District to develop three-year marketing plan

A generation ago, parents had few options about where to send their children for school. Most simply sent their children to the public school in their neighborhood. Today’s parents have many more options, and public schools must compete for students and the state funding that comes with them.

Dr. John M. Baracy, superintendent of Scottsdale schools, on Tuesday asked members of the community to help develop a three-year marketing plan to reverse last year’s enrollment decline and establish the financial strength and stability that will allow the district to continue offering the high-quality programs that parents have come to expect from Scottsdale schools.

“We need to have financial stability so we can continue to offer the special programs that make our schools so strong,” Dr. Baracy told the Governing Board on Tuesday evening. “We must convince students who have left us to come back home to Scottsdale schools, and we need to bring in students from outside our district.”

Dr. Baracy has had success with marketing before. In his former district, Tempe Elementary, a nationally award-winning marketing program helped increase enrollment after several years of decline.

Scottsdale schools have a lot to offer parents and students, he said. The district has 19 schools rated Excelling by the Arizona Department of Education, more than any other district in the state. All Scottsdale schools are rated as Performing, Highly Performing or Excelling, a rare accomplishment. And Scottsdale students have a history of success, including more than $30 million in scholarships won by the Class of 2004.

The marketing task force, which will be led by Tom Herrmann, district public information officer, will complete its work by November 1. Parents can volunteer for the task force by sending an e-mail to the district at marketing@susd.org.

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