Marketing a Middle School: Inside a School-Business Partnership

• In Event: School Choice Policies and Practices

Abstract

This paper reports on the findings of a study of school-business partnership in New York City, focusing primarily on a single potentially ideal case partnership. It examines the results and developments in a relationship between a small advertising firm and a small middle school that initially focused on marketing assistance for the school, an inevitable product of a school choice program. It found initial success, but the different cultures of the two organizations and different expectations for the partnership eventually led to problems. Implications focus on clarifying communications about expectations and potential roles, and concern about the risks of other school-business partnerships.

Author

• Alexander Mishra Hoffman, AleDev Research