Student enrollment is top of mind for Possip district and school partners year-round. Savannah, a current Possip reporter and former educator shares tips on how to increase student enrollment for this semester! This article was originally posted in January 2022. We’ve updated the 4 original tips and added a bonus tip at the end for our #PossipPartner members!
Executive Summary – Consider These 5 Enrollment Tips:
- Make Your School Welcoming
- Tell Your School’s Story
- Simplify Your Application
- Increase Visibility with SEO
- Enlist Champion Families
#1: Make Your School Welcoming: Invite families to meet your staff and explore your school and campus.
- Coordinate playdates at your playground.
- Host outdoor meet ups with teachers and staff.
- Do outdoor performance or parades.
- Have students video a tour inside the school.
#2: Tell Your School’s Story: You can powerfully tell your school’s story in an authentic and meaningful way!
- Some questions to consider asking:
- Who are you as a school?
- What does your school value?
- How was your school founded?
- Who attends your school?
To see an example, check out how Rockwood Preparatory Academy in Portland, Oregon and shares their story with prospective parents using Possip!
#3: Simplify Your Application: School applications can be cumbersome and inaccessible for families. Make it easy for them to access, read, and submit! If you have to rely on your district’s application, consider hosting support hours. No matter the parent body, school applications can feel as hard as doing taxes sometimes.
- Develop a template that you can use year after year.
- Check out some of these templates to start!
- Provide a mobile application for families – P.S. you can use this for so much more than applications!
- Ensure the application is viewable in multiple languages.
#4: Increase Visibility with SEO: Increase your school’s visibility through search engine optimization (SEO).
Search engines are your friend!
- Using SEO can ensure your school’s website appears on the first page of Google search results.
- Increasing awareness of your school and the good things happening there will increase enrollment.
- Check out this guide on how to get started with SEO for your school!
- Create a hashtag like #GoldenBearPride or #HMSRocks! and invite parents to post their favorite pictures from school events on social media.
- Print informational flyers and ask your PTO or grade level parent leaders to help distribute them throughout the community.
- Create a poll on social media asking families what they love most about your school (and make sure they know that you plan to share their submissions!)
Want more?
If you’re a #PossipPartner, click here to learn how strategically writing Bonus Questions can give you insight into your families’ enrollment plans or ask for their help!
