Challenge

In July 2020, just 7 percent of educators said they were prepared to address the social and emotional needs of students during COVID-19.

The Nora Project, a nonprofit devoted to providing high-quality social and emotional learning (SEL) and disability inclusion programming to schools, was there to help. But by the time they became a pro bono client of Greentarget in early 2021, the organization was struggling to get overwhelmed and overworked teachers to sign up for their vital programs.

Solution

Through discovery calls with TNP staff/partners and research of the current media landscape, the GT team developed a series of media angles that spotlighted why TNP’s programs were unique and hooked them to relevant news stories, including:

• the imminent return to classrooms in fall 2021, and the SEL needs of students and teachers upon return;
• the heightened importance of quality SEL programs (vs. standardized ones) in this moment of high anxiety and disruption;
• how SEL and disability inclusion programs can lead to broader social justice awareness and education;
• how easy TNP makes it for teachers to deliver this programming; and
• the unique resources and capabilities TNP provides (free summer training camp, on-demand coaching, intraweb, etc.)

Greentarget also leveraged existing TNP materials and partnerships and identified key publication targets spanning local, education, and national top-tier media.

These tactics ultimately manifested in a number of different content and media relations efforts, such as promotion of a series of webinars; thought leadership opportunities for Lauren Schrero Levy, TNP’s Co-Founder and Executive Director; and a byline in connection with an educator who uses TNP in his classroom.

Results

• Pitched and helped develop op-ed in USA Today by Lauren Schrero Levy, “As schools reopen, are teachers prepared to meet the emotional needs of all their students?”
• Landed feature story in the Daily Herald highlighting TNP’s programs in Chicago
• Pitched and helped develop op-ed in Edutopia by Alex Parker, a TNP educator-partner, “How to introduce lessons on disability”
• Got TNP educator quoted in TEACH Magazine
• Promoted a series of TNP webinars
• Developed new one-pager for use in marketing efforts

As a result of Greentarget’s efforts, TNP had an “unprecedented number of program inquiries” with schools from across the country reaching out. In addition, following the article in Edutopia, TNP was invited to present at a large industry conference, where they hosted a session on integrating disability studies in the classroom. That presentation generated vast interest and led to numerous resource downloads from TNP’s website and several school sign-ups.