DJ?  “Roll Over Beethoven” shows how much we’ve changed in the past 50 years.  Letters and postcards were sent to radio stations DJs to ask them to play songs.  Then telephones were brought into the studio.  Today, we write letters again…literally (RUOK?  OIC.  ROTFL!) via text.  And speaking of “little letters,” there are a number of people who don’t capitalize anything, let alone use punctuation correctly.

In these days when we can mail merge, maybe this would be a good time to slow down a little bit and mail a “personal” (as in, handwritten) letter to your local PP (Prospective Parent).  Colleges are doing it.  Several years ago, when my daughter was going through the process of choosing a college, she received a PERSONAL letter from an alum at a university she had expressed interest in telling her all things great and wonderful about the institution.

That’s personalization, and it’s what parents want for their children.  Personalized and individualized treatment.

This year, perhaps one of your school’s alums, or a current parent who is a “raving fan” of your school, can hand-write a letter to a prospective parent or two…or even to parents that have left the school in the past couple of years!  With Advent upon us, it would be a great reconciliation effort. Remember, your school is a community of learners…. and building community is something we are all called to do.  Now here’s where it gets tough – with all the demands and expectations of personalization, the key to retaining (or re-enrolling) students to build a solid base for your school’s enrollment efforts is keeping parents as members of your school community!  And yes, that means bringing two completely opposite ideas together.  Together, we are one community, but each of us are given gifts and talents that make us unique individuals.  Let this idea sink in…and you’ll discover why the Christian walk is such a difficult one.  We are called to be one…yet we all want to be treated as individuals.  And, as Jesus said, you must “Go and do likewise.”

And what about the children? While writing their letters to Santa, maybe they can write a Christmas wish for their school to a parent of a prospective student, telling them about the things they like to do in school, and hoping that their children can share in the experience next year. It tugs at the heartstrings for sure, but no one can resist heartfelt requests from kids…especially if it’s written on a handmade card!!

Prepare ye the way…

© Michael V. Ziemski, SchoolAdvancement, 2009-2019 (Original Publication Date: 20041206)