Welcome

Designed for communications staff, marketing teams and registrars, our CONNECT Cohort provides the first step in accessing ongoing training opportunities and best practices in the broader areas of charter school marketing, communication and community engagement. We publish a monthly CONNECT newsletter typically on the last Thursday of each month from September to May which recaps the month’s CONNECT activities and highlights upcoming cohort and similar League events for the following month. We also share resources relevant to the marcomm space.

In this issue, our first of the 2023-2024 school year, we share highlights from our first CONNECT meeting of the year, look forward to the October joint session between our cohort and our extended workshop series at the Oct. 9 Leadership Summit and share some enrollment strategies and overall school marketing predictions for 2023.

Looking Back

CONNECT Lunch & Learn: Promoting Family Engagement During Back-to-School Season with Waterford.org
Sept. 14, 2023 | Virtual
This year’s first CONNECT meeting was a virtual session led by the Waterford.org team of Candra Morris, Dr. Jennifer Torres and Steven Kiisik. It focused on the importance of engaging families early on in the school year and leveraging those relationships to help support your initiatives throughout the year. Congrats to those of you who were gifted a free copy of Why Every Child Needs a Village for Academic Success by Waterford’s very own Candra Morris. Because it really does take a village … thanks for joining us! If you missed it, check out the recording in our online community.

Schools of Choice Spring 2023 Equity Convening: School Meals and Nutrition
Sept. 27, 2023 | Denver Place
The Colorado Department of Education (CDE), in partnership with the Colorado League of Charter Schools and the Colorado Association of Charter School Authorizers, shared best practices implemented by schools and districts that have made significant strides in improving school meals, fostering healthier eating habits, and promoting food security for all students. 

A Peek Ahead

Leveraging Community Engagement to Drive Continuous Enrollment (Session One)
Sept. 28, 2023 | League Offices, 12 PM - 2 PM
Join Bill Knous, The League’s Director of Charter School Growth, as he kicks off the first of six focused workshops designed for both school leaders and site-based owners of marketing, enrollment and/or community engagement. Each focused workshop session will help attendees set a new vision and norm for school recruitment across teams, while gaining access to a wealth of practices, tools, and frameworks that can be adapted to any context. Attend one or attend them all; free for members! Register here. 

CONNECT Cohort-Extended Workshop Leadership Session
Hosted in conjunction with the Leadership Summit
October 9, 2023   |   Le Meridien Downtown Denver, 12 PM - 4 PM
Don’t miss our first of two conjoined CONNECT Cohort-Extended Workshop Leadership sessions. Re/Defining Your MarComms Goals and Building Associated Plans for the Year is a live, in-person working session from 12-4PM at the Leadership Summit. The workshop will be led by The League’s Bill Knous, Director of Charter School Growth, and guest facilitators Christy Slavin, President of Hive Digital Minds, and Shawn Hoffman, Director of Business Development with Schola. The focus will be on reexamining your enrollment marketing approaches for this year and into the next. Free for members! Register now using promo code LS23-CONNECT-100 to obtain your complimentary ticket.

Annual Leadership Summit
October 9, 2023 | Le Meridien Downtown Denver, 8 AM - 5 PM
The Leadership Summit is a unique opportunity to gather with other school leaders, administrators, board members, and business managers to exchange ideas and gain valuable insights from nationally renowned thought leaders and practitioners. This year's event promises to be our most impactful yet, featuring keynote speaker Principal EL as well as thought-provoking breakout sessions, Ed Talks and networking opportunities to assist you on your leadership journey. Register now using promo code LS23-CONNECT-100 to obtain your complimentary ticket.

News & Resources

Mountain Middle School experiences high test results after expanding grades
DH News | September 12, 2023
One year after expanding to offer fourth and fifth grade classes, Mountain Middle School students recently earned the school’s highest-ever results for Colorado Measures of Academic Success testing. Read more.

Flagstaff Academy teachers receive more than $15,000 in grants
Longmont Leader | September 20, 2023
These grants will allow Flagstaff Academy educators to implement creative and engaging educational initiatives. Read more. 

2023 Student October Count Audit Resource Guide Fiscal Year 2023-2024
CDE | July 1, 2023
For use during the Student October Count data submission and subsequent audit. Read more. 

6 Enrollment Marketing Strategies for Your School in September
Enrollment Catalyst | September 4, 2023
Six key enrollment marketing strategies that you should implement at your school in September. Read more. 

School Marketing Predictions for 2023
Truth Tree | December 20, 2023
Wondering what 2023 holds for trends in private and independent school marketing? Need tips for successful school marketing? Read on to learn what works in 2023!

Shout Outs

Seven finalists for the 2024 Colorado Teacher of the Year announce
CDE | September 15, 2023
The Colorado Department of Education today announced seven finalists for the 2024 Colorado Teacher of the Year competition - including Rocky Mountain Prep’s Rawa Abu Alsamah. The sole finalist will be named by the end of October and will become Colorado’s nominee for the National Teacher of the Year competition. Read more. 

Four Colorado Schools Named 2023 National Blue Ribbon Schools
CDE | September 19, 2023
Congrats to Douglas County’s Parker Core Knowledge Charter School K-8 on being one of the four Colorado schools that were named today as 2023 National Blue Ribbon Schools, recognizing their high academic outcomes and efforts to close the achievement gap between some groups of students. 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

Bill Knous - Director of Charter School Growth, CLCS

Welcome Bill Knous, the League’s newly appointed Director of Charter School Growth. Outside of driving charter school growth statewide, Bill is an avid fan of all things Denver sports, and an avid reader of all things behavioral science. Want to know how many assists Nikola Jokic needed to average a triple-double in the 22/23 Championship run?  Bill can tell you. Interested to know how many consecutive games the Rockies won in their storied 07’ run to the World Series? Bill mostly remembers and can google the answer just to be sure.  

Infinitely curious about what drives human decision-making, Bill loves to engage in conversations about what the research says. He can be found consuming podcasts, articles, books and research abstracts in his spare time. His significant other and children do not equally enjoy listening to Bill share his learnings, however. Born and raised in Denver and a proud graduate of Denver Public Schools, Bill is eager to connect with you, even more so if it's in Spanish.  

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

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