William J. Banach - The ABCs of Teacher Marketing

Cover

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The ABC Series

The ABC Complete Book of School Marketing

The ABC Complete Book of School Surveys

The ABCs of Teacher Marketing

The ABCs of School Board Marketing

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The ABCs of Teacher Marketing

William J. Banach

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SCARECROW PRESS, INC.
A Scarecrow Education Book

Published in the United States of America
by Scarecrow Press, Inc.
4720 Boston Way, Lanham, Maryland 20706
www.scarecroweducation.com

4 Pleydell Gardens, Folkestone
Kent CT20 2DN, England

Copyright 2001 by William J. Banach
Original copyright 1998 / Banach, Banach & Cassidy, Inc. / Ray Township, Michigan

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Banach, William Joseph.
The ABCs of teacher marketing / William J. Banach.
p. cm. (A Scarecrow education book)
ISBN 0-8108-3948-2 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. SchoolsPublic relationsHandbook, manuals, etc. 2. TeachersMarketingHandbooks, manuals, etc.
3. EducationMarketingHandbooks, manuals, etc. I. Title. II. Series.
LB2847 .B365 2001
371.1'0068'8dc21 00-052236

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992. Manufactured in the United States of America.

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For most parents a school is only as good as the teacher in front of their child. Even people without school age children typically rank "good teachers" as the single most important indicator of a good school.

How nice it is to hear something positive! How awesome, however, is the responsibility.

Teachers deliver the instructional program. They are the people who bring excitement to the learning process ... and they're the most visible indicators of a good school. Nothing new here.

But in today's competitive educational environment teachers also have to be effective marketers. Competition has placed them at the front lines when it comes to building better understanding of and support for schools.

Here's why: The number of educational options is growing. Most states now have choice or charter school legislation. Most communities have home schools. And the number of electronic learning alternatives and virtual schools is increasing.

In short, when it comes to learning, people have more choices than they've ever had. And it's likely that the list of learning options will increase.

These "marketplace forces" make it more important than ever that every teacher establish and maintain positive relations with key public audiences. Nothing new here, either. Good teachers have always worked to establish learning partnerships with parents and others.

What is new, however, is that the future of public education could very well be determined by how effectively teachers market their programs ... and themselves.

This brief marketing primer is designed to help teachers develop a personal marketing program. It will help teachers build relationships with parents and other key publics. And it will assure that teachers receive the support and recognition that they deserve.

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The ABCs of Teacher Marketing is organized around a school year. It begins with a definition of marketing, and moves to the first day of school. In addition to providing some day-to-day communication suggestions, the booklet helps teachers capitalize on important dates during the school year. For example, there's information related to parent conferences, open houses, explaining inservice days, and ending the year. You'll also find some process forms which will help you develop a marketing plan for anything that occurs during the year, whether it's a new approach to teaching or a special event.

Read The ABCs of Teacher Marketing with a pen in hand. Make notes and jot down ideas. Use the content to develop a plan which helps others understand how good you -- the teachers -- really are.