OTAN News

Are You Ready for Adult Education Week?

Each year, adult education agencies across California promote their programs and the great work being done by their students and staff during Adult Education Week. This year, Adult Education Week will be April 8 to 12. There are many ways to let your stakeholders know about the important work your agency is doing to serve the community and its members.

The California Council for Adult Education (CCAE) has put together a page of suggested promotional activities and resources to help organize Adult Ed Week at an agency. You can review those materials on this CCAE webpage. In addition to planning steps, there are sample press releases, public service announcements, and proclamation language, as well as how-to's when dealing with the media.

Even though the focus of Adult Ed Week is touting your agency, marketing and promotion should be a regular part of the school year. Adult ed agencies can take advantage of social media especially to connect with community members and tell their stories. Yosr Najjar in the “Is Marketing Your School District a Thing?” series on the Education Elements website has some suggestions for promoting your school:

• Branding – Branding is not simply about identifying something or recognizing it visually; it’s also about connecting to people’s feelings.
• Storytelling – For successful branding, districts need to showcase the characteristics and stories they want their audience to know about them through good storytelling.
• Social media – In today’s world, where at least two-thirds of the population is on social media, social media use for schools is an expectation and no longer optional. Social media is not only for meeting people and connecting with friends and families, but a media channel that allows brands, individuals, governments, and institutions to reach their audiences and engage with them. Social media offers an invaluable way to improve student-school communication; social media also offers an excellent outlet for school-community communication.

We look forward to hearing the stories of success in adult education in the coming weeks! Make sure your adult ed agency takes some time to share your success with the world!

Website: California Council of Adult Education - Adult Education Week

Article: Is Marketing Your School District a Thing? Part 1: Branding

Article: Is Marketing Your School District a Thing? Part 2: Storytelling

Article: Is Marketing Your School District a Thing? Part 3: Social Media