By Sarah Campbell
scampbell@salisburypost.com
The Rowan-Salisbury School System recently mailed out nearly 5,000 postcards touting a number of achievements such as decreasing the dropout rate to the lowest point in 10 years and increasing the number of mobile devices in the schools to more than 7,500.
“This is a time for all of us to be proud of our public schools and stand together in supporting and celebrating a successful future for our students,” district spokeswoman Rita Foil wrote in an email to the Post.
The district had a total of 40,000 of the cards made using funds from a private donor.
It cost about $220 for Great American Publishing to lay out and design the cards. Printing costs at Diversified Graphics were $2,140.
Foil said the remaining 35,000 cards will be distributed by other means, but did not specify how.
“The mailing distribution is one part of the district’s marketing and communication efforts to reach diverse audiences,” she wrote in an email. “It is our intent to share this card with all Rowan County citizens, so they will see first hand what an excellent public school system we have right here in Rowan County and the successful educational value realized through tax dollars.”
The postcards were mailed to second primary voters within the last two weeks, Foil said. Postage to mail the cards came in at about $665 with preparation and labor costing $375.
Foil said a portion of the cards were distributed during the school system’s annual first-year teacher breakfast at the beginning of August, but the entire batch was not on hand until mid-September.
The postcards will be used as another way to market and communicate what is happening in the schools system, Foil said. She said community members can continue to stay up to date by reading newsletters, annual reports, district improvement plans, parent/teacher magazines, brochures, press releases and visiting the district’s website.
Contact reporter Sarah Campbell at 704-797-7683.
Twitter: twitter.com/posteducation
Facebook: facebook.com/Sarah.SalisburyPost