Listening is a skill that’s vitally important for education leaders, helping us adjust our value proposition, story, tours, and plans based on strategically collected feedback from faculty, students, families, donors, and key partners. The beginning of the enrollment season is the ideal time to pause, renew the data, and identify growth opportunities.

Most of us are fairly decent at sending out surveys, but the key is listening to the right people, knowing how to read between the lines, and then creating a progressive innovation path. Actively and productively listening is a powerful skill that is only honed through preparation and practice, practice, practice.

So, it’s May and you have successfully completed another admissions season and you have wait lists in every grade-Now it’s time to sit back, relax by the pool and take your much needed break........NOT!!!

Many enrollment offices are working hard May through August with limited spots available. Selling an empty school is a major challenge!!

How do you make the most of the summer enrollment season and meet your goals for the start of school?

Consider the following statement when thinking about your next board retreat:

"If my school board would _______ we would be 100% more effective.”

The purpose of asking the board to set apart time for a retreat is to reset. It’s a time where the board is setting aside time to rejuvenate and set clear objectives. You need to make sure you’re pursuing a board retreat plan that will allow you to set goals for the whole organization as well as to collect feedback on existing objectives.

Market pressures have elevated the importance of enrollment leadership because for most schools, tuition revenue drives all other plans for the school. 

There have never been so many competitors vying for the same families, and as education innovators we use that motivation to step up to the challenge. 

Are we doing the right things? Does our leadership have the People, Processes, and Systems to sustainably grow enrollment? We’ve created a new option to help you answer these important questions.

Parent Ambassadors are a core part of our enrollment growth strategy, but how do we maintain healthy relationships and maximize engagement with them? 

Prince the Peacock was beautiful, with blue and green feathers that were a sight to behold. 

We met him over the weekend at the Warm Springs Inn (which we highly recommend, by the way) in Wenatchee, WA.

Despite all of his investments in marketing himself, Prince remained frustrated and unable to accomplish his goals. (perhaps a little like your school)

Who should be recruited to serve as a Parent Ambassador? That is a frequently asked question as enrollment directors are implementing or improving their efforts to involve parents in the student recruiting process. 

Here are three criteria to help you build a productive team of parent ambassadors. Brennan Stark from PeerPal joined me and Tammy for a conversation about how to choose parent ambassadors that will most effectively contribute to your success. 

You are in control of your own destiny as a school leader. You can intentionally choose the people who are on your team, the type of culture in which you work together, and how you will deliver on your mission.

Strategy is a choice and the decisions you make in December can make the new year remarkably more joyful!

Testing is a big deal these days. Testing for a contagious disease. Testing for student progress. How about a school ambassador test?

Your school needs board members, employees, families, and donors to test positive for willingly and energetically sharing your story with others. 

What do you know about your target market of families? Everyone has a confirmation bias that clouds objectivity and the ability to genuinely listen. Cognitive bias isn't new, but it can be a huge barrier to your ability to innovate and grow enrollment in this emerging economy. 

(See Special Offer Enrollment Growth Plan PowerPack 2020 to advance your target market genius and admissions results)