Put Your Marketing Skills to the Test with CTE Month®

We all know the importance of marketing DECA to recruit new members, but Career and Technical Education Month® in February is your chance to take your chapter’s marketing and advocacy efforts to the next level! Read on for ideas to help you celebrate CTE Month this year by promoting DECA and the importance of career and technical education (CTE).

Within Your School

Advocacy within your school includes sharing the benefits of DECA and CTE with future (potential) members, teachers, counselors and administrators.

1. Partner with other CTSOs to host an in-person or virtual CTE fair. Each organization can promote the benefits of joining, share member success stories and highlight CTE-related classes to sign up for next fall. Be sure to invite both high school and middle school students to attend.
2. Plan an experiential learning experience for students such as “day in the life” industry tours, a panel of local business leaders or a mini marketing challenge. An interactive event is the perfect way for potential members to test drive the DECA experience.
3. Takeover your school’s promotions! You are only limited by your creativity, but consider displaying posters, creating a video, using morning announcements, writing an article for your school’s newspaper, visiting classrooms (virtually or in-person), sending thank-you cards to CTE teachers or launching an all-out social media blitz.

With Public Policy Makers

Public policy makers create ideas, plans and policies—often in the form of laws and regulations. This type of advocacy includes your mayor, school board, city council and lawmakers at the state and federal level.

1. Make CTE Month official in your city by encouraging local policymakers to proclaim February as CTE Month. By getting CTE Month officially proclaimed in your city, you can introduce your entire community to the benefits and importance of DECA and CTE.
2. Send letters or emails to public policy makers on the local, state or federal level to share how your DECA chapter has made an impact in the community and how they can support CTE on a broader level. Be sure to thank them and ask for continued support if they’ve been an advocate for CTE in the past.
3. Attend an in-person or virtual school board meeting to talk about DECA, share the benefits of having the program within the school and highlight your chapter’s favorite projects.
4. Plan a virtual advocacy visit with your elected officials.

Within Your Community

Being an advocate for CTE within your community means reaching out to parents and family members, local business leaders and community organizations and associations.

1. Talk to local businesses or your Chamber of Commerce about the role DECA and CTE play in readying their future workforce and ways they can get involved with your chapter. Invite them to an activity, ask them for mentorship while you prepare for competition or set up a job shadowing experience.
2. Invite others to see your DECA chapter in action by hosting a virtual event for the community. Showcase your chapter’s favorite projects, success stories and the impact you have on the community. You can also partner with other CTSOs to host the event.
3. Write an article for your local newspaper or reach out to a local news or radio station to set up an interview. This is the perfect opportunity to share facts about CTE and DECA, highlight high-achieving CTE students or spotlight one of your chapter’s business/industry partnerships.

Complete three school outreach activities, three public policymaker outreach activities and three community outreach activities during February and your chapter can earn recognition through DECA’s Advocacy Campaign!