Helping Schools Grow — Blogging, Speaking, Assessing, Planning and Coaching

It’s hard to believe that another year has come and gone. New Year’s is always a good time to reflect and to plan ahead.

My passion is to help schools grow in their enrollment and to increase their influence in their respective communities. Through Enrollment Catalyst, I am thankful that I have this opportunity to work alongside school leaders to advance their schools. With more students, faculty and staff can impact more students and make a life-changing difference in their lives. 

In my reflections on 2012, I am grateful for the many opportunities I had to help schools grow as well as to provide resources for school leaders. The following are some of the highlights:

*Spoke at five conferences including the AISAP Summer Institute, AISAP One-Day Workshop in Florida, SSATB Annual Meeting, TAIS Biennial Conference, RenWeb Power User’s Conference and the Arete Classical School Head’s Retreat. The photo is a group of attendees at a workshop I presented at the Tennessee Association of Independent Schools (TAIS) Bienniel Conference at Hutchison School in November.

*Partnered with 30 independent and faith-based schools throughout the United States and Canada. My typical approach with these schools is to conduct on-site research through focus groups and a parent survey, provide an assessment of their enrollment and marketing effort and recommend strategies for growth. Then, I provide weekly coaching through a video conference call to guide them in the implementation of their marketing and enrollment strategies that will help them achieve their enrollment goals. Many of these schools experienced enrollment growth in 2012.

*Published 32 blog posts. The following ten blog posts received the most views according to Google Analytics:

1. Nine Factors that Affect Student Enrollment Growth
2. Three Word of Mouth Marketing Strategies for Private Schools
3. A Better Way to Market Your School’s Open House
4. Seven Branding Mistakes that Private Schools Make
5. The Ideal Campus Visit
6. Four Photo Strategies to Tell the Story of Your School
7. Seven Mistakes Private Schools Make on their Website
8. Marketing Your School by Giving Stuff Away
9. It’s Time to Survey Your Parents, Part 1
10. The Proof is in Your Product — Six Ways to Tell Stories of Your School’s Alumni

*Presented two webinars for SSATB:

1. Developing Your School’s Word of Mouth Marketing Plan
2. Effective Retention Strategies to Keep Your Families Enrolled

As I look forward to 2013, my focus will be to continue partnering with admissions directors, marketing directors and heads to help them grow their schools. I will be working towards increasing the amount of online content that I publish on enrollment and marketing strategies for schools. My goal is to increase the frequency of my blog posts and to write several e-books that I didn’t get to in 2012.

If you have an example, story or case study that you would like for me to share in my blog or in an e-book, please contact me at Rick.Newberry@EnrollmentCatalyst.com.

What about you?

What did you accomplish professionally in 2012?

What are your goals for 2013 and what strategies will you implement to improve your marketing and enrollment results?