With PreK enrollment down dramatically last year in Grand Prairie ISD as well as across the state, Mary Jane Bowman, Executive Director of Literacy, PreK Programs, Dyslexia Services and Academic Interventions, felt a sense of urgency about getting the word out to families of 3- and 4-year-olds. As the district geared up for their PreK registration campaign, administrators marshalled all the communication platforms the district had available for community outreach: Facebook, billboards, and direct mail.

They also explored a new communication strategy: targeted advertising delivered through apps on mobile devices. Many economically disadvantaged and highly mobile families don’t receive direct mail and may not have a computer. Most of those families DO have mobile devices, however, and may be reached by delivering ads through the apps they use on their cell phones. The GPISD Public Engagement and Public Information Department put together an appealing media campaign. Using ReRoll by Datum Tech, a mobile device platform that specializes in education, they targeted their outreach to the places GPISD families visit, like pediatrician’s offices or specific retail outlets within the district, to deliver their video and banner ads directly to mobile devices. Datum Tech’s proprietary algorithms also allowed them to optimize for the target audience and preferred language, as well as adjust over the week to get the highest level of engagement.

Julie Baur, Coordinator of Graphic Design, noted a spike in website traffic once the registration drive launched. Grand Prairie ISD’s videos and banner ads about PreK registration were seen on mobile devices almost 150,000 times in the first 5 days of their PreK registration drive, with over 650 users linking from their devices to registration information on the GPISD website. The increase in PreK three- and four-year-old registrations was 5 times what they would normally expect for the week, and their programs are at capacity. MJ Bowman commented, “We got the word out to our hard-to-reach families.”

As we approach the new school year, effective district communications will be as crucial as it has been the last two years. Across the state, districts are using more social media and even direct outreach by visiting homes. As Grand Prairie ISD has demonstrated, mobile device data is one more resource that can be used for effective community engagement.