Back to School Ideas
Written by Melody Shuman
Its back to school time and that means great opportunities for
your school. To make your job easier, we’ve listed several
ways that can help you make this back to school season a successful
one.
Idea 1- Back to School Fundraiser: School supply drive
Each year our dojo collects school supplies from our students and
we donate the supplies to the local PTA organizations. This is a
good way to teach your students about philanthropy. By having all of
your students participate in a school supply drive, you can collect
hundreds of items for under privileged children who do not have the
money to buy the necessary items. This is also a great way to show
your local schools that you support them. The more involved you are
with community service acts such as the school supply drive, the
better chance you have of opening additional opportunities.
Here are some tips to help you make your school supply drive
successful:
- Ask all of your students to donate anything from pencils and
paper to back packs and lunch boxes.
- For every 5 small items or 1 large item they donate, give them
a ticket to enter into your back-to-school drawing. This drawing
can include prizes from martial arts key chains to fancy
weapons. You can even keep track of the donations by classes
with the winning class receiving a pizza party at the end of the
event.
- Contact your local PTA organizations, you may have to call
each school for the contact information, and coordinate a drop
off date and location for the donations.
- Notify the local media about each of the drop-offs, or have
each PTA organization representative come to your school on a
specified date to collect the donations. The media includes
newspaper and TV reporters, and radio personalities. These
influential people in the media will normally mention your event
or give you some recognition for you community involvement.
- When the drop-offs are complete, have a special day in which
you host a drawing for those who participated to give out
prizes. You can even conduct the drawings with a pizza party.
Idea 2: Donate free passes, book covers, and bookmarks to
the local schools
We know that going back to school can be stressful to a child. We
also know that martial arts can help. Your school can get great
exposure by donating one-month passes, book covers (with your
schools logo and information), and bookmarks (also with your logo
and information on it). These donations can be given to the PTA
organizations, or better yet the teachers. Normally, teachers like
to use these items as rewards and incentives for their students who
perform or participate well in class.
Idea 3: Get involved with school talks and demonstrations
at the local schools
Exposure is key to recruiting new members. By getting involved
with as many activities as you can at the local schools, you will
generate a decent amount of exposure that will bring in tons of new
leads. School talks are also a great way to leave a positive
impression on future students.
Here are a few tips to help you:
- Send letters with your students to their teachers about your
school talks. The teacher can fill out the form and send it back
to you with the students. Then go to the school at the set date
and time to give a high-energy talk on topics that are a
positive influence on the students. We recommend the “Yes I Can”
speech. Email me for a copy of the “Yes I Can” speech.
- Collect the yearly calendars from each elementary, private,
and secondary school in your community. Make note of the
holidays, carnivals, and other special events and activities.
Contact the school to find out how you can participate in these
events. We recommend that you get your leadership team and demo
team involved. Also, you can arrange to conduct full-day
seminars on the days that the local schools are closed, such as
teachers work days. This will attract students who don’t have
supervision on those random days that the schools are closed.
Idea 4: Back to school specials
Make sure that you are offering a great back to school special in
order to get those interested enrolled in your school. Create one
special offer, make the expiration date 30 to 45 days from the
release date of your back to school marketing campaign, and
advertise using as many avenues as you can.
Here are some suggestions:
- Newspaper ad
- Direct mail
- Flyers
- Door hangars
- E-mail
- And more!
Also, if you have a web-site, change your home page with an
opening text about back to school tips and how martial arts can help
students cope with those back to school challenges.
Idea 5: Host a back to school picnic for your student’s
teachers and class mates.
A great way for you to meet your student’s teachers is to host a
gathering where everyone comes together in a fun family atmosphere.
You can have a BBQ, a scavenger hunt, a parent and teacher’s
volleyball or baseball game, etc. This is a fantastic opportunity
for the teachers to get to know you and your staff, and see the
great influence that you have with your students.
Remember, back to school time can be very lucrative for your
martial arts business if you put enough effort into it. Try to get
involved in as many school based activities as you can to increase
your success. As usual, feel free to contact us if you have any
additional questions.
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