October 19, 2006
Queens Campus (October 19, 2006) -
October 18, 2006—Several members of the Tobin College, including Dr. John W. Dobbins, Chair of the Department of Marketing; George Maggiore, Adjunct Associate Professor of Marketing and Director of Marketing Research at Keyspan; Michael E. Anglin, Adjunct Associate Professor of Marketing; Jennifer Vacchio, Communications Manager; and RoseMarie Ferraro, Executive Director of Marketing for St. John’s University; have been a part of an ongoing effort to help promote Catholic schools within the Brooklyn Diocese. The project is a cooperative one between St. John’s University and the Diocesan Schools Office and began earlier this year in an effort to encourage teachers within the Catholic educational system to look at marketing and recruitment of students of all faiths.
“Wanting to encourage the wholesome approach and good story of its Catholic schools, the diocese chose to work with St. John’s University because of its reputable marketing department,” said Dr. Thomas Chadzutko, Superintendent for Catholic School Support Services. St. John’s role has been to offer assistance in developing a marketing strategy to both recruit new students and to retain the current student body.”
Termed the “All Ambassadors Program”, the campaign strives to involve all members of the Catholic educational system starting with teachers and the families of students. “We recognize that everyone has a role in Catholic education,” says Chadzutko. The first order of business was to differentiate the goals of public and Catholic schools and to highlight the benefits of a Catholic education over one in the public system. The final result and the theme of the marketing approach is, “Educating the Whole Child in an Environment Conducive to Learning, Modeled in Catholic Values.”
“We feel this is a grassroots program to generate excitement for the schools and a feeling within the community that the school is not only an educational facility, but one that cares about the students as a whole,” said George Maggiore.
The public relations campaign, lead by Maggiore, will reach into the community with “I Love Catholic School” buttons and banners. Included in this campaign are also nominations for Teacher of the Month, sales training for principals, and essays written by students about the value of a Catholic Education. Testing of the initiative has begun in three clusters, including one in the East New York area of Brooklyn and two in Queens. “In learning the differences and working with the diversities of the people and neighborhoods in the diocese, it will take us a whole year to figure out what works and adjust accordingly,” said Maggiore. “We want to make sure there is as much diversity as possible in these clusters.”
The inauguration of the initiative, in early September of 2006, was highly successful as three schools from the first cluster gathered in the auditorium of St. Rita’s to celebrate. Chadzutko said, “It was well felt by the teachers, who often serve as more than educators. Some days they are the mother, the father, the brother or the listening ear for the student.”
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