marketing, communications, enrollment, and community engagement.

From building a lasting reputation and creating a delightful parent experience to augmenting enrollment efforts with delegation, consolidation, automation and AI, these sessions offer everything you need to meet your marketing, communications and enrollment goals in 2024. You can register here!

Do you need help to attend the event? Reach out directly to [email protected], and we’ll help you purchase a ticket.

Charter Development Summit Webinar: Community Engagement
March 6 | 12:00-1:00 PM | Virtual
The Charter School Development Summit Webinar on March 6 is focused on community engagement. Join online for an insightful session featuring speakers like Mehran Ahmed from AXL, Bobby Young, and Jenny Finlay from Compass Community Collaborative. You’ll learn innovative ways to engage with families, districts, and communities. This session is tailored for new/replicating/expanding charter schools, but everyone is welcome to participate. Register here.

CONNECT Lunch & Learn: Re-thinking Your Marcom Plan & Budget
March 14 | 12:00-1:00 PM | Virtual
Join guest Jamie Giblett of Digistorm North America as he shares best practices for creating or refining your school’s marketing and communications budget regardless of size. He'll walk you through effective steps for evaluating your current plan to-date, identifying unused funds that must be used by year-end, and re-budgeting simply and effectively.

To register, login to the CONNECT Cohort Meeting’s page and access the Zoom registration via the Google Calendar link.

Looking Back

An Empowering Advocacy Day: A Gratitude Recap for Our Charter Students
Feb. 1 | McNichols Building & Colorado State Capitol Building
A heartfelt thank you to all the schools and students who actively participated and made impactful contributions during Advocacy Day. We deeply appreciate your commitment to making a difference and serving as exemplary ambassadors for charter schools. Your efforts significantly contribute to ongoing discussions about the importance of charter schools and their positive impact on students' lives. Check out the link for snapshots of the day.

CONNECT Lunch & Learn: The Power of Student-Led Digital Storytelling to Increase Connection and Retention
Feb. 8th | Virtual
Class Intercom’s Dr. Jill Johnson led a fantastic session on digital storytelling, encouraging students to take ownership of your school’s story. Who knew just how powerful student-created digital content could be in building a culture from the inside out, simply by transforming your students from social consumers to social creators, while also empowering them to build bridges to the community. Thanks to all of you who were able to attend; we hope you enjoyed the presentation.

If you missed it, check out a copy of Class Intercom’s slides as well as their How-To Guide For Building a Team of Content Creators on the Documents tab of our online CONNECT Cohort page at your convenience.

News You Can Use

Is your website and technology compliant with HB21-1110? Here are the basics.
In 2021, Colorado became the first state to require both state and local governments to meet web accessibility standards. Passed during the regular legislative session, HB21-1110 makes it a state civil rights violation for a government agency to exclude people with disabilities from receiving services or benefits because of lack of accessibility. The League sought legal input, and it was confirmed that Colorado charters are required to abide by this new law. Read more on what technology this applies to and 10 Steps toward meeting the standards. Check out our Policy One-Pager for HB21-1110 is on our Policy One-Pagers webpage.

Marketing to High School Students: 4 Strategies That Make An Impact
Refuel Agency
As a young and ever-shifting consumer segment, high school students present a moving target for marketers. Just when marketers seem to understand how to reach this young demographic, their preferences change again, requiring an all-new marketing strategy. Read more.

What are Your Competitors Tracking
Metric Marketing | December 22, 2023
It’s rare to get a peek behind the scenes of other schools’ marketing strategies. Last year, we conducted a study with NAIS where we heard from schools across North America about what data they track. We also made some recommendations on what marketing professionals and admissions staff could or should be focusing on to track their own school’s marketing success. Read more.

6 Key Ingredients for Effective Admissions Follow-Up
Enrollment Catalyst | January 15, 2024
In the competitive world of private school admissions, effective follow-up with prospective parents is not just a courtesy, but a crucial aspect of a successful enrollment strategy. Read more.

Google and Yahoo 2024 email changes: 5 tips to safeguard your email marketing
My Clam Business | January 18, 2024
Effective February 2024, Google and Yahoo are implementing some changes to make Gmail and Yahoo inboxes safer from those pesky spammers. Gmail alone has a market share of almost 30%, so this matters for those of us who have newsletters as many of our subscribers are likely using Gmail or Yahoo Email. Read more.

8 Effective Retention Strategies for your School
Enrollment Catalyst | January 22, 2024
The months of January and February are usually focused on school leaders asking parents to re-enroll for another year. However, just because a family is enrolled today, doesn’t mean that they will continue their enrollment next year. Parents continually reflect on their experience in your school and evaluate the decisions they’ve made. Read more.

Rethinking Your School’s Marketing Budget to Empower Enrollment
Kalix Marketing | February 14, 2024
A robust marketing budget is 100% tied to enrollment success, assuming that your educational product and market reputation are strong. Independent school leaders often ask me what a “typical” school marketing budget should be. I take a very aggressive approach as your marketing budget is responsible for filling your enrollment funnel with ideal prospective families. Now, mid-point in the academic year, is the perfect time to plan for next year’s marketing budget. Read more.

Shout Outs

Cool Schools: Downtown charter school encourages students to take ownership of their education
9 News | January 26, 2024
Downtown Denver Expeditionary School is helping students take ownership of their learning to connect them with real-world issues and needs. Watch now.

French Immersion School in Denver teaches students to become well-rounded citizens
9 News | December 15, 2023
One of the primary goals at the French American School of Denver (FASD) is supporting their students to become global citizens. Read more.

Have any tips or resources you’d like to share? We’d love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected].

The Stories We Tell: Get to Know the Group

Carrie Keen, Communications Manager, Ben Franklin Academy

Meet Carrie, a breakfast lover and proven multitasker who enjoys listening to history books while simultaneously cleaning and doing laundry. She’s also not one to cry over spilled milk. Spoiled milk on the other hand, the oldest item in her fridge BTW, most definitely.

Despite being more of a breakfast-for-lunch-and-dinner diner, she once tried pig snout (a far cry from bacon) and would easily make an exception for escargot drenched in butter and wine… Speaking of wine, she’d love to be able to teach a master class on winemaking (cheers to that!) while chatting up the likes of Elon Musk, Winston Churchill and, fittingly, Ben Franklin.

She’d tell you she’s best suited to rock the cowbell in an unnamed 90’s band while dressed in her best grunge era flannel or perhaps doing so while on her carpool karaoke date with celeb crush LL Cool J. styled to her fav times - think side part, mini-skirt and lots of L’oreal telescopic mascara!

Her desired superpower, the ability to turn back time so she can relive some of her favorite days (see the 90s note above), is an especially ideal power knowing she turns into a pumpkin at the stroke of 10:30pm on weeknights. But she’s no Cinderella, rather preferring to office cosplay as the very fierce Rey from Star Wars if forced to.

When she’s not busy crafting comms she can be found hiking among the mountains and trees with her sweet dog, Goldie, or spending a sunny day on a warm lake - a step up from the muddy rivers of her home state of Missouri. Enjoy your summers in Colorado, Carrie!

Connect with Carrie in our online CONNECT Community or on LinkedIn.

“If you’re not eliciting an emotional reaction, you’re not properly marketing yourself.” (1).png 1

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