Bring out the BEST - Belonging, Engagement, and Support for Teachers
Team Letter | April 10, 2023
April 10, 2023
Belonging. Engagement. Support.
Happy Monday, Team Alpaca!!
WOW – last week was an incredible week! So much important and truly exciting work was accomplished. A few specific wins I want to call out right off the bat!
5 sales meetings held + more scheduled for this week! (Y’all that’s a record!)
We added Ralston Public Schools, Freeman Public Schools, and Noble Schools all to the pipeline last week with excellent meetings for each. More to come this week!
We built 60 gorgeous “super packs” to send to superintendents this week. 50 of them will go out this week to a list of superintendents near Omaha/Lincoln.
We launched the For Sponsors page on our website!
We built a fabulous content strategy that covers the WHOLE quarter (Damn! Yes!)
We got in a bazillion pipecleaners and straws and the office looks gorgeous and ready for packout week!
We finalized all the materials for the GORGEOUS Luminarium collaboration. I can’t wait for these packs to hit this month!
We cleaned the heck out of Hubspot and got it ready for SO MANY DISTRICTS.
We published our monthly newsletter, blog posts, and social around all of that content!
Dang, you guys!!!!
This was a lot of “roadbuilding” – putting things into place that allow us to go FAST in the future. This is super important. Now, it is just as important to stay on the roads we built. Our goal now is not to forge or build more roads (build out frameworks for other ideas that aren’t the ones we put down last week!), but rather, to hold ourselves accountable to staying right on the roads we built. That goes for our sales strategy. Our content strategy. Our onboarding project. Our data report. All of it.
Our biggest challenge in our company is that there are like a zillion ideas, all the time. And a billion stories. And a catrillion gorgeous images. And a ginormous problem to solve. The hardest thing for us is to focus on driving on the roads we built, to give ourselves the best chance of success. Hold me to it, and hold each other to it.
Bring out the BEST. (Are you ready for this acronym?!)
Many of you know that I’ve been working on a “data report” for Alpaca’s current stakeholders – investors, supporters, and customers – as well as for our future customers (districts) about what we’ve learned in our first year supporting a full district with Alpaca.
This work has taken me a long time to wrap my head around, but I believe it will be important and transformative content for our future sales and marketing efforts.
You can find the draft of the report here. It’s not done yet and will eventually look much prettier, but you’ll see how we’re thinking about what we’ve done, and what we’ve learned.
As I wrote it, I realized that Alpaca’s first year was about discovering three clear needs for teachers and then finding creative and innovative ways to support those needs. They are: belonging, engagement, and support.
To that end, I named the report “Bring out the BEST: Belonging, Engagement, and Support for Teachers.”
And was I insanely excited to find a name for this report that included an acronym AND named one of our core values? Yes, ohmygosh yes.
I want to share with you how we’re defining those things, because I think that they are core to who we are becoming as a company. These are ideas that you could take to a sales meeting, to the design of a pack, to marketing pieces and social media posts. Here’s how I see it:
Belonging: Do teachers feel like they’re a part of a community at school or in their district?
Engagement: Do teachers feel like they have a connection to that community?
Support: Do teachers feel like this community is supportive of their work and wellbeing?
These are simple questions. But imagine if a teacher was answering an emphatic “YES!” to all three questions. Wouldn’t you expect that they’d have a better chance of staying longer in their profession?
So how do our packs and Alpaca’s work drive belonging, engagement, and support?
Here are a few ways I think we do!
Belonging: Feeling a part of a community
Every teacher in the building gets a pack. We show teachers that each one of them (not just a parent’s “favorite” teacher) belongs and deserves support
“Alpaca Day” is something our teachers are invited to and a part of
Alpaca t-shirts for principals drive belonging in something
Our website, newsletter and blog creates Alpaca as a “place” where teachers can see themselves belong
Engagement: Connecting meaningfully to that community
An invitation to a teachers party in our April packs gives teachers an opportunity to engage with their community.
Customer emails offer teachers and parents a connection point. When they see each other at school drop off or conferences, saying “thank you for supporting these packs!” can be an easy connection point
Social media shares about the packs and how teachers are using them
Corporate sponsors connect businesses to teachers in new ways
Packouts! Offer teachers, parents, and community members a place to come together to engage and connect.
Thank You Crew! Creates meaningful connections between community members and teachers
Support: Feeling supported in your work and wellbeing
High quality pack items give teachers actual supplies to do their jobs
Best in class brands show teachers that their profession is important and worthy of the best quality tools
Handwritten thank you notes show care for the profession and gratitude for the individual teacher
Personal care items and appreciation items show support for the teacher’s individual and personal wellbeing
I would LOVE to hear other ideas from you about how our work fits into these categories!! I bet there are a million more ideas here.
Now then, let’s get to it. I’m looking forward to an insanely fun and productive week with you all. Let’s have some fun!
KB