Apptegy

We’re excited to announce our upcoming SchoolCEO Conference happening right here in our home city of Little Rock, Arkansas!📍⛰️🌳 When: Sept 30th - Oct 1st, 2024 This conference is special because we’ve got a brand ✨NEW✨ lineup of speakers: Julie Sweetland, Karen Eber, and Neal Foard. You’ll learn how to shape the narrative of your district through strategic framing principles, storytelling, and marketing best practices. We’re also offering several Thrillshare training sessions right here in our Little Rock office! This is a chance for our clients to connect with their CSM's in-person and learn how to get the most out of Thrillshare. You can read more about the conference, browse our speaker lineup, pricing, and more here: https://lnkd.in/gYtTYyY5 We’re currently offering early bird pricing until June 18th, so don’t wait to save your spot at the SchoolCEO Conference! See you then! #SCEOC24 #LittleRock

In a small Texas town just outside San Antonio, Lytle ISD, with its 1,700 students, faced a common but challenging problem: a tight budget and a one-person communications team. Lorrianne Van De Walle Migura, the district’s sole communications pro, knew they needed a creative boost to keep up with their growing needs. Enter Skull Studios, a student-run organization named after the school’s Pirate mascot. What started as a simple fundraiser project quickly transformed into a full-fledged operation. The students began offering everything from logo design to web commercials and even community project support, all while learning valuable skills and gaining real-world experience. The best part? Skull Studios didn’t just benefit the district—it gave students a chance to shine. Migura, who transitioned from teaching technology classes to leading the district’s communications, saw an opportunity for her students to get hands-on experience. They tackled a range of projects, from printing prom tickets to sports photography to redesigning a local donut shop sign, all while building impressive portfolios. This practical work helped students feel more confident and connected to their community, proving that—even on a tight budget—a bit of creativity can go a long way in making waves in your community. What can school leaders learn from Lytle ISD’s inspiring story? You don’t need a big budget to make a big difference. By tapping into student talent, schools can meet their communication needs while providing students with valuable, real-world experience. It’s a win-win situation: Your district gets essential services, and students gain skills and confidence. With a 'Lytle' creativity, you can improve your district’s operations and students’ educational journeys!

What if there was a powerful solution to not only stand out but also get people talking about your district? There is. But it comes with a risk: the risk of thinking counterintuitively. How do you approach school marketing the counterintuitive way? There are three simple techniques: 1. Uncover the ‘real why’ by understanding your audience's unconscious motivation 2. Solve big problems with small, impactful solutions. 3. Focus on working effectively, not efficiently.  Dive into what it means to think counterintuitively in our latest guide!

While K-12 communicators may lack the same resources as private sector marketers, you do have one major advantage as a school leader: you already regularly interface with your audience at live events—be they football games or graduation ceremonies. How can you make the most of these moments? In the latest episode of SchoolCEO Podcast, we’ll explain what experiential marketing is, why it’s so effective, and ways schools can use it to improve their brands. 

How you write is your most powerful tool as a communicator. It directly impacts behavior, perception, and influence. The good news is that you don’t have to be an incredible writer to influence behavior. You just have to understand the psychology of words and how to use them in your role at your district. Learn more in our latest resource How Words Change Minds: Writing Tips for School Communications: https://lnkd.in/g47q5srG

Our new Summer '24 Issue is full of tips, examples, and perspectives on how school districts can embrace the power of experiential marketing. Read the full issue here and let us know which story left you feeling inspired! 🫶📖 schoolceo.com/summer-2024/

⏰ Today is the last day for Advance pricing for SchoolCEO Conference! ⏰ Register by the end of day today to take advantage of a reduced price! apptegy.com/conference #SCEOC24

There are just 📣 TWO DAYS 📣 left for advance tickets to SchoolCEO Conference! We've got a whole new lineup of fantastic speakers who are experts on niche topics like reframing, storytelling, advertising, and collective authorship. PLUS we'll also be hosting mini Thrillshare break out sessions on universal topics like how to launch a successful bond campaign, how to optimize your website for enrollment, and how to get the most out of Thrillshare. Register here for #SCEOC24 to lock in a reduced price! 👉 www.apptegy.com/conference

There's only 🚨 THREE more days 🚨 left to register for advance tickets for SchoolCEO Conference! If you're a superintendent, school communicator, HR director, or tech director working in K-12, this conference is for you! We'll discuss key marketing and communications principles like: —How to tell the perfect story —Unlocking your ingenuity in marketing —Reframing your district's narrative —How your district can apply collective authorship —And much much more! You'll also get to participate in our Thrillshare pre-conference sessions where we'll talk about SchoolCEO's latest research and how to get the most out of Thrillshare. Register for advance tickets and save your spot at #SCEOC24 here!

Nothing is more important to the success of a district than organizational culture. That's the premise of SchoolCEO's newest podcast episode: https://lnkd.in/geNJ_gtK Why does building a strong organizational culture matter? Studies show the best way to improve customer satisfaction, or in the case of your school districts, family satisfaction, is to improve employee satisfaction. Engaged and satisfied staff will naturally lead to a better environment for all, including students and families. A strong culture is defined by strong performance and outcomes. SchoolCEO's own research shows that school culture is one of the most important factors when teachers are looking for places to work. In 2019, we reached out to 30,000 randomly selected K-12 millennial teachers to gauge what they want. In 2023, we did it again but this time with teachers of all ages. We expected pay and benefits to be the most important decision, but what we found was clear: culture matters more. Teachers of all ages ranked the most important factors as location, school culture, and school leadership. Culture can be difficult to define and slow to change, but that's why you need to begin right now — It's that important. Here’s how you can start today: 1. Start with an Honest Assessment. Are your schools performing as well as you want them to be? Measure performance not just by test scores, but by staff engagement and satisfaction. Regularly ask, “Are our teams happy and motivated?” Neel Doshi, author of the book Primed to Perform, tells us that understanding motivation is very important because people’s WHY determines how WELL they work. 2. Define what you want your culture to be. What are your school’s core values, and do they resonate with everyone? Ensure these values guide everyday decisions and actions. Keep values simple and memorable to effectively shape decision-making. Karen (Stephan) Borchert is the CEO & Founder of Alpaca, a K-12 startup that is focused on changing internal cultures and measuring how teachers and staff are experiencing a school’s culture. Her advice? Consistently integrate core values into day-to-day interactions. Small, positive interactions compound over time to build a strong culture. 3. Implement Continuous Feedback Loops. Create a safe space for teachers and staff to provide honest feedback. Ask regularly, “What’s working? What’s not? How can we improve?” Listen and act on this feedback promptly to show you value their input. Margaret Heffernan, serial CEO & author, teaches us that culture cannot be done with a single action but must be cultivated over time with continuous action and, just as importantly, continuous feedback. It’s time to take action—assess, define, refine to continuously improve your school’s culture. Start now, and watch your educational environment transform!