Syracuse Sun

The Maxwell X Lab has released new research that may assist employers and nonprofit organizations in better engaging with underserved communities. The study, published in the Journal of Behavioral Public Administration, is a joint effort by the Maxwell School and the School of Education to address teaching disparities in K-12 public schools.

This initiative began in fall 2021, funded by Syracuse University alumni Marcia Baldanza and her late husband, Ben. The School of Education developed the Baldanza Fellows Program, offering full tuition grants and teaching positions in partner school districts. Meanwhile, the X Lab applied behavioral science to assess email recruitment strategies for prospective applicants.

The research found that emails designed as letters promoting long-term career opportunities were more effective in recruiting applicants for a teacher recruitment fellowship. The X Lab's director, Len Lopoo, explained that they crafted various email messages with trackable links to measure interest through opens, clicks, and applications.

Recipients received either an official letter signed by the dean or an informational flyer with photos. “Individuals also received one of two different message framings,” said Lopoo. “One appealed to those who want to pursue a challenging new endeavor, while the other appealed to those looking for stable and long-term career prospects.”

Emails formatted as official letters had a higher open rate than flyers by 15 to 17 percent for both initial and reminder emails. The reminder email in letter form increased click rates by over 80 percent compared to flyers.

“The findings also demonstrate that messages emphasizing long-term career opportunities were more successful at pushing recipients to open follow-up messages,” noted Lopoo.

These insights can benefit employers seeking job candidates and social welfare organizations aiming to align services with beneficiaries’ needs.

Ashraf Haque from the research team highlighted learning systematic research approaches and data analysis techniques. The team included Robert Bifulco and Hannah Patnaik from Maxwell, alongside Christine Ashby and George Theoharis from the School of Education.

Ashby and Theoharis continue using these outreach findings for recruiting applicants into the Baldanza Fellows Program. "Collaborating with our Maxwell colleagues has been a delight," stated Theoharis about their work with four area public school districts.

He added that district administrators value teachers with diverse life experiences: “They tell us ‘This is important to us—this is an issue we’re deeply committed to.’”