Support services play a critical role in student success. Admissions counselors, advisors, success coaches and many other professionals help students:
Identify goals.
Work through issues.
Reach their full potential.
Edtech companies can offer substantial value to education professionals in support roles, facilitating key actions like cross-training, coordination between stakeholders and more. Providing relevant and useful solutions isn’t enough, however. Edtech businesses must also carefully and effectively engage key decision-makers to build relationships and demonstrate the value of their products and services.
The many benefits of effective support services
The American Institutes for Research detailed a number of advantages that support staff provide to students and the larger school or district community, including:
Offering targeted and specialized support in instruction, use of school resources and for personal growth and development.
Fostering a safe and supportive learning environment.
Building positive relationships with students.
Increasing parent and family involvement in student education and outcomes.
Modeling good behavior and sharing messages of positivity with learners.
Support staff work individually, in roles like college counseling and academic advising. They also form groups to address needs like student interventions and providing learners with access to necessary educational resources. By competently carrying out their duties, these education professionals help students overcome challenges and create a more positive environment throughout a school or district.
How edtech can underpin positive change in support services
“There are more than a million support professionals in K-12 schools.”
In general, support services are not regarded as deficient or desperately in need of drastic, immediate change. Their value is clear and proven. However, opportunities always exist to make reaching major goals and addressing day-to-day responsibilities simpler and more manageable for these professionals. And the potential market is substantial.
The National Education Association said there are more than 1 million professionals in Specialized Instructional Support Personnel (SISP) roles across the country’s K-12 districts. Add in professionals in related but distinct roles, like college counseling and advising, and the total is even larger.
Cross training is one area in which edtech companies can play a role. While certain positions, especially those in the SISP category, require extensive experience, educational background and potentially certification, others are more flexible. For example, a college counselor could, with the right training environment and resources, learn to also serve in a career counselor role. Providing an opportunity for a support professional to expand their skill set helps students, professionals and other related stakeholders.
Coordination of communication between support staff, parents, educators and other involved parties can be another valuable area of focus. Support professionals may want or need to communicate important details about a student’s challenges and successes to teachers, family and professionals in roles similar to their own. Communication solutions that simplify the exchange of information and encourage meaningful discussion can go a long way toward supporting positive outcomes for students.
Building an effective marketing strategy for support staff
Every school and district is different. Support staff may similarly vary in their titles, daily duties and their presence or absence. Effective, accurate and current data is incredibly powerful when identifying potential prospects, reaching out to them and making sure your company’s product aligns with their needs.
Agile provides companies just like yours with in-depth data and analysis that plays a key role in building effective and efficient marketing campaigns. With detailed and accurate information about support staff, school programs and initiatives, student body size and much more, your organization can plan a campaign that targets only the most relevant professionals, schools and districts.
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