Seven Strategies for Re-Enrollment
January and February is typically re-enrollment time for most schools. Re-enrollment is about marketing your school internally to re-recruit your families back for another year.
As you consider this year’s re-enrollment effort, the following strategies can help you re-enroll your families for another year:
- Packet—Make sure the re-enrollment packet that you send out sells your parents on why they should continue their enrollment at your school. Consider including a special printed newsletter that provides a state-of-the-school report, exciting news about the next school year and stories of students and alumni who represent your educational product. Also, consider sending your re-enrollment packet in a special envelope that stands out in the mailbox.
- Letter— Most letters I have reviewed are extremely boring and only communicate the deadlines and process for re-enrollment. Your letter should be from the head of school and provide a rationale for re-enrollment in a creative and interesting way. Consider writing a two to three page letter that creates some urgency and excitement about your school as well as shares some stories about your alumni or faculty.
- Form—If you aren’t set up for online re-enrollment, which is the ideal, you should attempt to send a pre-printed re-enrollment form or contract. By eliminating the hassle factor in completing a form with information you already know about the family, you will be able to make the process as easy as possible for your families.
- Meetings—Reach out to current families that are “on the fence” regarding their re-enrollment decision by meeting with them or contacting them by phone. Your personal contact can be used to probe their satisfaction with your school as well as to deal with any issues that the parent has regarding continued enrollment.
- Calls—In most cases, parents receive calls from a person at the school to either convey bad news about their child or to ask for money. Why not use the re-enrollment period to call your parents to encourage them to re-enroll? Even better, use a current parent to make this peer-to-peer connection.
- Thank-you—After your parents re-enroll, send them a personalized, handwritten note. This could be from the head of school, principal and admissions director. I highly recommend that the head of school make this personal touch to let the parent know how important they are as a member of the school community.
- Gift—As an additional way to say thank-you, give or send each parent and student a personal school-branded gift. Some ideas for this gift are a t-shirt, coffee mug, or refrigerator magnet with next year’s school calendar on it.
Let’s make this re-enrollment period the best one yet!