Over the summer I had an opportunity to participate in Grand Rapids Public Schools new advertising campaign.  It was exciting be a part of this and to talk about the great people we have and things we are doing at GRPS!

 

“The goal of our We Are GR marketing campaign is to raise awareness about the great students, teachers, parents, community partners, school choices, programs, and services we have at GRPS,” said Superintendent Teresa Weatherall Neal. “We have a remarkable story to tell and a lot to celebrate. It is our hope that parents, prospective parents, and the taxpayers of our great city will take time to learn more about GRPS first hand, rather than base their knowledge on perception or the media. The true story is what is captured in the video and on these billboards.” – from GRPS Press Release Aug. 10, 2012

I was featured along with 13 other people with connections to GRPS in a commercial/ promotional video as well as having a billboard.  This was very exciting to see when I drove by!  I hope this promotion will help increase enrollment and help the community see the many positive qualities of GRPS.

Watch the video here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrXCb7io6U0

We Are GR Campaign Gets National Attention

from www.wearegr.com website

We Are GR was featured on the front page of the August 22nd issue of the national publication “Education Week”. The article focused on how school districts market themselves as they face a declining enrollment and increased educational choices.

According to the article, “Public school enrollment in Grand Rapids, Mich., has dropped slowly during the past five years, from about 21,000 students to 18,500 today.

Parents have left the west Michigan city for better jobs elsewhere, as have many throughout the state. Or, they’ve stayed in the area but departed the district for independently run charter schools or other enticing “schools of choice,” which, in Michigan, are schools run by traditional school districts that are able to recruit students from a wide geographic area.

In response, the school district and the city have teamed up for a campaign they call “We Are GR,” intended to excite residents about the community and about the offerings of the regular public schools. The push, which involves billboards, direct mailings, ads on buses, neighborhood door-knocking campaigns, and Web videos, will culminate in a back-to-school event at the city’s zoo this week.”

Ms. Joann Riemersma, principal at Brookside Elementary, was pictured on the cover talking to parents about school choices. Another photo in the article shows one of the 12 billboards on display around Grand Rapids.