Kids carry reflective messages for Oregonians
Contact:
Chalkboard Project
(503) 542-4325
info@chalkboardproject.org
Provocative Public Awareness Campaign Encourages Oregonians To Speak Out
PORTLAND, Ore. –School kids armed with sandwich boards and simple, but straight-forward, messages of the current state of affairs in Oregon’s public schools began popping onto air-waves this week. The Chalkboard Project launched its state-wide public awareness campaign over television and the Internet.
“The messages our kids carry may make Oregonians uncomfortable,” said Chalkboard President Sue Hildick. “Frankly, they make us uncomfortable. But these messages reflect what we’ve been hearing across the state and need to be shared with those 75% of Oregonians who don’t have kids in schools. We need all Oregonians to care and to come to the table again. This awareness campaign will remind them of what is truly at stake.”
Chalkboard hopes to motivate Oregonians to take part in a direct public involvement campaign during the next few months through New England-style town hall meetings, theatrical performances, business- and civic-sponsored discussion groups, and online surveys at www.chalkboardproject.org. The goal is to engage the public in assessing a massive amount of unbiased research that Chalkboard has compiled over the past 12 months, with an eye toward helping identify the tough choices and tradeoffs necessary to elevate Oregon’s public schools to among the nation’s best, while still living within its means.
The advertising campaign features a series of 10 and 15 second messages that are designed to provoke a response, either by making heads nod or stomachs squirm, and get Oregonians to the Chalkboard web site. In every case, the statements are firmly based in neutral, unbiased research commissioned by the Chalkboard Project. The campaign addresses five key areas identified through exhaustive state-wide focus groups and research polls as the leading barriers to student achievement in Oregon’s K-12 public schools: parental involvement, reading, teacher retention, budget waste/accountability, and funding stability.
Print ads are scheduled to appear state-wide in the Oregonian beginning later this month.
“The kids and their sandwich boards make it hard to ignore important findings about Oregon’s public schools, such as parental involvement,” said Diana Oberbarnscheidt, President of the Oregon Parent Teacher Association. “We hope that Oregonians won’t ignore them.” The ads also coincide with National PTA, Ad Council (Ad Council), and ABC’s “Know More Do More” campaign, a nationwide effort and call to action for parents to get involved with their children’s school.
“These issues are right on the mark,” said Duncan Campbell, Chalkboard board member. “They remind people of what is at stake, which is the future of our state and our public school kids. Our ability to produce homegrown talent hangs in the balance.”
Creative design was led by Johnson Sheen Advertising – a Portland-based agency that specializes in consumer marketing – who donated significant time and resources to the effort. Other in-kind partners behind Chalkboard’s public awareness campaign include Blue Highway Productions, Downstream, and photographer Annie Marie Musselman.
About Chalkboard Project
Launched in early 2004, Chalkboard Project exists to inspire Oregonians to do what it takes to make the state’s K-12 public schools among the nation’s best, while strengthening our school system’s financial accountability to taxpayers. Chalkboard aims to help create a more informed and engaged public who understand and address the tough choices and trade-offs required to build strong schools, and to enable statewide programs that can be applied at the local level to improve school quality, accountability, and funding. To date, Chalkboard has connected with about 100,000 Oregonians, asking for their best ideas to strengthen the state’s K-12 public schools. It also has partnered with other education organizations to create the Open Book$ Web site www.openbooksproject.org to track school district spending.
Chalkboard – an initiative of Foundations For A Better Oregon – is sponsored by a growing list of independent foundations. The founding five foundations are: The Collins Foundation, The Ford Family Foundation, Jeld-Wen Foundation, Meyer Memorial Trust, and The Oregon Community Foundation. For more information about Chalkboard and to learn how to get involved, call (877) YOUR-K12 or visit www.chalkboardproject.org.
