Managing communications can be a lot to juggle for any organization. With Captivate Media + Consulting’s strategic communication services, we become an extension of your team, ensuring expert, impactful content for your district’s campaign. Choose the support you need and let us help elevate your communications project with ease. St. Cloud Area Schools faced a common issue: declining enrollment, particularly at the secondary level. Here’s how we helped them reverse this trend and boost student enrollment and revenue through our four-step PR process.
While the cities population was increasing, district enrollment was decreasing by approximately 438 students annually. The state average loss was around 9% at the time, while St. Cloud lost about 30% of students to open enrollment.
We held 16 focus groups with students, families, staff, and the community. Key insight: competition and misperceptions were causing a decline.
We developed a two-year communication plan based on data and feedback, setting objectives to address misperceptions and foster trust.
We introduced the campaign to district leaders, providing guidance for incorporating key messages across district and school communications.
By the start of the 2024-25 school year, enrollment increased by 566 students, exceeding the goal of 210 students.
Posters breaking down detailed enrollment for kindergarten
Templates for social media posts
Open house posters at the middle school level
We’ve got the full breakdown of the history, the problems, and the full 4 step solution we implemented on this slideshow here. Take a look around at other impactful works on our Case Studies page.
