Winning a CTE millage campaign with Washtenaw Intermediate School District (WISD)
Client
Washtenaw Intermediate School District (WISD)
Services
Messaging, report drafting, design
“We truly couldn't have done it without you! This was work we've been trying to pass since the 1960s, so it feels quite historic for all of us around here. We are immensely grateful to everyone who made this possible, including the Forthright team! Thank you!!”
- Ashley Kryscynski, Director of Communications and Public Relations, Washtenaw Intermediate School District (WISD)
The Brief
The Background
Career Technical Education (CTE) is where learning comes alive through hands-on projects and industry-connected experiences. For Washtenaw County, Michigan, CTE opportunities create a pathway to a confident future for students and strengthen the economy for everyone.
That's why WISD wanted to ensure that all students had access to CTE skills that last a lifetime.
The Challenge
The vision was clear and demand for CTE in WISD was growing. Yet, WISD students had access to fewer programs than their peers across the state, and access was inconsistent and inequitable across the county. The District needed a strategy and materials that would help leaders articulate the transformative impact of CTE to the WISD community and pass a millage (tax levy) that would fund CTE initiatives.
Our Solution
We partnered with WISD to write and design a beautiful CTE report.
Here’s the steps we took together.
Started with a strategic kickoff to ensure we were aligned on WISD’s most important target audiences, goals and what success looks like.
Analyzed the existing research and materials, finding the strongest themes from WISD’s reports, data, quotes and additional CTE-related information so we could create a strong narrative for the report.
Drafted the full report, including plenty of quotes and data to make it come to life. We also created a standalone executive summary that leaders could use as a handout.
Designed the report, ensuring the beautiful design would resonate with each priority audience.
Helped launch the report into the community, assisting with presentation materials, strategy and talking points to make sure the report and CTE messages landed.
Our Results
We produced a beautiful, impactful report that helped District leaders make a compelling case to the Washtenaw community on the need for a sustainable funding model to support PreK-12 CTE experiences. Ultimately, we were successful! County voters APPROVED the millage proposal, ensuring even more students will have access to high-quality CTE programs for years to come!