Open House: 5 Ways to Promote Your Program

Open House is an excellent time to engage directly with your students and their parents. As many of you know, most people generally have no idea what school counselors do. Why not take advantage of the time you have access to most of the parents in one day?

In my experience, an open house can happen before the official start of the school year (Also called “Meet the Teacher) or a few weeks after the start of school. Some schools may even host events at both of these times.

In this blog post, I’ll be sharing a few ways you can promote your program.

5 Ways to Promote Your Program at Open House - Savvy School Counselor

One thing that’s important to mention is that being able to promote your program during the open house will depend on other responsibilities you may be given. One counselor spoke to this last week when I asked on my Facebook page, “How do you promote your school counseling program during Open House?” Her answer: “I don’t – other than my presence.” This is because she is stationed at the front entrance to identify new students and direct them to the registration location.

If you find yourself in a situation where you don’t have autonomy, it is a good idea to request some flexible time for program promotion. Perhaps you can find a compromise where you can be a team player during the open house and also connect with parents about the school counseling program. Here’s a great opportunity to advocate for your program and the importance of what school counselors do for the school.

Open House Ideas

1 – Create an Eyecatching Display: This idea can work when you also need to be a team player and serve in another capacity. Even if you are assigned to greet families as they are entering the building, you can promote your program using a visual display. This display should showcase the school counseling program’s services, resources, and grade-level-specific goals and plans. Include headshots of the school counselor and/or student services team with each person’s name. You can use banners, posters, and interactive materials such as pamphlets introducing the school counselor or the school counseling team to draw attention.

2 – Offer Informative Brochures or Handouts: Along with brochures introducing the school counselor, during Open House, you can also provide brochures or handouts that go more in detail about your program goals and grade level specific units and group offerings. You could also allow parents to sign up their students for small groups you already have planned which will help you get some of those permission forms signed in advance.

Your materials can also include answers to common questions or ideas and tips for common issues parents need support with such as separation anxiety, anger control, or ADHD. Make sure these materials are easy to pick up and take home. This is another option when you are unable to focus primarily on promoting your program. Even if you have to step away, it will still be available to families.

3 – Create an Interactive Station: If you can focus primarily on program promotion, it will be nice to set up an interactive station that highlights some of the important parts of the school counseling program. Set up a mini “make-and-take.” Students can create a stress ball or have coloring sheets or booklets that highlight the counseling program’s key themes. If making stress balls is too extensive, you can have some premade and let students decorate them with eyes, noses, and mouths.

Another idea is to have small items kids can take like fidgets, erasers, or welcome pencils for new students to the school.

You can also set up a suggestion box or interactive board where parents and students can provide feedback, share their needs, and suggest topics they’d like to see covered.

4 – Provide Lists of Important Resources: Open House is also a good time to distribute lists of outside resources so parents are informed of all of the services they have access to in the community. If you have any programs for families who are challenged economically, this is a good time to get them connected with services provided by the county as well as any services the school may provide such as backpack buddies or holiday support. Additionally, it’s a good time to have extra bookbags with school supplies on hand for those in need.

5 – Solicit Volunteers for Assistance: Open House is also a good time to find any volunteers you may need for different events or committees during the school year. Perhaps some of your parents are open to sharing about their careers during your career day(s). If you follow the ASCA National Model and conduct a regular Advisory Council, this would be a good time to find a couple of parents to serve as committee members. Whatever events you typically have planned that need additional hands, fill those spots now so that when the time comes, you only need to make a phone call as a reminder.

Of course, having a combination of any of these 5 ideas would work great as well!

Other Open House Ideas

As I mentioned earlier, I asked the question last week on my Facebook page. Here are four of the answers:

Alison said: “We’re doing Cookies with the Counselors and have a newsletter with a little bit about us and what we do.”

Kristin said: “We have to have our class curriculum out for parents/guardians to review if they wish. In addition to that, we have copies of the scope and sequence, our state standards, annual calendar, brochure of services, and some local resources free for the taking. We also have a trifold introducing ourselves.”

Kimberly said: “I have brochures and plan to do a backdrop for them to take pictures this year.”

Ashley said: “I did this this year. (see photo) I didn’t have time to print all my brochures, but I got some out for parents. I also included a paper with info for them to join my Google Classroom.”

When you can effectively promote your school counseling program, you will then raise awareness and understanding among your students and their parents and with your administration and staff as well. By incorporating these strategies during your Open House, you can effectively promote your program’s benefits and establish meaningful connections with the school community.

Here’s an “oldie” blog post from the vault about Open House. You’ll notice several similar points!

What are some ways you promote your school counseling program during Open House? Leave a comment and let us know!

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