Summary

  • Egg Harbor Township School District boosts educational success with innovative event management techniques.
  • Tailored professional development events bridge generation gaps among educators.
  • Overcoming challenges with outdated tools like Google Docs, the district embraced a modern solution.
  • Discover how streamlined event management translates to happier, more successful educators and students.
  • Learn valuable lessons on enhancing staff retention and job satisfaction through diverse professional development opportunities.
  • Gain insights into fostering a sense of community and support within educational institutions.
  • Explore tips for organizing successful education events and empowering educators to take control of their professional growth.

Egg Harbor Township School District is bridging the gap between different generations of educators. 

In response to a growing need for diversity and specialization in their professional development, they turned to Sched’s event management tools to help them succeed. 

To celebrate their success, this article showcases how they’re improving staff retention, job satisfaction, and educational success. 

The story of Egg Harbor School District and its event management 

Egg Harbor Township School District is a group of K-12 schools in New Jersey. They educate 7,500 students and have 1,300 staff members. 

They host multiple events throughout the year. The committee is made up of 15 educators and administrators. One of the leaders on the professional development committee is Leanna Mullen.

The committee organizes and hosts diverse professional development events. From keynote speakers down to workshops that only have five people – they provide for target groups that want specialized information. 

The challenges Egg Harbor Township faced in their event management

The biggest challenge for Leanna and her team in Egg Harbor was providing professional development that catered to different generations of educators. She cited research that shows different generations of teachers in how they learn, and what they want to learn. 

Leanna said that more diverse professional development training leads to “Greater job satisfaction, higher retention, and ultimately that trickles down to happier and more successful students. That’s been our motivator this whole time.”

Before event management tools 

Before implementing professional event management tools, the School District faced numerous challenges and pain points in organizing professional development events. Initially, they relied on rudimentary event management tools like Google Docs and spreadsheets.

These proved inefficient and cumbersome, particularly when dealing with workshops offering multiple choices. Tracking registrations, ensuring attendees filled their slots, and communicating updates posed significant difficulties. 

Moreover, obtaining timely feedback after workshops took a lot of work, hindering their ability to assess the effectiveness of their programs and make necessary improvements. 

Priced out by initial event management tools

They did utilize another professional event management tool for some time. This was a convenient option due to its free education institution license. However, the limitations of only 25 free tickets became increasingly evident as their events grew in scale. For example, they grew to 1,100 participants in their last event, proving how unstainable that ticketing structure was for them. 

The changing landscape of education 

Additionally, the changing landscape of education, with millennials and Generation Z educators entering the profession, highlighted the need for a platform that catered to their evolving needs. 

However, while these educators were inherently tech-savvy, they required more practical classroom experience and guidance in curriculum development and behavior management. Conversely, while eager to learn, seasoned educators often require more support in adopting new technologies and methodologies.

Recognizing the importance of peer-to-peer instruction and community support, the School District sought a solution that not only streamlined event management tools but also fostered collaboration and knowledge-sharing among educators. 

The transition to professional event management tools was driven by the need to address these challenges effectively and create a platform that accommodated the diverse needs of educators while fostering a sense of community and support within the district.

Why Egg Harbor Township School District chose Sched’s event management tools

The committee’s decision to opt for Sched as their event management tool stemmed from a strategic assessment of their evolving needs. One distinguishing factor was the comprehensive feature set. This included a dedicated app and seamless integration for attendee feedback. 

Crucially, Sched allowed them to pre-program multiple choices, a capability deemed essential for their events, which appeared lacking in Eventbrite’s event management tools. Despite comparable pricing, their thorough comparison of features highlighted the event management tool’s versatility and adaptability to their requirements.

In considering where individuals feel they require further training or areas of interest they have yet to delve into, it was discovered that they desired increased autonomy in selecting topics. 

This resembled an à la carte approach to structuring their workshop experience, tailor-made to suit their preferences. Consequently, Sched emerged as the ideal platform for managing attendee registrations efficiently.

  • N.B. Discover Sched’s pricing for yourself. What’s the best solution for you?  

Egg Harbor Township School District Event Management Tools

Conducting due diligence, they solicited quotes from similar industries and programs, which affirmed Sched’s competitive position as one of the leading event management tools. 

This decision was further validated by industry recommendations, with Sched emerging as a top event planning system in their research. 

The results Egg Harbor Township School District has enjoyed 

The use of Sched for their professional development events has yielded significant positive outcomes. Firstly, they commend the exemplary customer service and attribute a portion of their success to the platform’s user-friendly interface and the support received along the way.

One notable result was the remarkable increase in feedback participation. They got an unexpected surprise: 260+ organic responses, representing an over 73% increase from the prior year

This underscored the event management tools’ effectiveness in encouraging engagement. The automatic generation of feedback requests via email further facilitated this process, eliminating the need for manual programming.

Egg Harbor Township School District Event Management Tools

The flexibility in event design was another highlight. Customer service assistance enabled them to leverage the platform’s capabilities fully, including CSV uploads for mass attendee changes and the ability to seamlessly roll over venues and attendee lists for recurring events, thus streamlining event management tasks.

Moreover, the realization of the extensive scale of their events—exemplified by over 100 venues—underscored the platform’s capacity to cater to diverse needs. This newfound perspective not only enhanced their appreciation for the complexity of event planning but also empowered them to take greater control over their event calendar.

And finally, the experience with Sched has motivated them to encourage more events and empower individuals to take charge of their event planning. They emphasize the importance of conducting needs assessment surveys to tailor event schedules to the preferences of attendees, ultimately leading to higher staff retention, job satisfaction, and educational success.

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The Takeaways

  • Inefficient event management tools: Before implementing Sched, the School District struggled with managing event schedules using basic tools like Google Docs and spreadsheets, resulting in inefficiencies and difficulties in tracking registrations and communicating updates.
  • Limited Feedback: Obtaining timely feedback after workshops was challenging, hindering the district’s ability to assess program effectiveness and make necessary improvements.
  • Restrictions of Previous Platform: While utilizing alternative event management tools, the district faced limitations with its free education institution license, which only allowed for 25 free tickets, proving insufficient for events with over a thousand participants.
  • Adapting to Changing Education Trends: The emergence of millennial and Generation Z educators highlighted the need for a platform that provided practical classroom experience and guidance in curriculum development, behavior management, and technology adoption.
  • Support for Diverse Educator Needs: Sched was chosen not only for its efficient event management features but also for its ability to accommodate the diverse needs of educators, from tech-savvy newcomers to seasoned educators requiring more support.
  • Emphasis on Peer Collaboration: Recognizing the value of peer-to-peer instruction and community support, aimed to foster collaboration and knowledge-sharing among educators within the district.

Overall, the adoption of Scheds event management tools has addressed these challenges effectively, providing a comprehensive solution that streamlines event management, facilitates feedback collection, and fosters a supportive community environment conducive to professional growth and development among educators.