The Education Achievement Authority of Michigan (EAA) Tuesday unveiled a new school enrollment campaign emphasizing the tremendous academic growth students achieved during its first year of operation and underscoring the opportunities for success the new system offers to every student.
The campaign features actual Education Achievement Authority students proclaiming that thanks to the education they are receiving and the environment at EAA schools, “I can soar.”
The concept was developed by Lowe Campbell Ewald working in cooperation with the Education Achievement Authority and the Michigan Education Excellence Foundation (MEEF) and features students currently enrolled in EAA schools.
“The ads underscore the fact that the Education Achievement Authority is a different system for a better outcome and that we will not continue to educate students in the traditional way,” said Chancellor John Wm. Covington. “In the Education Achievement Authority we tailor the education of each child to their own unique and diverse needs. In these ads you’ll see different sets of wings, different sizes, and different colors, which is symbolic of the fact that we have moved education delivery away from a ‘one size fits all’ approach.”
Mark Simon, Chief Creative Officer at Lowe Campbell Ewald, said the firm became involved because “upon learning about the Education Achievement Authority and the importance of their mission, we knew we had to help. We toured the schools, met some amazing kids and experienced firsthand this innovative approach to education. Everyone associated with the Education Achievement Authority is so passionate about what they’re trying to accomplish. Their cause became our cause. We want to do everything we can to help these children succeed.”
The enrollment effort will utilize broadcast and print advertising as well as mailings directed to households with school age children.
Lowe Campbell Ewald became involved in the EAA’s mission upon learning about its unique approach via the Michigan Education Excellence Foundation. The agency agreed to do the creative work on a pro bono basis as it learned more about the system’s ground breaking work in developing a new type of educational system. MEEF is underwriting the broadcasting and printing needs of the campaign. No public funds have been involved in preparing or disseminating the advertisements.
“At the Education Achievement Authority of Michigan it’s our goal to give every student their own set of wings and inspire them to believe they can soar and be the best that they can be,” Covington said. “The Education Achievement Authority is a different way and it’s working. That’s the message we want to get to every parent and student.”
Education Achievement Authority schools are creative, innovative learning environments that provide students a quality education. They offer struggling students the opportunity to catch up to their peers around the state and receive the education they need to succeed in college or a career after high school. The system opened in September 2012 with 15 of Detroit’s lowest-achieving schools, which were identified by the Michigan Department of Education as schools with the greatest need.
Education Achievement Authority teachers tailor their instruction to the needs of each individual student. Students are tested to determine their individual level of educational achievement and then a program is designed for each student to help them achieve their maximum potential based on their academic progress, interests and needs. The system enables each student to proceed at his or her own pace.
Assessments are administered four times a year to help teachers tailor student learning plans according to their academic needs. By the third testing period completed in early May, more than half of EAA students tested had learned twice as much as what students learn in a typical year. Students had a combined growth rate of 53 percent.
“Students have responded enthusiastically to the new blended, student-centered approach to education,” said Covington. “They are showing they want to learn and can learn given the right environment. They are closing the educational gap.”