Hi there,

Either at the end or beginning of the school year, schools have what they call faculty in service. During this time, there are all kinds of exciting meetings happening and it's also one of the biggest opportunities that we as marketing development professionals have to make an impact...

Hi there,

Right now is the optimal time for you to lead a Half Day Planning Session with your team Summer is almost here - the school year is just about over and it's time to start thinking about what worked, what didn't, key challenges your team needs to tackle and ways to improve things for...

Hi there,

During this time of year, there's a lot that's unfolding - fundraising, annual funds, admissions events, open houses, and everything in between. We often forget that when we're planning out these seasons, we also have to plan out strategic connections

Because of the chaos of invites,...

Hi there,

 I'm seeing schools everywhere getting ready to once again bring in parent volunteers! Knowing how much our schools need support, this is an exciting development However, the role of parents volunteers has shifted drastically - parents are extremely busy. 

So when we finally...

 Hi there,

In receiving our end-of-year surveys, there is a clear reoccurring theme...Families want community. Not just new families, but everyone

The last couple of years have been hard on our communities, and because of this, we haven't been able to fully return to a place where we...

Hi there,

There is one question you need to add to your new parents’ surveys!

At ESM, we work with a lot of clients on developing surveys that are tailored especially to their community and one of the many surveys we offer is for new parents. We send this new parent survey out during...

Hi there,

This topic was brought up at our latest Small School Leaders meetup, where essentially, some schools are being fully transparent about the true cost of education during the enrollment process.

So basically they're saying, "Here's how much it costs to educate your child, and here's our...

Hi there,

Your alumni are incredibly valuable and keeping them involved is a major benefit to your school, but how do you incentive such a thing?

One of the members of Small School Leaders brought up at our latest meetup that they noticed there were all these alumni from...

Hi there,

So you took a gamble on an applicant, now what? Perhaps last year you needed more students so you took the risk and admitted families that you thought would be a good fit, but weren't 100% positive.

A year later these families leave, maybe spreading negative feedback about the school...

 Hi there,

Words are incredibly powerful! One of our Small School Leaders brought up this very interesting topic, sharing how they're changing their terminology around "discounts" to align more with their mission and create a more positive experience for people engaging with the...

Hi there,

Social proof can build that know and trust factor because people want to know the experience of others who have already experienced the school.

1. Every admissions email should include tested quotes and testimonials from parents, students, alumni, etc. Bonus if you've tailored those...

Hi there,

Over the last couple of years, we've experienced a lot of unprecedented change in our school systems - it's affected how we teach, how our students learn, how parents engage, how we market - everything.

In response to this, my wise friend Ken, a Small School Leaders member, shared,...