AiC High School Award Publicity Toolkit for Schools
Congratulations! Your student won the NCWIT Aspirations in Computing (AiC) High School Award. This is a significant recognition, and we want to help you spread the word about their achievement. Please use the following prompts and sample messaging when communicating information about the NCWIT AiC High School Award with your community and the media.
About NCWIT and the AiC High School Award – Use these prompts to understand and talk about the award.
Publicity Ideas – Use this section to spark ideas for highlighting the award recipient across multiple communications channels.
We hope you will use this publicity kit to broaden the impact of the NCWIT AiC High School Award.
Please contact us at [email protected] with any questions, and let us know how you have used this Toolkit. We look forward to hearing about how you shared the good news!
About NCWIT and the AiC High School Award
What is NCWIT?
NCWIT is the National Center for Women and Information Technology, a nationwide, non-profit community of more than 1,600 universities, companies, non-profits, and government organizations. NCWIT draws on social science research at all levels of the tech ecosystem to identify and promote interventions to correct underrepresentation in computing education and the tech workforce. NCWIT Intentionally attends to the ways marginalization varies based on an individual’s intersecting identities. Drawing on research, NCWIT utilizes a holistic approach to both change the system to be more inclusive and develop tech talent to drive innovation. By working with organizations to be intentional with their DEI efforts, to focus on inclusion, and to pay attention to influence, NCWIT strives to ensure the broadest spectrum of people can contribute to the innovations that shape all of our lives. www.ncwit.org.
What is the NCWIT AiC High School Award?
The NCWIT AiC High School Award honors 9th-12th grade women, genderqueer, or non-binary students for their computing-related interests and achievements and encourages them to pursue their passions. Award recipients are selected based on their aptitude and aspirations in technology and computing, as demonstrated by their computing experience, computing-related activities, leadership experience, tenacity in the face of barriers to access, and plans for post-secondary education.
By generating visibility for these aspiring technologists in their local communities, the NCWIT AiC High School Award encourages their continued interest in computing, builds their identity as “someone who does computing,” and attracts the attention and support of educational and corporate institutions.
Find details about prizes, eligibilities, application details, and how the award is structured at www.aspirations.org/AiCHSAward.
Publicity Ideas
To share the good news about your award recipient, we recommend taking advantage of free, easy, and local promotional outlets. Additionally, you could submit a press release to a newswire service.
Newsletters, Websites, and Blogs: Does your school, school district, or community host a website, distribute a publication, or maintain a listserv or discussion board highlighting school news and achievements? Use these channels to publish an award recipient's story about how winning improved their educational, career, and personal aspirations for computing, or a story about how winning influenced their peers. Cut and paste pre-written text, available in this document, to get started.
Social Media: Social media is a powerful tool requiring minimal effort. Use platforms like Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook to give a shout-out to your award recipient. Cut and paste pre-written text, available in this document, to draft a post. Also, if posting a picture of your student, add these social media images and tags to amplify your virtual celebration of them:
School Assemblies, Ceremonies, and Announcements: Hosting a virtual award event? Download Zoom backgrounds to congratulate recipients throughout the session. Or, set aside a moment to recognize your award recipient during daily school routines or periodic events. For example, you could briefly mention the award recipient’s accomplishment during morning or afternoon announcements over the intercom, call a special assembly to present the student’s personalized award, or recognize the award recipient with other outstanding winners at the end of the year.
Press Release: Cut and paste pre-written text, available in this document, to draft a press release for immediate issuance.
Newswire services send out your press release to journalists and the general public on a worldwide scale. Several companies offer newswire services for free or at minimal cost, including:
PR Log: http://www.prlog.org/pub/
The Open Press: http://www.theopenpress.com/
