Websites come in all shapes and sizes. Whether a large budget was allocated or costs were reduced by in-house development, a website is often the first interaction a consumer has with a business or organization. As the proverbial first impression, there is little room for error—second first impressions simply don’t exist. Many private schools consider their website to be a marketing tool. After all, the product—the school itself—is the main focus. In business, websites are indeed the star of the marketing plan. A persuasive retail site attracts visitors with flash and discounts, and increased traffic typically results in a boost in sales.

In a previous post, we talked about understanding the way your students have been raised. You need this background information to design effective education methods. That post went over their backgrounds and perspectives. Now we’ll look at how to best teach them. Generation Z encompasses most of the children in school right now; they were born between about 1997 and 2014.

As the weather gets warmer and COVID-19 vaccinations are on the rise, private schools are looking toward the fall with a healthy dose of cautious optimism. First, a reality check: COVID-19 is here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future. For the sake of stability and sanity, any reopening roadmap should start from that vantage point. If there’s any lesson to be had from the past year, it’s that flexibility and contingency plans aren’t simply good ideas—they’re a blueprint for survival. Every school must create a reopening structure that works within the confines of the next phase of the pandemic, whatever that may be. Now is the time to be intentional and put the knowledge and experiences of this year to good use.

We anticipate that many schools will use a combination of online learning and on-campus instruction—blended learning—for the 2021–22 school year. If your school is among those considering blended learning, what grading system will you use? We outline our suggestions below.

Cyberattacks on schools are on the rise; last year, they went up 18%. Having a dedicated Information Technology (IT) team and preventive tools aren’t enough to protect your institution. A cyberattack could still occur, leaving your school’s private data, finances, and equipment—not to mention information about your students and your families—at risk.

Alumni understand your mission and can be some of your most local supporters—with the right messaging and framework to keep them interested (and engaged) in your school. It’s time to recycle the old, stale messaging that falls flat when reaching out to alumni. Here are five steps to refresh and refocus your strategic communication plan.

Every school must create a mission statement—what it hopes to achieve as an institution and how it plans to shape future generations. Mission statements vary from preparing students for college and the workforce to creating well-rounded and curious citizens and learners. There are indicators of success that typically involve test scores, graduation rates, Admission rates, GPAs, and similar metrics.

The rate of cyberattacks are on the rise, and schools are not excluded from the target list. According to a 2021 report, schools had 408 publicly disclosed attacks last year—that’s up from 348 in 2019. As we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, schools need to ensure they can keep ahead of the ever-ev...

The pandemic abruptly halted many things, but college sports recruiting wasn’t one of them. You may feel overwhelmed by all the changes in recruiting rules—perhaps you feel there’s not much you can do [in the college recruiting process] for your graduating athletes—but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Opportunities haven’t disappeared, they’ve just changed form. We are here to help you navigate the new rules of the college recruiting game, 2021 style.

Even before the pandemic reared its very ugly head, private schools were facing worrisome data trends. Over the past two decades, enrollment numbers have remained flat. It’s easy to get caught up in day-to-day operations and not look beyond the next Board meeting or financial report. But it’s vital to keep the long-term picture in mind.