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Communications coordinator reviews grants, ad campaign and virtual academy enrollment trends
Summary
District communications staff summarized a downward federal-grant trend, pending grant outcomes, and a new paid streaming and social ad campaign targeting Milwaukee-area households to grow St. Croix Virtual Academy enrollment.
District communications staff reported on grant applications, federal funding trends and a new advertising push for the St. Croix Virtual Academy.
The communications coordinator told the board that federal grant funding for nonprofits and school programs has declined and that local and foundation giving has become more important; the coordinator said foundations increasingly prioritize DEI and data-driven outcomes. Staff listed several grant applications made last year and said the district is still waiting on a major award — a grant of $71,000 referenced in the presentation — and that other smaller awards previously received totaled $1,500 in the prior year.
On recruitment and outreach, the coordinator described a paid streaming-television and social-media marketing campaign aimed at adults 24–44 and households with children, with an emphasis on Milwaukee-area counties where the district is seeing virtual-enrollment interest. The district reported running roughly 35,000–44,000 monthly impressions on digital advertising and said paid streaming ads started mid-September with planned higher impressions in January. Staff also reported quarterly newsletters, steady growth in Google Analytics metrics and social followers: the district page had about 4,123 Facebook followers with 333 new followers year-over-year and Instagram at 615 followers.
Board members asked whether the district tracks direct conversions from advertising to new virtual-enrollment registrations; the communications coordinator said the district has not yet implemented robust tracking to link ads to enrollments and intends to improve data collection and analytics for return-on-investment analysis.
Staff said the district will continue to pursue cybersecurity and safety grants, staff wellness grants, updated workshop equipment for the high school, and sensory-room updates for special education. The coordinator also said a student social-media ambassador program will be piloted using moderated student accounts for yearbook students to submit content for approval.
