Case Study:
Driving Student Re-Engagement for a $20M Education Initiative with CRM, Web Development, and Outreach Integratio
At a glance:
Challenges
A large-scale initiative to re-engage thousands of students in Atlanta Public Schools post-COVID.
No centralized technology infrastructure to manage outreach, engagement, or student tracking.
Complex coordination required across public schools, private foundations, celebrity partners, and call center vendors.
Solution
Populus Technology served as the full IT department for the initiative, designing and deploying:
A gamification web app to incentivize participation.
A CRM system (HubSpot) for outreach automation and engagement tracking.
A call center integration for direct family outreach and engagement.
Secure data handling & compliance to manage student information at scale.
Benefits
Seamless execution of a $20M educational grant initiative at unprecedented scale.
Thousands of students re-engaged, significantly boosting summer school enrollment.
Multi-channel outreach (CRM, call center, web app) automated and scaled effectively.
National visibility with high-profile support from Ludacris, his foundation, and other celebrities.
Key Technologies & Services Used:
✔ Custom Web App (Gamification & Student Tracking)
✔ HubSpot CRM (Automated Outreach & Engagement Tracking)
✔ Call Center Automation & Direct Outreach Integration
✔ Secure Data Management & Privacy Compliance
Objective
Following COVID-19, student attendance and engagement dropped dramatically, particularly in underserved communities. Atlanta Public Schools, nonprofit partners, and celebrity advocates—including Ludacris—launched the inspirED Summer initiative to reverse this trend.
However, executing a program of this scale required an advanced technology backbone to manage outreach, engagement tracking, and compliance across thousands of students and multiple stakeholders.
Populus Technology was selected as the strategic IT partner to design, implement, and manage the entire digital infrastructure of the initiative.
Solution: A Fully Integrated Digital Engagement System
🔹 Celebrity-Backed Engagement Strategy – The initiative gained massive visibility through partnerships with Ludacris, his foundation, and other influencers, amplifying student participation.
🔹 Gamification Web App Development – Built a custom engagement platform where students could track participation, complete activities, and earn incentives.
🔹 HubSpot CRM Implementation & Automation – Designed a centralized CRM system to track student engagement, automate outreach, and manage parent communication across thousands of contacts.
🔹 Call Center Integration & Direct Outreach – Partnered with national call centers to execute direct outreach campaigns, contacting families and students to encourage participation.
🔹 Secure Data Handling & Compliance – Ensured education-compliant data security, protecting sensitive student information while enabling real-time tracking.
🔹 Multi-Stakeholder Coordination – Managed technology implementation across public schools, nonprofit organizations, celebrity advocates, and private sector partners.
Outcomes
$20M Grant Maximized
The initiative successfully leveraged public funding to create a sustainable, tech-enabled student engagement model.
Thousands of Students Re-Enrolled
The initiative successfully increased summer school participation at scale, reversing COVID-related learning loss.
Massive Visibility & Public-Private Partnership Execution
Coordinated execution across public schools, corporate sponsors, and high-profile influencers to drive engagemen
Automated Outreach & Student Engagement
Implemented a repeatable, scalable engagement system that can be used for future educational initiatives.