Communicating Success

Visibility of students, parents, schools and employers actively engaged in school-to-career, and promoting their success is vital to sustaining the momentum we have achieved toward improving Bay Area schools. BaySCAN works with local school-to-career partnerships to refine marketing plans and align strategies with regional and statewide communications activities to achieve maximum impact. To leverage resources and communicate consistent, powerful messages, BaySCAN has also developed strategies and tools that create awareness and buy-in to school-to-career, and that benefit local partnerships and practitioners across the region.

Some of the communication efforts and resources provided through BaySCAN include the following:

Media Partnership
Bay Area School-to-Career partnerships continually look for widespread exposure for their programs and initiatives. Mainstream media is an effective but expensive outlet for communications. BaySCAN, through the support of local partnerships has established a television media partnership with CBS affiliate KPIX Channel 5. This campaign will prove invaluable to spreading the word about School-to-Career and gaining broad community support for our efforts.

Tool Development
Local partnerships identified the need for the development of common tools and resources for marketing that would often be too complicated or expensive to produce on a local level. Some of these tools BaySCAN has developed through the Marketing Committee include:

• Marketing plan framework and facilitated planning sessions
• Template brochures for employers and parents
• PowerPoint presentations for all audiences
• Powerful Learning Trough School-to-Career video and supporting talking points
• Template press releases and letters.

Communication Network
Crucial to the success of school-to-career in the Bay Area is timely and effective communication among partnerships, schools and community participants. BaySCAN has facilitated this communication through several systems, including:

• A bi-weekly on-line newsletter called the BaySCAN News
• Regional email listserv received by over 300 education, employer and community leaders
• bayscan.org - a regional website providing information on school-to-career and local partnerships
• Participation on state committees - providing a voice for Bay Area partnerships and access to additional resources and information.

"BaySCAN provides a voice that is respected and will be heard by employers, policy makers and legislators. As a school-to-career partnership, EASTBAY Learns has become dependent on BaySCAN as a driving force that will ensure sustainability and success for our efforts."
Roman Stearns
University of California,
Office of the President
(formerly Director of
EASTBAY Learns)

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