People need exposure to new experiences to build empathy and internalize change.
Event management is as much about taking people through change as it is inviting them into new experiences. My role as an event planner is to provide influencers with access to spaces and information with a goal of coming together for a shared sense of purpose. I have experience with event planning and management in both corporate and nonprofit settings, from executive C-Suite gatherings to mid-size breakfasts for community leaders to large-scale events. Below are a few recent examples of my event management work.
Open House
Open House Day (formerly Parent Shadow Day) was established years ago as a way for parents to attend a day of school with their Evanston Township High School student. The event went through several redesigns in an effort to engage more families, first in 2011 to more broadly address the ways in which adults might seek to participate based on their varied prior experiences and dispositions toward school involvement, and again in 2016 to add an evening Open House option.
Our planning team used an equity and empowerment framework to look deeply at who was missing from the event and why and developed an engagement strategy to redefine the event. The event was rebranded so we could broaden the definition of “parent” to include other adult family members, such as grandparents, godparents, aunts, uncles, and adult siblings 25 years and older. We developed new practices to position the school as a more welcoming and culturally relevant space, such as establishing a “V.I.P. (Very Important Parent/Guardian/Relative)” model that included a V.I.P. Suite complete with amenities. We eliminated more barriers to attendance by introducing flexible registration options that allowed adults to RSVP to attend for a half day, full day, or select class periods.
The Evening Open House was added using a curriculum night format for adults who prefer an expedited meet and greet option. Our team developed a public outreach strategy that encompassed a strong word-of-mouth campaign of Parent and Student Ambassadors designed to reach and resonate with the intended audience in addition to utilizing traditional media techniques. Our efforts to redefine family engagement via the Open House Day event helped increase adult participation across all groups. Event attendance data indicated that the percent of students with adult guests in attendance was representative of the overall school racial and ethnic demographic data as highlighted in the school profile. View event website.
“This was my first time at ETHS and I was impressed by the staff involvement. The teachers are excellent and the classes seemed very interactive. I was impressed. I really enjoyed the VIP suite – it made me feel welcome, wanted and special.” – Post-event survey comment
Campus Tours
The ETHS Campus Tour days were designed to provide prospective families, community members, business owners, and people who work in the city a guided tour of the school’s facilities. Each 60-minute tour is hosted on select Saturdays throughout the school year by ETHS staff and includes visits to key areas of the school followed by an optional 20-minute Q&A session.
Our team’s event planning included a custom event brand, tour script, and a volunteer management plan to engage Student and Parent Ambassadors as actors throughout the tour experience. Through event brand development and the implementation of outreach strategies with feeder schools, our team built a broad following of prospective families eager to sign up for the coveted tour spots. We implemented innovative social media and word-of-mouth strategies, helping the event fill up quickly for each of the tour dates. Survey data shows that Campus Tours remain a helpful resource for prospective families and students, helping to dispel general fears about the overall size of the building and campus. View event website.
“The tour guides were knowledgeable and friendly. We are all very excited for our son to start ETHS. We are really impressed by what the school has to offer. We didn’t expect such a big school to be so warm and inviting.” – Post-event survey comment
State of the Schools
The State of the Schools event was a public forum featuring the superintendents from Evanston’s two school districts. The forum was hosted during several years of significant change to give the leaders an opportunity to share their visions on how the Evanston/Skokie public schools can prepare all students for future success.
Our team’s planning included a custom event brand, theme (Building Our Future Together) and hashtag (#EvanstonSchools) that enabled the conversation to begin prior to the event and progress organically using a Poll Everywhere question submission feature and Twitter during the event. The forum was well attended with a diverse group of stakeholders and left attendees more informed, and in many cases, supportive of the Evanston/Skokie public schools.
Can I go back to High School?? 15 gyms and a ChromeZone?! Yes, please!
#evanstonschoolsGretchen Livingston @gmlivingston
Janet Webb: every parent sends his/her BEST child to school. Great end to
#evanstonschools state of schools
