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Prekindergarten Enrollment Toolkit
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Overview
In Texas, ~50,000 eligible 4-year-olds and ~225,000 eligible 3-year-olds are not enrolled in public prekindergarten. Increasing student enrollment in High-Quality prekindergarten programs across the state is a high priority. This toolkit offers ideas to help guide school districts and charter schools with each step in the process of recruiting, enrolling, and serving prekindergarten-eligible children and their families. The toolkit is composed of five categories: Outreach, Family Education, Registration, Expanding Access, and Community Empowerment. Each category will have strategies with specific tools and content to help expand enrollment in High-Quality prekindergarten programs.
Outreach
Utilize Targeted Messaging
Create flyers, posters, or using social media to reach families and community members. (See tools)
Partner with Primary Care Providers
Partner with local primary care providers to have them support the prekindergarten awareness effort. Discussing the importance of prekindergarten can be a part of the well-check process. (See tools)
Utilize an Effective Media Campaign
Implement a media campaign that involves TV and radio spots as well as social media. Insert promotional/information ads in local newspapers, district and campus newsletters, utility bills, and bumper stickers. (See tools)
Position Parents as Resources
Promote parent-to-parent sharing of experiences about prekindergarten education through PTO/PTA meetings, informal social events, testimonial videos, and/or home visits. Recruit a group of current and/or past prekindergarten parents who could help with outreach efforts. Provide badges that they can wear during prekindergarten events to help promote the program. (See tools)
Pre-k Best Practices and Advice for Outreach
How to use these messaging statements
- Use information to make your own flyers applicable to your area.
- Distribute to current families.
- Partner with community agencies to distribute at libraries, churches, neighborhood meetings, homeless shelters, etc.
- Distribute flyers through local businesses.
- Connect with your local police department to help spread the word about your pre-k programs.
- Partner with local realtors to help distribute to new families moving into your area. Target apartment complexes where eligible students reside. Ask if they would be willing to distribute flyers to new and existing renters.
- View English Version | View Spanish Version
Sample Messaging Tools
- Pre-k Matters Infographic
- Sample Prekindergarten Social Media Language (View English Version | View Spanish Version)
- Social Media Hashtags
- Prekindergarten Neighborhood Walk Flyer (View English Version | View Spanish Version)
- Prekindergarten Neighborhood Walk Tips
Sample Primary Care Provider Tools
How to use the Prescription for Prekindergarten
- Use the information to create a prescription for your area
- Reproduce as a notepad to distribute to local primary care providers
- Meet with the primary care providers to provide some context and background about your programs and why they should prescribe it
Media Campaign Tools
Parents as Resources Tools
- Parent Ambassador Recruiting Flyer (View English Version | View Spanish Version)
- Parent Ambassador Letter (View English Version | View Spanish Version)
- Sample Parent Talking Points (View English Version | View Spanish Version)
- Sample Prekindergarten Parent Ambassador Badges (View English Version | View Spanish Version)
Family Education
Highlight Developmental/Parenting Tips
Provide tips for families about child development and learning via newsletters, posters, and/or social media. Small tips can help families become aware of where their child falls on the developmental continuum. (See tools)
Host Family Workshops
Provide bilingual workshops on topics such as: Health and Wellness, How Play Connects to Learning, Developmentally-Appropriate Activities for Young Children, Family Engagement, etc. Empower parents to lead workshops with other parents and/or to provide coaching to other parents. (See tools)
Provide School Tours
Provide school tours (during the school day) throughout the year to prospective parents. This will allow them to get a firsthand look at the school and prekindergarten classrooms. (See tools)
Host a Pre-k Event Day
Host a fair-type event at one of your sites to allow families to experience not only the elements of learning in prekindergarten, but also the features of a "school." (See tools)
Utilize Online Platforms and/or Social Media
Develop a blog where parents can publish their testimonials about their positive experiences in prekindergarten education. Use social media outlets to expose parents to developmental learning tips and/or any of the strategies listed above. (See tools)
Tools for Highlighting Developmental/Parenting Tips
- Little Texans Parent Guides and Posters on Developmental Milestones
- CLI Engage Infant and Toddler Developmental Checklists
- Zero to Three Article: The Power of Play (View English Version | View Spanish Version)
How to use these messaging statements
- Use information from these tools in newsletters and/or posters to highlight developmental milestones in young children.
- Take small portions of the checklists to highlight in newsletters and/or on district/school websites.
Family Workshop Tools
- E3 Alliance School Readiness Parent Guides
- PBS Parents Website
- Parents as Teachers Website
- CLI Engage CIRCLE Activity Collection: Family
- Help for Parents. Hope for Kids.
- Zero to Three: Grandparent Guide
How to use these workshop tools
Take ideas from these tools to create engaging learning activities such as "Make and Takes" for families to use at home.
School Tour Tools
The School Tour Activity Pack includes tools for putting together a school tour for prekindergarten families (signs, flyers, activity suggestions, and tips!).
Prekindergarten Event Day Tools
- The Prekindergarten Fair Toolkit includes activity suggestions, signage, and flyers.
- The E3 Alliance School Readiness Parent Guide provides easy-to-use tools to help children successfully prepare to enter school. This guide is downloadable for free and can be provided at the fair.
Utilize Online Platforms and Social Media Tools
Sample Prekindergarten Social Media Language (View English Version | View Spanish Version)
Registration
Provide Family-Friendly Registration Information
Ensure that your registration process communicated clearly to families through websites, flyers, on at the school itself. (See tools)
Offer Registration Support Packets
Provide registration packets for your campuses/sites/schools to use during their registration days. Include a flow chart of the process and tips such as: greet/welcome families with a smile, provide books/activities that young children can do while parents are filling out documents, etc. (See tools)
Host an Official Pre-k Orientation Day
Host a prekindergarten orientation day that families can attend on their prospective campus. On this day, families can learn about the school, the prekindergarten program offered, meet teachers, and/or take a tour of the school. Include a registration table if possible. (See tools)
Utilize Effective Outreach and Marketing
Promote registration throughout your district: website, administrative offices, campus banners/marquees, flyers, posters, and/or social media. Don't limit your marketing to only campuses that have prekindergarten programs. Work with community and city agencies to advertise prekindergarten registration throughout the community. Advertise registration through local news and radio stations. (See tools)
Position Parents as Resources
Expand the reach of the enrollment office by creating a "Prekindergarten Parent Ambassador" group. This group of parents can help new parents during registration events and/or act as mentors of the new enrollees. (See tools)
Family-Friendly Registration Information Tools
- Documents needed for pre-k registration (View English Version | View Spanish Version)
Tools for Registration Support Packets
- Austin ISD Pre-k Registration Flowchart
- Sample Pre-k Registration Flyers (View English Version | View Spanish Version)
- Prekindergarten Registration Tips
Tools for Hosting a Pre-k Orientation Day
- Sample Prekindergarten Orientation Outline
- Sample Prekindergarten Orientation Flyer (View English Version | View Spanish Version)
- School Tour Activity Pack (with English and Spanish included)
Outreach and Marketing Tools
- Best Practices and Advice for Outreach
- Sample Social Media Language (View English Version | View Spanish Version)
- Neighborhood Walk Flyer (View English Version | View Spanish Version)
- Pre-k Neighborhood Walk Tips
- Sample Pre-k Registration News Media Coverage (KXAN Pre-k Enrollment Coverage in Austin ISD)
- District Registration Promotional Videos
Parents as Resources Tools
- Parent Ambassador Letter (View English Version | View Spanish Version
Expanding Access
Identify Barriers and Challenges
Determine the specific barriers and challenges in your own district/charter through surveys and/or focus groups. Use this information to focus your efforts on eliminating barriers specific to your community. (See tools)
Facilitate Transportation
Find creative solutions to get children to school such as vans, school buses, or a "walking school bus" where a group of trained parents take turns walking children to and from school in a group. (See tools)
Offer Enrichment Activities
Review your prekindergarten school day schedule. Is it in line with other elementary grade levels? If not, consider offering enrichment activities before or after school to make up for the time so that families can pick up all their children at once. Investigate community volunteer groups that may be willing to offer enrichment activities (i.e. art, dance, makerspace, STEM learning, gardening, and/or storytelling).
Provide Before and After School Care
Offer child care on site to accommodate family work schedules that do not align with school day. Investigate partnerships with community agencies that may be able to provide child care on site. (See tools)
Partner with Child Development Centers
Partner with child development centers in your community to provide more before and after school care options for families. Contact the TEA Early Childhood Education Division for more information on how to begin a partnership at (512) 463-8967.
Build Relationships
Engage in relationship-building activities throughout the community prior to enrollment. Participate in community events, particularly those catered to families of young children, to meet prospective families and showcase your prekindergarten program. (See tools)
Tools to Help Identify Barriers/Challenges
- Sample Survey Questions (View English Version | View Spanish Version)
How to use these surveys
- Select questions based on the audience you are targeting
- Survey families of current prekindergarten students
- Offer the surveys as part of the registration process
- Offer the surveys in campus offices for families that inquire about the prekindergarten program
Transportation Tools
Before and After School Care Tools
- After School Alliance (national)
- After School Alliance (Texas)
Tools for Building Relationships
- Prekindergarten Talking Points for staff (View English Version | View Spanish Version)
- Prekindergarten Community Event Activity Suggestions
- Family Information Cards (View English Version | View Spanish Version)
Community Empowerment
Utilize Parent Ambassadors
Recruit current or former parents/families of prekindergarten children who would be willing to help with outreach in the community. Among their many possible outreach support roles, parent ambassadors can provide neighborhood walks, linguistic support, registration help, shared experiences, and/or facilitate workshops for other parents. (See tools)
Build Community Partnerships
Reach out to your community and create a Prekindergarten Community Partnership Group. This group can serve as another voice for your district/charter's prekindergarten program. It can help with outreach, registration, access, family education, and even providing space and support for prekindergarten events. (See tools)
Parent Ambassador Tools
- Sample Pre-k Parent Ambassador recruiting flyer (View English Version | View Spanish Version)
- Sample Parent Talking Points (View English Version | View Spanish Version)
- Pre-k Neighborhood Walk Tips
- Neighborhood Walk Flyer (View English Version | View Spanish Version)
- Sample Pre-k Parent Ambassador Badges (View English Version | View Spanish Version)
Community Partnership Tools
- Community Event Activity Suggestions
- Prekindergarten Talking Points for Staff (View English Version | View Spanish Version)
- Family Information Cards (View English Version | View Spanish Version)
Example Enrollment Campaign
Overview
In the DFW region, Commit2Dallas has brought 13 districts together to build a campaign around prekindergarten enrollment and registration. The cohort of districts pooled resources of their marketing dollars towards a nearly $150,000 joint media buy. For example, instead of Dallas ISD and Fort Worth ISD both trying to buy air time on the same station for PreK enrollment, there is a general commercial that both districts (and other districts) have contributed towards, which allows us to have a higher frequency of the commercial. This makes the message about enrolling your child in a high-quality PreK program, rather than enrolling in a particular district. This only works, though, if districts have agreed to a common registration period. The districts in this cohort have agreed to the first week in April.
The resources and tools provided in this section have all been shared by Commit2Dallas. Their hope is that this will be helpful to other regions/districts who are interested in adopting this model. If you have any questions or need more information, please contact Chelsea Jeffery at chelsea.jeffery@commit2dallas.org or by phone at 972-965-3296.
Project Timeline
Commit2Dallas is sharing their project timeline which gives an idea of when they start mobilizing and activating on the various strategies. Commit2Dallas is happy to talk more about how they work with districts to track their data throughout the summer so that they can target their outreach efforts more strategically as the start of school approaches.
Tools
Pre-K Enrollment Campaign Project Timeline
Text Messaging Platform
A text message platform was used to give parents a different avenue to ask questions or get information. The platform used in the DFW area was SignalVine. Parents would text the word Pre-K to a designated text number and that would then allow them to be able to text any questions they had regarding pre-k. Registration information could also be pushed out through text messages to the parents who were using the platform.
Tools
- Commit2Dallas was able to provide Dallas ISD with data from the texting platform after having it available for 2 months. (Dallas ISD SignalVine Analysis)
- This document shows the end of summer results from texting and how they were used to identify best practices in marketing efforts. (End of Campaign Texting Analysis)
Radio Commercials
Commit2Dallas worked with a community partner to develop a radio commercial with parent and kid voice, rather than using your typical district spokesman. After the commercial aired, we saw a large increase in the number of texting participants and enrollment in districts.
Tools
TV Commercials and Videos for Social Media
Parent testimonial videos (English and Spanish) were utilized on social media and throughout the website. This year a 30 second TV advertisement with concepts developed by parents was created (English and Spanish). There are also longer 1 minute versions that will be pushed out via social media.
Tools
- Parent Testimonial Videos (View English Version | View Spanish Version)
- 30 second TV Advertisement (View English Version | View Spanish Version)
Community Partners
Over 50 community partners were utilized to distribute district flyers to families. Partners can be anyone from a church to a WIC office. Partners request flyers through a survey and then Commit prints and distributes to lower costs. What’s unique about this is that these partners can be trained to be Pre-K advocates beyond just giving them flyers. For example, many of the same documents needed to apply for SNAP benefits at WIC are the same documents needed for PreK. We provide partners with training materials, FAQ sheets, social media guides, documentation required, etc… to help them be advocates who walk parents through the enrollment process.
Tools
- Materials for training community partners
- FAQ sheets
- Social media guides
- Documentation required
- Common misconceptions about pre-k
Other Resources
Do you have any strategies or resources that you'd like to share with the rest of the education community? Please send them to earlychildhoodeducation@tea.texas.gov.
