5 Strategies for Funneling Prospective Students into your School and Camp

The external community needs to get to know your school, teachers, staff, and campus sometimes years before they make a decision. If the only opportunities to engage with your school are admissions events, you’ll need to rethink your strategy. Some families don’t know they’re seeking an alternative to their current education model until they visit school campuses and see the possibilities. 

1. Open extracurriculars to local families: This could be something you currently offer, or perhaps you create a special introductory program to something you already run. This is great for introducing prospective families to your school, so if you run a High School you may offer a program for 7th and 8th graders. This can also be appealing to homeschool families, and provide additional revenue to your school.
2. Host mission-aligned programs on campus and advertise to the public: This could be a 6-week art class if you’re an arts-focused school or an environment club if you’re an eco-friendly school.
3. Open an entry-level program for the youngest population: For example, one school looking to enroll their kindergarten and elementary program opened a daycare. This was not only for prospective families but also to ensure faculty stayed on when they had babies. A win-win
4. Invite local groups onto your campus: One school we know allows the Girl Scouts to camp overnight on their campus. Others invite Moms Clubs to use an empty classroom or outside space for their weekly meetings. The goal is to invite mission-aligned groups onto your campus so they can see what you have to offer. Then warm them up through emails and other offerings. 
5. Invite feeder schools or programs to host events on your campus or collaborate on events that serve both schools. 

There are many great ideas out there for getting people on your campus. It's the best way for them to really get to know you.

Many of these ideas came up in our Small School Leaders monthly Power Hour group. If you are looking for a like-minded community where you can get support dealing with all things small school, come to our next free Small School Leaders monthly meet-up and hear about what other schools are doing! 🙌

Put us on your calendar TODAY 👉 www.easyschoolmarketing.com/leaders

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