As you begin looking ahead to next year’s classes, here are some ideas shared by teachers during a roundtable discussion at Conclave. Have a better idea? Let us know by visiting the Contact Us section. We’ll add your suggestion to the list. Thanks!
- Parade of excellence: showcase of projects and awards displayed in various locations throughout the building
- Endorsements by local businesses
- Review applications for work permits for potential students
- Offer college credit (dual enrollment, etc.) for selected courses as part of an articulation program (Position classes with Tech Prep program)
- Post photos of students participating in various events–-both local and at state and national conferences
- Get quotes (endorsements) from former students, business, etc. Blow them up very large and post throughout the building
- Post materials in classrooms used for required academic courses (math, English, social studies, etc.)
- Get involved with principal’s awards ceremony
- Do a strategic marketing plan so that your activities tie together and make a positive positioning statement
- Have current students target potential students from appropriate grade level; provide materials for them to distribute
- Use MBAResearch curriculum posters in all academic rooms to make the point to both the students and to the academic teachers that program is challenging and standards-based
- Do a parent newsletter for all parents
- Involve counselors in key events; use them as chaperones for DECA
- Do a Jeopardy-style game in social studies class with questions about current events and about program
- Do a special informal pizza lunch by invitation for serious candidates
- Have an open-house day for students with a free period (or study hall) to stop in the classroom for a snack and to see awards, talk to best students, etc.
- Organize an afternoon get-together with counselors and best students to discuss program. Use food as a motivation for coming.
- Build a PowerPoint presentation with photos from events
- Make key administrators and counselors professional members of DECA
- Have a career fair featuring local business leaders and former students
- Involve recent graduates who are majoring in marketing or business
- Treat other teachers as a market; many of them influence younger students to take or not to take marketing
- Involve counselors and other teachers in mock interviews, mock events, etc.
- Get counselors and other teachers to serve as judges for district and state events
- Collect employment data on current and past students; publicize how much they earn in a year
- Publicize DECA scholarship among parents, counselors, and students--especially parents and counselors