Introducing the NextGrad screen to your high school community is an important step in empowering them to continue their education journey beyond high school. It gives them a frame of reference as to the purpose of the screen and what information they can expect to see on it. We have found that schools that introduce the screens have far more students coming into the counseling and career center offices inquiring about the prospective student outreach messages and college content they have seen. We have included some examples of how you can introduce NextGrad’s College Opportunity network to your students and school community. But there are many more fun and creative ways to create awareness about our partnership. We are excited to see what you come up with!
The most popular and effective way to introduce NextGrad to your students is to include it in the morning announcements. Below is a script that you can use.
“You may have noticed the new NextGrad screen in the [location] that is playing college content. This screen will display information on admission, financial aid, and programs of study from local and regional and technical/trade schools, community colleges, and universities. It will also display important resources, events, and reminders about college and career from our [High School Name]’s counseling office. If you see something on the screen that interests you or have questions, please come into the [name of your counseling/career office] and request more information.”
Another place to announce NextGrad is by adding an insert or a bulletin in your school newsletter to parents and guardians. Here is a template of an insert you could use in your newsletter:
“We are excited to announce that our high school has recently joined the NextGrad College Opportunity Network. NextGrad is a family-owned ed-tech business headquartered in Salt Lake Utah. We have provided our high schools with a digital screen that contains information for our students about their higher education options within our state and regionally. NextGrad empowers students to continue their education beyond high school by introducing them to institutions, programs, and opportunities they may not know existed.
This education business partnership is accessible to our schools. It will also showcase information from our school counselors, college advisors/specialists/coaches, and GEAR UP coordinators regarding college application and financial aid events, college representative visits, local scholarships, and other college and career resources.
Additionally, NextGrad gives back to our school annually through their scholarship foundation. NextGrad has paid back over $1,000,000 to partner high schools in their network.
We encourage you to check-out our NextGrad screen [outline location] the next time you are in our school building.”
Share a press release with your community to let them know about the new screen and scholarship program. We have created a template for you to work from.
You may have noticed the New NextGrad Screen in (Location) that is sharing higher education resources with our students. NextGrad is … (our company overview). This is a free partnership with our school and is a valuable resource to our students. NextGrad also provides our school an annual scholarship to assist a first generation or student of need as they transition to college.
Your school-based social networks are a great way to build awareness with your students and parents about your NextGrad Screen and how our partnership will help support the college and career programming in your school.
Note: If you post a picture of your NextGrad screen on social media please use a picture that is displaying either your school-based or NextGrad content (i.e. a grade level checklist) instead of an actual college or university image. We just want to be mindful to not be seen as promoting one institution over another, and the screen image capture might portray though that was not the intent.
These editable templates are made on Canva. You must duplicate/save a copy of the file before you can work on them.
Sharing a post? Don’t forget to use #NextGradNetwork and tag us
@NextGrad (on LinkedIn)
@NextGradNetwork (on Instagram and Facebook)
We encourage you to display the NextGrad High School Partner Badge on your website to demonstrate our support to your school and students.
