1. Working With Your Schools

2. What Do Our School Look Like… 2357 Public School Buildings 521 Private School Buildings 1,035,765 Public School Students 85,000 Private School Students

3. Home School Students –20,000 Students Homeless Students Educated –22,000 Students

4. Schools Are Truly Part Of Our Community We do more than teach… Schools feed 162,000 breakfast each day Schools feed 500,000 lunches each day

5. Schools Face Multiple Emergencies

6. Schools Prepare For…  Fire  Bomb Threat or Explosion  Hazardous Materials Release  Hostile Intruder  Severe Weather  Earthquake  Suicide

7. Family Loss Bullying Host of other events

8. Getting Your Message Into Schools Seems impossible at times Administrators and teachers time is at a premium Competition for administrators and teaches attention is intense Answering machines, voice mail, spam filters, etc. have created a barrier to entry

9. School Chain of Command Superintendent District Office Personnel PIO Multiple Local School Principals Assistant Principals Dean of Students Classroom Teachers

10. Work From the Top Down First stop always… The School Superintendent This may be nothing more than an informational or courtesy visit or stop, but it is vitally important. Never, never, blind side the Superintendent

11. Step two… Listen to his or her guidance Go where you are referred –Could be the Asst. Superintendent –Could be the PIO –Maybe someone else

12. Step Three… Always, always, contact the building principal before sending any information to the local school Follow his or her guidance You may get the green light to go directly to the classroom or you may be sent to someone else in the building

13. Step four… Make certain the information you are about to present has some relevance for the age group you are going to present to Seldom will the same materials appeal to elementary, junior and senior high school students

14. Give the classroom teacher a good reason to post your materials in their classroom. Take a look at classroom walls…it’s a scary sight !! You are competing for space and the ability to visually stimulate the students

19. Materials to Consider Try to think outside the box We always think, posters, bookmarks, etc. Be original and innovative it will get you into the classroom Make your offering “stand out” among the others

20. Language diversity is a plus More and more of our children are learning, but not yet fluent, in English Know the languages represented in the schools you target

21. More is not Always Better Finally, think through what you want to do Think about the audience Limit the amount of materials you send to schools You are more likely to get one piece in the classroom as opposed to several

22. After you have sent the materials to the school check with the principal about how well they were received If possible check with a classroom teacher at each level for an evaluation of the materials This will help you in the future

23. For More Information Barbara Thurman –OSPI –360-725-6044 –253-861-1640 –bthurman20@comcast.netbthurman20@comcast.net