Future PR Pros: Forney ISD’s Student-Run Marketing Agency

High school students in Forney ISD are setting the standard for hands-on education in the PR and marketing world, giving students the opportunity to step into the professional world before walking across the stage. The Agency is the newest student-run business at Opportunity Central, the district’s career, college, and community center. The Agency functions as a PR and marketing firm that allows students to interact directly with clients and work on projects that provide real solutions to local businesses. 

Juniors and seniors from Forney High School and North Forney High School have the opportunity to take classes at the OC like entrepreneurship and marketing. In these classes, students learn marketing and public relations strategies that they are able to immediately put into practice with real clients. By bridging the gap between classroom learning and practical experience, students are equipped with the knowledge and confidence to excel in their future careers.

Marketing teacher Melissa Crabtree said, “I feel the best way the Agency prepares students is by immersion in the real world. The Agency enables us to introduce the realities of the real world in a controlled environment which, in turn, teaches them critical thinking and social skills.”

While The Agency will officially launch next school year, students in these classes have already been working with clients on various projects. Hotworx and Star Transit are among the first businesses to benefit from marketing and public relations advice from students. Students do research, give presentations, and create marketing products using industry technology for each client to critique.

Crabtree said, “We also spend time making sure the students know that marketing itself is subjective, and the brief may have been completed to standard, but a client still might not like it. Managing student expectations of the clients' reception of their work is so important.”

North Forney senior Bryson Keith and Forney junior Jesus Perez believe that the class has helped them get out of their comfort zone and learn what it takes to market a business.

“It really helps you learn the ins and outs of what businesses want to see in a presentation and what they don’t want to see. It gives you really good insights into marketing and promotion,” said Keith.

Students interested in pursuing careers in marketing and public relations in college have had the ability to explore their passions before graduating high school.

Damian Gonzalez, a junior at Forney High School, is excited to pursue marketing in college and believes that his experience in classes at the OC will give him an advantage before graduation. Gonzalez said, “I want to pursue marketing as a career… I think that having this experience and being fortunate enough to have the OC basically gives us a start before we even graduate.”

Businesses interested in partnering with The Agency can contact Forney ISD Coordinator of Career and Technical Education, Shelbie Prado, at srprado@forneyisd.net. 

For more information about the Forney Independent School District, contact the Forney ISD Marketing and Communications Department at info@edu.forneyisd.net or by phone at 469-762-4100.