Our first virtual Staffing School was a success!

Last week we completed our first ever virtual Staffing School! Thanks to the 50+ attendees who joined us from across the country. We adapted the format of our programming to take place on Tuesday evening and all day Friday. We’re so grateful to see that stellar campaign staffers can be trained virtually!

We kicked off on Tuesday with a few introductory sessions, which included Leading with Purpose—our leadership development framework where participants clarify their core values & personal leadership mission. The campaign trail can often be hectic and unpredictable, and individuals who have done the work to reflect on what’s most important to them are better equipped to thrive in even the most stressful situations.

We wrapped up the day with a session focused on coronavirus and its impact on campaigns, and discussed the different ways staffers can adapt and continue to support great candidates even as the political landscape continues to shift.

On our second day of Staffing School, participants were split into training verticals of their choice—communications, field, finance, or management. This is where we introduced them to our campaign-informed pedagogy, and worked in groups to solve real-life campaign scenarios. Throughout the day, each small group worked through three different “live-fire” scenarios, guided by experienced Staffing School mentors. Participants worked together in these simulations to think about how to prioritize campaign hires, help new candidates nail down messaging, and identify the components of a winning campaign strategy, just to name a few.

We concluded Staffing School with a participant debrief where folks discussed their takeaways and overall feedback, which we were thrilled to see was overwhelmingly positive. This is the third year we’ve offered Staffing School and it’s always so inspiring to be joined by Americans eager to get involved in politics and effect positive change. This session in particular was evidence of our community’s passion for service: even with the future so uncertain, everyone “Zooming in” for this training was full of energy and ready to get to work. 

Thanks to all those who attended for their flexibility as we moved programming online in response to coronavirus, and for making the week an overwhelming success.