Don’t You Forget About Me

In a time of the pandemic, career-tech’s next class of students shouldn’t be forgotten.

Career-technical school districts go all out to engage their new classes through a series of campaigns, communications and events, like the one here. New Student Celebration and Signing Night can be crucial to engaging and securing a commitment from students to enroll during the next school year. But how do we do this in the time of a pandemic requiring closures and physical distancing?

While schools are laser-focused on serving current students during this unprecedented time, for career-technical school districts, there is another group of students that cannot be forgotten — the incoming class of 2020–2021.

Career-tech schools have a unique challenge of “recruiting” students to fill their seats, basically replacing the slots that will be vacated in their diverse array of career training programs by their seniors each year. This process is easier said than done as anyone who has worked in career-tech will tell you. Recruiting students each year is a months-long process of outreach to sophomores who will decide if they want to spend their final two years of high school in a career-tech lab for half the day. It’s actually a process that often begins in elementary or middle school and culminates during the sophomore year with a decision. The challenges are significant during this process as career centers always seemingly have to overcome the “stigma” of “vocational” education amongst families.

Instead, school closures and the inability to connect in-person has created a moment where we have to be innovative and change the way things have always been done. That certainly pertains to this moment in time for the Class of 2022 in career-technical schools.

I have been in touch with a group of communicators who work in Ohio’s career centers to see what they have planned for their latest crop of accepted students. There are definitely worries about being able to engage the new class. Not only the students but sometimes, more importantly, the families, and especially mom.

Research shows us in career-tech, as with most things in education, mom has a significant influence on the decision for their child to enroll in a career-tech program. While most will say it was the best decision their child ever made after they complete a program, many start off with questions and doubts. This is why the process of on-boarding accepted students is so critical for career-tech schools and why significant work is done by most to create a “funnel” of touchpoints, both in-person and from afar. Much like a college will have “summer drain” on their enrollments (meaning students changing their minds and not attending when school starts despite acceptance), career-tech schools also face a retention problem.

I have worked with nearly a dozen career-tech schools in my career, and retention is an issue in every single one. Retention is especially a problem from the time of acceptance (usually February or March) through the summer. It isn’t uncommon to see a loss of 25% or more. And that is in a “typical” year. So now, with a pandemic shaking up how schools do business, career centers are faced with yet another challenge and uncertainty regarding the next school year’s enrollment.

While this is a challenge, it is also an opportunity. How can we make this work for the next class of career-tech students in a time of physical distancing?

Stay The Course

Many of your plans for accepted students and their families can move forward as planned, though, it may include new messaging. While the critical in-person welcome events and orientations may not happen, these can move forward with the use of technology. You should continue to plan for your direct mail and email touchpoints as these tactics are some of the most effective and essential ways to keep your incoming class informed and engaged. But, think of ways to drive them to engage online. For one of my clients, we developed a website last school year with a web series, podcast, and a place for updates specifically for accepted students and their families. This year, this site will be even more important. Whether you are driving them to a website, a blog, a Facebook Group, a Google Classroom, or a YouTube Channel, it is crucial to take advantage of the online space to give this group a place to feel connected.

Embrace Technology

Technology has been important for years in this space, but now it is required. This gives us a chance to innovate in different ways to connect with our incoming classes. What are some ways you can take advantage of technology and social media during this time?

• Use a platform like Zoom or Google Meet to connect one-on-one, in small groups, as programs or in large groups. Just remember, if using Zoom, to follow these helpful safety guidelines.
• Turn your in-person welcome event/orientation into a unique virtual event. Check out platforms like Virtual Summits or Virtual Platforms as a way to do this.
• Host a series of webinars. You can use Zoom or GoToWebinar or even Facebook Live.
• Leverage social media to tell a story and allow your new students to have a voice. Think about how you can turn your signing day event, for instance, into a social media moment. There is a lot that can happen with the live functions of Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook, for instance.
• Create a connection point for accepted students and/or families. Think about Facebook Groups or a Slack channel.

Messaging & Consistency

Now more than ever, your messaging must meet the moment, and it must be consistent. As mentioned earlier in this article, you should hopefully already have an established communication funnel with direct mail and email going out consistently to this audience. This should be supported by consistent messaging on your social media channels. But, are your messages meeting this moment?

Messaging should keep in mind the unprecedented and challenging nature of this situation. We already know the bravery and grit that comes from a student deciding to leave their high school to spend the next two years in a new school building with new faces. This pandemic could add to the doubt and concerns of not only the students but also the families involved.

Keep in mind:

• Messaging should care about people first.
• Messaging should be empathetic.
• Messaging should be focused and reassuring.

Student voice matters when it comes to messaging and capturing the emotion and raw power of their stories should be embraced. This is an example I produced for a client in collaboration with Columbus, Ohio-based OnScene Productions.

Think about the tactics that you can employ to share messages consistently. The platforms like email, websites, and social media are there, but how are you using them effectively?

• Leverage video storytelling to help reassure your incoming class.
• Personalize communications to the students. Use variable data tactics to engage in this way by the individual or by the associate school.
• Develop a theme and carry it through during this time. Have a hashtag that ties it together.
• Develop an email newsletter for the families of incoming students. I can’t emphasize enough how vital reassuring these key family members will be during this time.
• Internal communication with your staff matters. How do you collaborate with and keep your instructors informed on everything they need to know so they can reach out and maintain contact with their future students?

Be Flexible

We are all hopeful that we might be able to re-engage in-person with this incoming class sooner rather than later. It might be the case that this summer might present opportunities to reschedule many of the touchpoints we usually employ. But, that might also not be the case. You should remain flexible that things are going to keep changing. You should also stay open to the fact that just because you had to postpone or cancel a touchpoint that you should consider doing something completely new and different to keep the Class of 2022 engaged. We know career-tech presents students with so many opportunities that they usually don’t receive in a traditional classroom setting. It is essential to be flexible and driven to help students and families, so they still want to be enrolled when the time comes to re-open.

How is your career center adjusting during this time when it comes to your admissions/recruiting process? What ideas are you getting ready to employ to ensure your new class shows up when the 2020–2021 school year commences? I would love to hear them. Email me at shane@purposeland.us.