Are You Communicating Distinctions About Your School that Really Drive Enrollment?
Forging School Strategies | August 6, 2014
The primary obstacle a school faces as it looks to compete for enrollment often seems patently obvious. The instinct is to focus on explaining the thing that (apparently) defines us in the market. Surely if we’re a single-sex school, or a Montessori school, or the only independent school in town, or a Waldorf school, that’s the factor that drives decisions about whether or not to apply or enroll at our school, right?
Sometimes, yes. Often, no.
We’ve found that an educational philosophy such as Waldorf or Montessori actually may not be the pivotal factor for parents who choose those schools. As a result, in those cases, it shouldn’t be the first thing the school looks to promote or explain.
Likewise, while students and parents obviously aren’t oblivious to the fact that a school is single-sex, we find that they often choose or reject such a school, whether lower or upper school, based on other criteria altogether.
You might think there’s a big flashing sign on your school that’s the only thing people see, when in fact they’ve hardly noticed.
