Before you say, “That’s impossible,” remember that with God, nothing is impossible.<\/p>\n
It can be done…in just one year.<\/p>\n
And now I’ll bet you’re laughing – ESPECIALLY this year!!<\/p>\n
Before going on, what if I told you that a faith-based school with over 250 students recently closed?\u00a0 Would you say that’s also unlikely?\u00a0 Unlikely, yes.\u00a0 But it recently happened.\u00a0 It also happened six years ago around this time as well.<\/p>\n
So let’s go back to doubling your school’s enrollment.\u00a0 Remember that the best marketing strategy to benefit your school is positive word of mouth Marketing.\u00a0 It’s also the least expensive.<\/p>\n
So while you’re preparing to give students their summer math and reading assignments, here’s an assignment you NEED to give to your parents.<\/p>\n
Each one of them has to recruit one family for your school.<\/p>\n
How do they do that?\u00a0 Ask them to identify ONE THING that they think makes your school a remarkable place to be.\u00a0 If they think it’s remarkable, and have friends whose children go to the local public school, their friends may think that quality is also remarkable.\u00a0 Who knows?\u00a0 That prospective parent may not have been happy with the public school’s transition to distance learning this Spring, the school may still not have a plan for reopening in a safe manner causing too many questions, may be moving to teach subjects that aren’t in line with their values, or even cutting programs which parents see as essential for achievement, and experts confirm foster usage of both halves of the brain.<\/p>\n
The upside is that if EVERYONE completes the assignment successfully, tuition could be cut by up to 50%!\u00a0 If you have 12 children in every grade level (since classrooms may now become virtual spaces), and 12 more children come in to each grade level, you may not have to hire additional teachers.<\/p>\n
OK, let’s be a little more realistic – say 20% of the parents successfully complete their assignment.\u00a0 If you have 150 students, you may get around 30 more students, which brings your school to 180 students.\u00a0 Do the same thing next year and you’re above 200.\u00a0 If that happens, you may even choose to give those evangelizing parents a $100 incentive on their child’s tuition.<\/p>\n
Your school’s marketing efforts should be targeted to fill your Kindergarten classroom or classrooms.\u00a0 That’s where inbound marketing has the greatest effect, since parents are actively seeking our educational environments for their little ones.\u00a0 However, if you’re looking for a way to invite more students to the higher grade levels of your school, it’s positive word of mouth from parents of currently enrolled students.<\/p>\n
If your current parents can’t provide positive word of mouth about your school, then you know what your summer assignment is.\u00a0 It’s a time for rethinking a whole lot of what’s happening in your school.<\/p>\n
\u00a9 Michael V. Ziemski, SchoolAdvancement, 2010-2025 (Original Publication Date: 20100524)<\/p>\n