The Catholic School Leaders Podcast

3 Tips to Strengthen Your Enrollment Process
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Welcome to the Catholic School Leaders podcast, where we discuss leadership and Catholic education. I'm John Mahalio, your host, and as always, this podcast is dedicated to enhancing Catholic education and connecting Catholic school leaders worldwide. Well, it's October when I'm recording this podcast, and probably a lot of things happening in your Catholic schools right now that Uh, just the, the, the newness of the year is, uh, is wearing off, starting to get into those routines.

For a lot of schools, maybe your first nine weeks are, are over, or getting pretty close to it. you know, the weather is changing, you know, sometimes now the, the shorts are, are gone, and long pants are in play, or sweatshirts are in play, or maybe even for some of our schools up north. We start to get the jackets and of course that means the jackets being left behind and trying to track down the owners of those.

For a lot of our schools there's [00:01:00] things that you're doing really well and things that you know are just cranking and going so well, but in the back of your mind I know there's always those things that are like, ah, we could be doing this a little bit better and this is something we need to be focusing on.

And it's a critical time in a school year because that first nine weeks is done. Uh, and there's things that say, okay, if we don't fix these things, I know when we come back in the spring, This is going to be something that rears its ugly head and that's why this is a great time of year to be focusing on things.

Now one of those big things that's going to sneak up on you real quick if you're not careful is your enrollment for next year. And I know it sounds crazy to be thinking in the fall about your enrollment cycle for next year already, but But that is something you need to be doing as a Catholic school leader.

We need to look at our process from last year now and see what's working, what didn't work so well from last year so that we can make those adjustments. Because if you're not already thinking about this, your applications are probably going to [00:02:00] go live very, very soon if they're not already live. And so today we're going to talk about some ways that you can check in on your enrollment process to be ready for next year.

Before we do that, I want to take a moment just to stop and, uh, start our episode with a quick prayer. As I'm recording this, obviously, uh, I am located in North Carolina. A lot of our, brothers and sisters over in the western part of the state, Tennessee, uh, and others, just been ravished with the, the effects of Hurricane Helene.

Uh, just want to say a prayer for them, let them know that we're, we're praying for you, continuing to support you in, in every way that we can, and so ask you to just remember all those that were impacted by this storm, uh, in your prayers today, uh, so let's, let's just take a moment and pause And, uh, remember all them in our prayers, just as well as to remember, uh, why we do what we do each and every day as Catholic school leaders.

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this opportunity to [00:03:00] come together today as your children to talk about enrollment in our Catholic schools. Please bless all of our listeners, as well as all those families in our state that have been affected by the horrible hurricane from over the recent weeks.

Amen. Please bless our listeners and their work so that together we may live your name and bring it honor, praise, and glory. We pray that our work will bring your light, love, and mission to our listeners and to the world. We ask this through your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen. In the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Well, as we get into this episode, I just want to say first and foremost, thank you so much to all those folks out there who continue to listen. Maybe this is your first time finding this podcast, if so, welcome. A lot of other episodes out there that I think will really, really benefit you as a Catholic school leader.

If you are somebody that has been a loyal listener, and each week just can't wait for the next episode to drop, I want to say thank you so [00:04:00] much. If you've been enjoying the podcast, or if you enjoyed this episode, I'd really appreciate it and love for you to take, uh, just a quick moment to leave a rating.

It takes you about a half a second, and it helps this show reach more and more Catholic school leaders. It provides also a lot of valuable feedback to improve future episodes. So if you have a few extra minutes, consider leaving a review as well. Every review helps us to extend our impact and bring more insights, resources, inspiration, everything to Catholic school educators from around the world.

So I can't say thank you enough for your support. It allows me to continue to serve the mission here, uh, and what I do with this podcast, just to help strengthen Catholic education. So I can't thank you enough so much, for all that you, you do, and thank you so much for being a loyal listener. So, I mentioned before about October and why this is such a critical time as I'm recording this podcast.

Why is October such a critical time? Well, this is the time really you [00:05:00] have as the opportunity to review your process from last year. And it's critical to look at what you did last year to make adjustments. Maybe your school is a school that opened with enrollment that exceeded. You're, you're projections, or maybe you're a school that, uh, you had some challenges with your enrollment number.

Uh, maybe your enrollment number came in a couple under, maybe it came in a whole lot under with what you were looking at. And, and we all know that there's challenges that come with dealing with fewer students. That, that leads to budgeting concerns, uh, sometimes you have to look at programs, resources, things like that.

I've been there. I understand those things. I understand what you're facing. you know, so if I can help you with those things, let's schedule a time to talk. You can do that at the website, elementaryadvancement. com. but we want to make sure today that that your enrollment process is something that is timely, it's effective, it's smooth, everything is very intentional in it.

So your planning is going to set the table and really lead that foundation for a successful enrollment season. And it's gonna [00:06:00] really help you to avoid those last minute scrambles as a school. So, three ways right now that I think you can do something actionable right now in the month of October. And if you're not listening to this until a little later on the year, that's okay.

Still rather better, better late than never, right? So, a couple things that you can do at your school right now, gonna help you with your enrollment process. You will be so happy that you did these things, you will be so thankful. I promise you it's gonna make your enrollment process just a whole lot smoother for everybody involved in your school.

So number one, way number one that you can improve your enrollment season, enrollment cycle for next year. Ask those parents who just went through it how it went. We see all the time, focus groups on TV, What did you think about this? How did you feel about this? What did you think this was? all the time and we get these these focus groups together.

Why not bring a focus group of parents together who just went through this process? [00:07:00] I mean, who better is going to give you insight on how things went than those current parents who just did this? What was their experience with it? What were the things that they maybe had trouble with? Maybe the things that they wish They would have received more information on what are things they felt.

Hey, wow, the school did a great job with this. And this was something that we felt we knew everything about. If you hear from one parent that there was a question about something, okay, we noted. Two parents in your focus group are going to note something, all right, that's, that's, put that on your radar.

But if you're hearing multiple times that there were questions about certain components of the enrollment cycle, uh, and just the enrollment process, that tells you now that that's something you've got to fix for next year. So, getting a group of parents together, I would recommend maybe something either in the morning, right after carpool drop off, invite them in, get some coffee, maybe some pastries or things like that.

Okay. and just invite them to come together and ask questions, be a great facilitator, and just listen. Do a lot of listening to what it is that they have to say. [00:08:00] I think it's going to really get them involved in what it is. It makes their opinions feel very valued. And it also helps you with that process that they just went through because Who better to tell you than those who just experienced it firsthand?

So, way number one is just to bring a group of parents together who just went through the enrollment cycle. probably wouldn't do you as much good to bring parents in who did it five, six years ago, because maybe a lot has changed at your school. I hope a lot! Has changed your school with that process, but get those new parents in, really gets them involved with the community and really gives them a chance to provide you with feedback in real time.

So, number one, ask some parents who just went through it. Way number two is to apply to your own school for yourself. and see what happens. I know that might sound silly, but when's the last time that you went through your own school's enrollment process to test and see what information you get back? You get to experience your application process [00:09:00] as a new family would in real time.

Uh, maybe that automated email that your school is sending out instead of having something that is a You know, dear to a specific person, it says dear insert family name here, which doesn't look good for you or your school. This is the first impression that somebody is getting from your school and that application process is so important.

We want to make sure it is crystal clear and squeaky clean. And so applying for your own school to see what kind of experience you get. It's easy for you to note any confusion or any roadblocks and make sure that that enrollment process is smooth Transcribed And if yours is a process that maybe, uh, you're a principal out there listening to this, you want to see how that process goes, you have an enrollment team, ask somebody in your family to apply to your school and see what kind of a response they get from things.

just gives you perspective on what that response time looks like. It's not trying to trick anybody. It's not trying to play gotcha games or anything like that. But it just [00:10:00] helps you see what your enrollment process looks like from an outsider perspective. And so, way number one, ask your current parents who just went through the enrollment process to give you that feedback.

Way number two, apply for your school yourself and see what happens. Way number three is an interesting one and you could use this for a lot of different reasons, but for your enrollment and that impression that new families are going to see the first time they pull up to your school, this is such a valuable resource that you could use.

And that is to do a parking lot audit. of what parents see when they walk up to your school for the first time. So let's think about this one. You have probably spaces or spots in your school where people that come in and visit your school, whether they're current parents or prospective families, they're going to park and walk up to your door for that first time.

Bring a group of people together and just say, I want you to bring nothing but [00:11:00] your phones or a notebook or whatever it is that And I want you to challenge this group of people. It doesn't need to be 50, 60 people. I'm talking just a smaller group of five to seven people. And I want you to ask them to approach the school as a family would from the first time they're walking on your campus.

Now, when my daughter and I were in Italy this past summer, uh, there were things that people were taking pictures of and snapping photos of left and right. And And later on at dinner, I would say to her, Where did you get that picture from? It's a picture of maybe a flower or a little scooter bike in front of a nice villa or things like that.

She said, Oh, when everybody was taking pictures of this, I saw this behind it. And she has the eye for things that a lot of people wouldn't see. Those are the people that you want to come out there with you. Those people that have an eye for details. That can look at things and see things. far beyond just what everybody else is noticing.

And ask that group to no talking, [00:12:00] just to walk up to the school, take your time, it's not a rush, it's not a race, but walk up to the school from the parking lot. What do you see? Do you see a dead tree? Is there a, graffiti somewhere? Is there a sign that has a hole in it? Is there a window that's maybe broken that nobody notices?

You walk by something every day. You tend to not see the forest from the trees and not notice those little things. maybe there's uh, an overgrown weeds or something like that. What are you seeing from a perspective of a new family who's walking under your school for the first time? Ask everybody to take pictures of what they see.

And then when you get back into the, the school itself, What did everybody see? I saw a picture of this. Let me show you what I see. Ah, yeah, I saw that too. Oh, I didn't even notice that. Leads to great conversations, great discussions of what those first impressions are because I can assure you if a family comes into your parking lot, And the outside, the [00:13:00] exterior of your school campus just is not very inviting.

Really leaves them with a not so favorable impression before they've even stepped inside of your school to see the amazing things happening. So, we don't want to lose families before they even walk into the school. So, do that audit, from your parking lot. Because if you've got time to do that, take that 30 minutes, uh, listen to what that group has to say.

Get those folks on your faculty or in your community who just have the eye for that. Because you want to ensure that your environment, your signage, your entrance, everything is so welcoming and so professional, uh, that your curb appeal and your overall experience for not only prospective families but your current families is something that's a positive one.

So, three ways we can do this. Number one, ask parents who just went through the process. to give you their feedback. Way number two, apply for your school yourself. And way number three, is to do a parking lot audit. See what families see when they walk up to your school for the first [00:14:00] time.

Now I'm going to give you one more bonus one, and this one could apply for so many areas of a school and any business for that matter.

but I want to give this one to you because I think it's so worth saying.

The words, because we've always done it this way, are never the right answer for anything. If you can't clearly state why your school is doing something and you don't know the reason for it, stop immediately.

One of my earlier episodes was with Jason Curtis, and he was talking about how his schools have to start with the reason they are doing something. It's a great episode to listen to. If you haven't had a chance to listen to that one, it's all about family engagement. But it just basically talks about why we're doing something and starting with that why.

And if your answer and your only answer for why you're doing something is we've always done it this way, I understand schools say, well, it's a tradition. There are traditions, and then there is, well, that's the way we've [00:15:00] always done it without understanding the why behind it. So, yes, you're going to want to highlight those traditions.

You want to make your, School and make those traditions stand out, but we want to also highlight what makes us an amazing school with the process that we're doing. We're talking about our process. What we've always done it that way is never going to be the right answer. So take the time to look at everything it is you're asking for.

If you're asking for a certain piece of information from your applicants but it's rather outdated, why are you still asking for it again? Or maybe there's something that you do want to ask for but you've never asked for it in the past, and it's a change. It's not the way we've always done it. This is the time.

Have those conversations now with your team before that enrollment process really gets going. Now one of the things that I would also advise you to do is before you launch your enrollment process for this year, it's really critical to make sure that your marketing materials, your website, [00:16:00] accurately reflects who your school is right now. Your school's offerings, your strengths, your identity.

Because parents can make these decisions based on the information that you present. So presenting them with outdated or misleading content, can really be something that damages your school's credibility and creates a lack of trust. So you're going to want to make sure you're reviewing and updating your key elements.

Academic programs, extracurricular activities. One of the big things, faculty bios. That's a big one to make sure is accurate. If on your website, your principal that is listed on your website has not been there in three years, that is something that needs to be updated today. Pause this podcast right now and make sure that that change has been made.

We want to make sure that what we have out there about our school is accurate. Just promoting that transparency and honesty is just going to build a stronger relationship with just so many of those prospective families and prevent a lot of misunderstandings down the road. Now I created a guide that's going to help you with this.

If you are a [00:17:00] school that is struggling with this, I created a guide for you that's going to really give you some guiding questions for your leadership to see where you are at your respective Catholic schools. It's going to provide you with those kinds of questions that go beyond the surface to make you think, and I hope it's going to lead to some great conversations and great discussions with your team and with your teachers and community members.

So, If you want to receive this free of charge, it's yours for free, uh, it's, it's called The Keys to a Successful Catholic School. You can get it for free at www. elementaryadvancement. com forward slash keys, K E Y S. Your copy for free. I think it's really going to provide you with some great insights and really will provide you with some meaningful conversations.

So, if I can help you in any way with this, I work with a small number of schools each year and develop those enrollment strategies. The schools I am working with are doing such an awesome job. I want to give a shout out to them. Thank you. They are just rocking and [00:18:00] rolling on this one. If I can help you in any way, let's set up a time to talk.

Um, you can schedule that at elementaryadvancement. com. It is free to sit down with me for a consultation. We want to talk all about what your goals are, what your challenges are as well, because that's the only way that we are going to improve our Catholic schools and move them forward.

Now, each week I talk about visiting elementary advancement solutions and how you can grow Catholic education at your school. So what exactly is elementary advancement solutions? Well, after 15 years as a Catholic school principal at three schools in two different dioceses, I started Elementary Advancement Solutions to help schools grow and connect leaders with one another. I know how lonely of a job leading a Catholic school can be, whether you're a principal, an advancement director, an assistant principal, or a recruitment and marketing director.

Everything is so go, go, go, go, go, go, go, and people forget that we're human beings as well. We need that support in our jobs. So I created [00:19:00] Elementary Advancement Solutions to do just that.

One of the major areas I focus on with schools is that business side of education. Things like advancement, fundraising, recruitment, enrollment strategies, and strategic planning. In 15 years as a Catholic school principal, I started two advancement offices that generated well over 1. 8 million dollars.

And several of those years were during the COVID pandemic, which as you know, we were very limited on what we could do. Multiple schools I took over were really struggling with enrollment. But enrollment grew by 23 percent on average in these schools. That's incredible. So maybe you're a school whose enrollment numbers are struggling, not reaching the goals that you want.

Maybe your fundraising goals are just continuously coming up short. You feel like you're leaving money on the table. This is where I'd love to have a conversation with you. Each year, I work with a number of schools to help them reach their goals in Recruitment, Marketing, Advancement, [00:20:00] Fundraising, and Strategic Planning.

I'm really proud of the schools that I'm working with because they're working hard every day, and they're growing each and every day. My goal is to make advancement coaching affordable and accessible to every Catholic school. So if I can help you meet your goals in these areas, let's have a conversation.

Schedule a time to meet with me at elementaryadvancement. com forward slash Advancement. I want to hear about your goals. I want to learn about your school and I want to help you reach them.

So thank you so much for listening.

Don't forget to subscribe, you have a minute, please, please, please. Drop a quick review on there. Tell everybody what an amazing Catholic school podcast this is. Don't forget to share it with other leaders so they're in your network because that's the only way we're gonna help each other connect with one another and to help each other grow our Catholic schools.