New ad campaign touts Catholic high schools

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia and the Faith in the Future Foundation are teaming up to spread the word about the benefits of Catholic high schools.

The independent foundation and the archdiocese's Office of Catholic Education are rolling out a marketing campaign this week that uses online ads, radio spots, and an upgraded website with a video to encourage families to consider sending their children to one of the 17 Catholic high schools in the region.

Called "Choose My Future," the five-week initiative is aimed at increasing awareness of the Catholic high schools and boosting enrollment. Approximately 16,000 students attend the high schools.

Officials Monday declined to disclose the amount being spent on the campaign.

"Faith in the Future is steadfastly committed to changing the way we conduct business and recruit students to our Philadelphia area Catholic high schools," Samuel Casey Carter, chief executive officer of the foundation, said in a statement Monday.

"Choose My Future will continue our work toward growing enrollment and is part of a larger effort to reinvigorate Catholic education and re-engage our enthusiastic and devoted alumni by highlighting the individual excellence and collective greatness of the Catholic high schools in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia."

After a fund-raising effort helped keep four high schools from closing in spring, the archdiocese announced in August that it had turned over management of its high schools and four special-education schools to the foundation that had been established to garner financial support for the schools and increase enrollment.

Carter, an education manager and consultant who has written about data use in schools, was named CEO of the foundation last month.

The radio spots of the marketing campaign are being aired primarily on B101 and KYW NewsRadio, but the campaign also has made some ad buys on the online music site Pandora.

Officials said the digital campaign also will include ads on Philly.com, Facebook, YouTube, and such informational sites as PhiladelphiaSpeaks, SchoolDigger, and GreatSchools.

The Choose My Future website provides information about all 17 high schools, the dates of their open houses, and registration for the open houses. The site also contains a video called "We Believe" that highlights the academics, athletics, service, faith, and sense of community of the individual schools.

The website can be found at www.choosemyfuture.org.