Parent Ambassadors

This team works to build relationships with Catholic churches, especially those with feeder schools. In addition, the team should work to develop relationships with faith leaders who work in large places of worship - Lutheran, Presbyterian, Evangelical, Jewish, etc. Finally, this team will work to engage Faith Formation leaders to find ways of collaborating.

Ideas & Examples:

●  Attend mass or service as a guest, wear your Cadet apparel
●  Attend church or places of worship events (their carnivals, fall festivals, etc.) and wear your Cadet apparel
●  Invite faith leaders to Saint Thomas Academy events, such as Family Fun Night
●  Assist Admissions with engagement by delivering gift baskets or other Cadet merchandise
●  Work with Admissions & Marketing to have cadets speak or take part in Faith Formation class activities
●  Work with events team to host an informational session at your own place of worship
●  invite pastors and youth ministry leaders to STA for an introduction to the school and its faith-formation work (working with students who attend the pastor’s church).

Ideas & Examples:

●  Work with class captains, the events and school spirit teams to personally connect with each family - at a school event or activity
●  Assist Admissions & Marketing with communication strategies to best engage families - such as a Town Hall meeting/State of the School Address
●  Engage with parents via social media - perhaps a Class of 2020 Facebook group (private group)
●  Experiment with parent e-newsletter formats/frequency to increase readership
●  Send personal welcome notes to new families, along with a Saint Thomas Academy branded item
●  Ask for word of mouth recommendations and online reviews

This team will assist Admissions & Marketing with refreshing traditional events and implementing fresh, new events to drive engagement. Traditional events include: Admission Showcases (open houses), New Student Registration Night, Welcome to STA Night (orientation), Cadet Conversations (admission recruitment events) and Cadet Coffees. New event ideas are Cadet Connection events at all home football games and other selected athletic and co-curriculars.

Ideas & Examples:

●  Refresh the Welcome to STA night by having a cookout and other fun activities to complement families familiarizing themselves with the school, uniform and class schedule
●  Involve alumni and parents during Admission Showcase events as spokespeople
●  Host Cadet Conversations at interesting venues, such as the new Vikings training facility

Ideas & Examples:

●  Brainstorm white paper topics to feature on new website, such as “Why Private School is Right for You”, etc.
●  Highlight storytelling opportunities in neighborhood magazines (Woodbury, Edina, etc.)
●  Brainstorm ideas on how to market the school to middle school boys
●  Explore unique social media advertising ideas such as Mark Westlake being named the 2018 Space Educator of the Year
●  Work with realtors to share printed collateral material at open houses or when meeting with buyers who are new to the area

Ideas & Examples:

●  Exclusive invitation to a dress rehearsal event for a VISTA performance
●  Use of new website, podcast and blog to drive interest and attendance at the home opener of basketball (or other sport)
●  A contest between company or grade for the highest % attendance at an event
●  A pre-game Chalk Talk for all alumni at a selected event
●  Explore a similar idea to Freshmen Fun Night, but for other classes
●  Volleyball game night in Holtz gym for students
●  Parent mixers at school sporting or co-curricular events
●  School Fight Song Sing-Off event
●  Partnership on service events, such as Blankets for Bridging
●  After school ice cream socials