How to Get Your First School Partnership (Episode 29)

Episode 29 · July 13, 2026 · Solo episode

To get your first school partnership, make yes easy and become a familiar face. Find out who decides at that school. Send one page with a clear program name, the price near the top, grades served, and photos of you teaching kids. Get those photos by running a free workshop. Volunteer, table at family events, and follow up until someone answers.

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This is my written companion to How to Get Your First School Partnership. Journey to STEAM runs programs at 75+ school sites today, and 95% of our school partners renew. Every bit of that started with school number one, which took me months. I made this episode for the listeners who messaged me asking where to begin.

Why is the first school partnership the hardest?

Because you are a stranger asking to work with other people's small children, and the people who can say yes are stretched thin. It should be a little hard.

I have been the teacher, the principal, the parent and the business owner. School people hold it together well, so you may not see how full their days are. They work on what is urgent, then on what is important. Enrichment is not required to run a school. Safety is. Learning is. An unread email says nothing about your program.

Here is the good news. The distance between zero and one feels infinite. Going from one to two is easy by comparison, because now you have a school to point to.

Who decides which programs get into a school?

It depends on the district, and neighbors can be opposites. In the area I work in, one district leaves enrichment decisions to PTO leads. One nearby routes everything through a district director. In another the principal has to meet you and approve before you book space. Another lets any provider reserve a room through its booking portal. Some districts run everything in-house and take no outside providers.

So learn the rules where you live. Call the main office, ask who the point person for after-school enrichment is, and ask if you can send information for them to forward. Most offices will. For the paperwork side, read how long school vendor approval takes.

A shortcut: look at the PTO's Facebook or Instagram. Is it current? Are other providers listed for this term? Start with schools that already welcome outside programs. I used to worry about being one of four programs on a Tuesday. Those schools turned out to have the best enrollment. There, the edge goes to the provider whose registration goes out first and whose flyer is clearest. More on picking well in how to choose the right school partners.

Where can I get experience before a school says yes?

Anywhere families already gather. A two-day camp at your church. A free workshop at the library. A local nonprofit. Community organizations rarely say no when you meet their safety and background requirements.

You get paid in experience, and in photos. Treat each one as an experiment: this program, this age, this price, this place, this time. If it flops, that is data. Try again somewhere else before you decide the idea is wrong.

How do I make it easy for a school to say yes?

Answer their questions before they ask, and give more than you take.

• Price. It is okay to price low the first time or two. You are buying reps.
• Financial help. Have a plan for families who cannot pay full price. When a family reaches out to me, I find a way, and schools often pitch in once they see that.
• Safety. Be ready for the background check. Add first aid, mandatory reporter training, and a food handler card if you will hand out snacks.
• All grades. Some schools prefer a provider with something for every grade. Older students get left out a lot.
• Their goals. Donate to the raffle. Show up for teacher appreciation. Run a station at STEAM night or math night. The people who lead those events often have a say in which programs get picked.

What belongs on a one-page program overview?

Only what a busy person needs to say yes or no. When you call a school, the most common answer is "send me something," and that something gets forwarded to whoever decides. For too long mine was paragraphs of research and case studies, with the basics missing.

1. A program name that says what it is. If it is coding, the word coding is in the name. If there is a theme kids love, name the theme.
2. A two-sentence description of the outcome. What will a child be able to do on the last day that they could not do on the first?
3. The price, near the top. One general number or a "starting at" number. Skip every scenario.
4. Ages or grades.
5. Photos of you working with kids. With no partner logos yet, a photo does the same job. Often a better one.
6. Big, plain text. 14-point font, third to fifth grade reading level, no jargon. If an AI tool drafts it, cut the draft down hard.

Two pages is fine if the second page is mostly photos. Example for the price line: your class is $25 a session. An 8-week term is $200 and a 12-week term is $300. Write "Starting at $200 per term." My guide to getting your program into schools covers the outreach around it, and Episode 27 covers class size.

How do parents and community events open doors?

Faster than cold outreach. Parents carry real influence over what their school offers. A parent sees your library workshop and says, "I wish you were at my kid's school." Be ready with the follow-up that day.

Table at family events and farmers markets. More than once, a parent chatting at my table turned out to be the PTO president. Volunteer too. Schools need more hands than they get for cleanup days. Show up as a member of the community first, so that when you make the ask, they already know your face. Once you are in, referrals take it from there.

If you remember one thing: do something. Persistence, persistence, persistence.

Listen or watch: Spotify · YouTube · Apple Podcasts

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to get a first school partnership?

Mine took months. Plan for that and keep showing up. The second one comes much quicker.

Do I have to start in a school?

No. A church, a library or a community organization gets you practice, photos and honest feedback on demand and price.

Should I teach for free?

For a first workshop, it can be worth it. You leave with experience, photos and parents who ask for you by name.

What do principals look for once I am in?

I cover year one in what principals look for in an after-school vendor.

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Arielle Hammond, Ed.D. is the founder of enrops and host of The Youth Enrichment Leader, presented by enrops.