Enrollment management for private school leaders has become twofold—leaders must demonstrate value to bring new families into the school community while also engaging with current families. We recommend using the following steps to prove the value of your educational experience to families.
Your School Head-Replacement Cash Reserve
As Board President or Finance Committee Chair, you are cognizant that your School Head will not hold that position forever. You may know the schedule for your current Head’s departure—as with a scheduled retirement—or you may simply be aware that the turnover frequency for the position averages about five years, or you may just be a strategically prudent person by nature. Regardless, you also know, even without specifics, that replacing your School Head will be expensive.
How Do You Handle Families That Are Constantly Behind on Tuition Payments?
Regardless of the reasons why a family falls behind on payments, tuition discussion can be uncomfortable for all parties. Fortunately, there are ways that your school can navigate these topics while protecting its interests.
How Can Schools Help Reduce Student Stress?
A concerning trend observed over the last few years shows students and faculty both reporting high stress levels. What can school leaders do to help reduce student stress?
School Spotlight: How The Cambridge School Doubled New Enrollment
Leslie Yoder, The Cambridge School’s Director of Enrollment Management, is passionate about her school’s mission. But in her second year on the job, she noticed that the school had experienced a one-year enrollment dip.
Trends Your School Should Prepare for Now
Planning ahead (and for the worst) is never an easy task. But we believe that planning ahead for a potential marketplace shift and how it could affect your school is integral to long-term viability.
We have found that roughly 200 private schools close per year, even during strong economic times. How do you keep your school from becoming one of them?
The Importance of Investing in Professional Development
As education professionals, you’re probably passionate about fostering a love of lifelong learning among your students. But we’ve found that many leaders are so focused on their school and their students that they overlook themselves and their leaders when it comes to ongoing learning.
The Head’s Responsibilities: Key Areas
The Board of Trustees charges you, as School Head and your Board’s only employee, with overseeing the entire scope of day-to-day operations. The breadth and complexity of these operations far exceeds the capacity of any one person to exercise direct monitoring, control, and evaluation of them. Your senior administrators, if your school is organized typically, comprise those whom you charge with these responsibilities. You, as School Head, retain full accountability for their performance, but it is they who directly oversee the people who implement your programs.
Scheduling Mistakes for Private Schools to Avoid
Your schedule impacts everything. As School Head, you know the right schedule must reflect your school’s resources, philosophy, and mission, using a mix of available time, people, programs, and space.
Construction Ahead: An Owner's Representative Protects Your Interests
New construction and major renovation projects rank among the most complex undertakings your school ever faces—and the devil is in the details. Costs escalate, disputes arise, technical decisions loom—who is in your corner? Before you build, assess the benefits of hiring an owner’s representative.
The sole responsibility of an owner’s representative is to protect the interests of the property holder—in this case, your school—throughout each phase of construction. This professional can offer a combination of experience, knowledge, objectivity, and time that neither you, as School Head, nor others associated with the project are likely to match.