Our Kids. Our Communities. Our Future: shining a light on public school success stories

A powerful campaign in support of public education has reached well over 1.6 million people since its launch in fall 2023. Our Kids, Our Communities, Our Future tells true stories from Cooperating School Districts Greater Kansas City member districts via a campaign webpage, newsletter, social media posts and advertising.

“This storytelling campaign is helping people get a glimpse of the real things that are happening in our classrooms,” said Nicole Kirby, senior strategist at CESO Communications, “and that helps combat the false narratives they might be hearing from other places.”

A collaboration between CSDGKC and CESO, the campaign has been seen by more than 1.6 million through Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn with the Our Kids, Our Communities, Our Future – often referred to as Our Kids GKC – ads appearing on individuals’ screens over 4.6 million times, Kirby shared.

In addition, more than 12,000 users have visited the Our Kids GKC webpage, totaling almost 19,000 page views, with newsletter subscribers recently topping 700.

Stories shared through Our Kids GKC celebrate our schools’ importance in overall community wellbeing and prosperity, emphasizing public education’s role as the cornerstone of our communities. These inspirational stories are told through videos as well as articles. The campaign focuses on five types of stories – successes, positive relationships, innovative options, community partnerships and the rewards of teaching. These categories were identified based on focus group input from parents, teachers, administrators and school board members with additional feedback from the CSDGKC Board of Directors.

“The way we’re doing the advertising has also evolved as we’ve determined what best meets the campaign’s goals,” Kirby added, “and see where the people in our region are most likely to engage with it.”

Examples of real-life stories promoted this year include RaymorePeculiar’s Integrated Learning House’s focus on functional life skills and an impactful partnership between Fort Osage and the City of Independence to create billboards designed to decrease substance abuse.

“Our Kids GKC is another way Cooperating School Districts works to counter misinformation spread by well-funded special interests aiming to divert public-education funding to unaccountable private schools,” said Kenny Southwick, CSDGKC executive director.

To learn more about Our Kids GKC, visit ourkidsgkc.org. The website includes a link to sign up for the newsletter and a place to submit your district’s story. There’s also an online store for campaign T-shirts and hoodies.