Planning Purposeful & Productive School Events - Part One
As we approach a new school year, you are probably encountering calendar upon calendar of school EVENTS. Seeing these calendars may fill you with excitement, but perhaps they also fill you with a little dread, overwhelm, and premature fatigue. If this is true, you’re not alone. While many school events are brimming with tradition, a lot of school events are lacking purpose.
Here are some common concerns teams share about school-sponsored events:
“It’s the same volunteers showing up to do the same things for the same families, year after year after year.”
“Our outreach events feel more like catch-up time for current families than attractions for prospective families.”
“Our outreach events consistently yield lackluster results.”
“Our educational events feel more like parties than learning opportunities.”
“It feels like our parents have event fatigue, but at the same time they are longing for connection and community. What gives?”
While reading this list may cause you to wonder why you do school events at all, stop and consider the following:
It’s not that school teams don’t want to host events for their school; they are worried that their events aren’t PURPOSEFUL or PRODUCTIVE.
This is good concern to have as a team. You should be using your school’s time, energy, resources, and finances wisely when it comes to everything, including school events. That’s why we’re kicking off a series on PURPOSEFUL and PRODUCTIVE event-planning for schools.
As Blueprint Schools interviews parents across the country, the desire for community, connection, and belonging are HIGH priorities when looking for a school for their family. Events are an important part of creating a strong community at your school.
This series will help your school’s event organizers evaluate your current event schedule, axe events that aren’t purposeful, and plan events that are productive. Read on for your first assignment!
Exercise 1: Getting It All on Paper
Create a small committee for evaluating your school’s events. This could include your principal, PTO leader, marketing person, and/or that teacher who has a knack for event-planning.
Together, list EVERY school event on LAST year’s calendar that is also on THIS year's calendar. Include fundraisers, open houses, parties, community events, etc.
Categorize each event’s purpose. Common categories are OUTREACH, IN-REACH, FUNDRAISING, and EDUCATIONAL. List only one purpose for each event.
Estimate the number of hours your admin, faculty, staff, parent volunteers, and church members spends on each event. Now calculate the amount of money that the whole team spends on food, donations, set-up, supplies, etc for the event - include how much the average family spends, as well, not just the school’s budget. Record these two numbers next to each event.
Finally, describe the results of each event last year/couple of years. The results you record should match the PURPOSE (outreach events = number of visitors, fundraising = funds raised).
Great work! In the next article, we’ll dive into evaluating these events in the context of your school’s current goals.
Blueprint Schools loves helping schools reach more families in their communities. If you feel stuck or need advice about your marketing and admissions, we’ll listen to your unique situation, answer your questions, and share how we can help your school thrive.
Take the first step by scheduling a Zoom consultation with us.
