Fall 2020 Lab Outreach Toolkit

Please use the resources below to support outreach for the Brooklyn Creative Learning Lab for Fall 2020 Labs. We have put together the following resources:

• social media share graphics

• key messaging points

• sample outreach email language

• outreach best practices

Audience Categories: Think about your network (education, professional, geographic). Consider the following audience categories and how they can spread the word:

1. Schools (identify 1-3 schools): via their newsletter to parents and on their website

2. Community Center: via their newsletters and on their website

3. Local Libraries: via their newsletters and on their website 

4. Parents/Friends/Children: via word of mouth

5. Social Media Groups: via sharing social media graphics and link to the registration page

6. Professional Networks on LinkedIn: via sharing social media graphics and link to the registration page

Outreach Best Practices and Procedures

1. Track all correspondences on Monday.com on the outreach dashboard, including potential interest, follow ups, etc.

2. Begin by creating a personal list of contacts. Use the categories above to help brainstorm candidates for outreach.

3. Conduct separate research on organizations, schools, and/or professional networks to identify appropriate contacts. Visit their website, social media pages, etc. to learn more about who is the best person to reach out to.

4. Always personalize your email based on your relationship and mention Lab registration clearly in the beginning.

5. Adapt your email to your audience. For example, you will use different language with a friend vs. a parent vs. a school administrator.

6. Follow up after 3 days.

7. Set aside 60 minutes on your daily agenda for outreach.

8. Share student projects from the “Student Voice & Projects” page

9. Reach out to Aysha or Hannah to review your email if you have questions and/or are sending to a new audience.

10. Always direct people to our registration page.

Click the photos below to download Social Media Graphics

Click on the image to download a high resolution file. When the image pops in a new window, right click to download and save to your desktop or phone.

Brooklyn Creative Learning Lab Key Messaging

THE FOLLOWING BULLETS ARE APPROVED KEY MESSAGING POINTS THAT YOU CAN USE IN OUTREACH:

• Based in the heart of Dumbo, Brooklyn, the Brooklyn Creative Learning Lab offers vibrant online and in-person Creative Lab Courses for students in middle school, high school, and early college.

• Our Labs foster collaboration and design thinking; they culminate in digital portfolio projects that showcase students’ personal passions and community engagement.

• Final projects depend on student choice. Previous projects have ranged from podcasts to interactive blog postings to short-form videos to reinvented items of recycled clothing— all supported by a committed instructional team of experienced educators, student teachers, experts in each field, and celebrated guest speakers.

• We encourage student engagement with the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals and social entrepreneurship at every stage of the project-based learning cycle.

• Our labs prepare students to have robust digital portfolios of projects ready to attach to the leading online high school and college applications.

• With the movement away from standardized tests, digitally archived student projects are becoming increasingly important in high school and college applications. This is an incredible opportunity for your child to meet students from around the country, explore topics of interest with motivated peers, and build a digital portfolio project that showcases personal passion and community engagement.

Sample Outreach Letter to Schools

Dear [enter Contact Name],

I'm writing about some incredible upcoming after school enrichment opportunities for [enter school name] students in Grades [change depending on school level). These Labs are offered through the Brooklyn Creative Learning Lab, a Brooklyn-based education startup that offers vibrant online Creative Lab Courses. Working with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, our Labs foster collaboration and design thinking; they culminate in digital portfolio projects that showcase students’ personal passions and community engagement.

We have a few spots left for our fall Labs, which start on October 12. I wanted to give your students the opportunity to register. We are offering the following six labs, three of which are “pay-as-you-wish” pilots:

1. Democracy Action Lab (Grades 7-11) | 12 Sessions | October 12 - November 18

2. Sustainable Fashion Lab (Grades 7-11) | 10 Sessions | October 12 - November 11

3. Art of the Interview (Grades 5-7 & 8-11) 12 Sessions | October 13 - November 19

4. Green Urban Design & Architectural Drawing * (Grades 9-11) | 6 Sessions | October 26 - November 11

5. Climate Action Lab* (7-11) | 10 Sessions | October 20 - November 19

6. Documentary Filmmaking* (Grades 9-11) | 6 Sessions | October 27 - November 12

* Pay-as-you-wish pilots

To better understand the student experience, check out our student projects page, where Panchami, an 11th grader from Bangalore India, transforms her mothers’ worn sari fabric into shirts and earrings for our Sustainable Fashion Lab or 10th grader Cuatro interviews Architectural Digest Editor-in-Chief Amy Astley for his Art of the Interview podcast. 

Note that all pilot Labs are "pay-as-you-wish," and we reserve a # of spots for "pay-as-you-wish" students for our other Labs to remove the financial barrier to this incredible opportunity.

These are collaborative, seminar-sized Zoom labs of no more than 20 students. Click here to learn more. 

Would you mind sharing this opportunity with parents and students? Also, I'd be happy to jump on a call with you to discuss more about what we do and future areas of collaboration.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Best,

[Your Name]

Sample Outreach Letter Language to Brooklyn Creative Learning Lab Parents

Dear Brooklyn Creative Learning Lab Parents,

It was such a pleasure to have your child in our 2020 Summer Labs. I am writing to invite you to register for our Fall 2020 Labs, which meet twice a week for 60-90-minute sessions. Starting October 5th and continuing throughout fall 2020,  we are offering the following six labs, three of which are “pay-as-you-wish” pilots:

• Democracy Action Lab (Grades 7-11) | 12 Sessions | October 12 - November 18

• Sustainable Fashion Lab (Grades 7-11) | 10 Sessions | October 12 - November 11

• Art of the Interview (Grades 5-7 & 8-11) 12 Sessions | October 13 - November 19

• Green Urban Design & Architectural Drawing * (Grades 9-11) | 6 Sessions | October 26 - November 11

• Climate Action Lab* (7-11) | 10 Sessions | October 20 - November 19

• Documentary Filmmaking* (Grades 9-11) | 6 Sessions | October 27 - November 12

* "Pay-as-you-wish" pilots

With a 20-student limit on each Lab, we wanted to give you an opportunity to register first. Please share this with your children’s friends and parents.  

Click here to register and learn more. 

We are moving the Democracy Action Lab, Art of the Interview, and Sustainable Fashion Lab out of the “pay-as-you-wish” pilot phase and offering them at a price point 30 percent lower than similar enrichment courses. Note that our differentiator is that we work with some of the best curriculum developers in the country along with outstanding instructors that specialize in project-based learning online education. 

With the movement away from standardized tests, digitally archived student projects are becoming increasingly important in high school and college applications. This is an incredible opportunity for your child to meet students from around the country, explore topics of interest with motivated peers, and build a digital portfolio project that showcases personal passion and community engagement.

Let us know if you have any questions, and we look forward to hearing from you.

Best,

[First Name, Last Name]

Sample Outreach Letter Language from Intern

This is a sample email from an intern to a friend. Adapt your email to your audience. For example, you will use different language with a friend vs. a parent vs. a school administrator.

Dear [Name], 

How are [check in on them and their lives] ?

I am currently interning at the Brooklyn Creative Learning Lab, a Brooklyn-based education startup that offers vibrant online and in-person Creative Lab Courses for students in middle school, high school, and early college. Our Labs foster collaboration and design thinking; they culminate in digital portfolio projects that showcase students’ personal passions and community engagement.

We have a few spots left for our fall Labs. As a [parent, educator, student, etc.] who [why you value this person//why they might value our labs], I wanted to give you the opportunity to sign up for one of our upcoming Labs.  Starting October 5th and continuing throughout fall 2020,  we are offering the following six labs, three of which are “pay-as-you-wish” pilots:

• Democracy Action Lab (Grades 7-11) | 12 Sessions | October 12 - November 18

• Sustainable Fashion Lab (Grades 7-11) | 10 Sessions | October 12 - November 11

• Art of the Interview (Grades 5-7 & 8-11) 12 Sessions | October 13 - November 19

• Green Urban Design & Architectural Drawing * (Grades 9-11) | 6 Sessions | October 26 - November 11

• Climate Action Lab* (7-11) | 10 Sessions | October 20 - November 19

• Documentary Filmmaking* (Grades 9-11) | 6 Sessions | October 27 - November 12

* Pay-as-you-wish pilots

To better understand the student experience, check out our student projects page, where Panchami, an 11th grader from Bangalore India, transforms her mothers’ worn sari fabric into shirts and earrings for our Sustainable Fashion Lab or 10th grader Cuatro interviews Architectural Digest Editor-in-Chief Amy Astley for his Art of the Interview podcast. 

 Click here to register and learn more. 

Feel free to share this information with middle and high school students, caregivers, teachers, and administrators that you think would be interested in joining or supporting outreach for this pilot. In the meantime, I am happy to answer any questions you may have.

Best,

[Your Name]

About The Brooklyn Creative Learning Lab

below is official “about” language for the organization. Please feel free to pull from this at any time to develop your messaging.

Based in the heart of Dumbo, Brooklyn, the Brooklyn Creative Learning Lab offers vibrant online and in-person Creative Lab Courses for students in middle school, high school, and early college. Our Labs foster collaboration and design thinking; they culminate in digital portfolio projects that showcase students’ personal passions and community engagement. Final projects depend on student choice. Previous projects have ranged from podcasts to interactive blog postings to short-form videos to reinvented items of recycled clothing— all supported by a committed instructional team of experienced educators, student teachers, experts in each field, and celebrated guest speakers. We encourage student engagement with the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals and social entrepreneurship at every stage of the project-based learning cycle. Our labs prepare students to have robust digital portfolios of projects ready to attach to the leading online high school and college applications.