Lexington Christian Academy

Lexington Christian Academy
Lexington, MA

A conversation with Ryan Patrie, Director of Domestic Admission

Describe your school’s enrollment and marketing situation before you hired Rick Newberry and Enrollment Catalyst:

Our school had experienced a few consecutive years of declining enrollment. Our attrition numbers had been going up and recruitment was declining. Our admissions team was down to a single member and there was no marketing and communications coordinator in place when Rick was hired and completed his campus visit/review.

Why did you decide to partner with Rick Newberry and Enrollment Catalyst?

I believe Rick was referred to Christine Metzger, our Head of School, by a friend who was the Director of Enrollment at a similar Christian private school who had worked with Rick and Enrollment Catalyst.

What were the results of working with Enrollment Catalyst? What were your greatest accomplishments?

Quantifiable results include the following:

• 5.75% attrition (our best in over 4 years)
• 9.5% enrollment growth in one year (282 to 308 students) -11.5 % growth in inquiries obtained (384 to 428)
• 20% growth in applications submitted (191 to 229)
• 33% growth in newly enrolled students (72 to 96)
• Our largest 9th grade class in recent memory

What did you like best about working with Rick Newberry?

The best thing about working with Rick was having a mentor and someone to hold our team accountable. Our regular meetings helped us formulate plans and following through. Rick gave us new perspective on strategies we may have previously used, but needed a serious reboot. Rick’s availability and attention to our team made it seem like we were the only school he was working with.

What was the biggest surprise for your team when implementing recommendations from the Enrollment Catalyst Program?

The biggest surprise for me came with the effectiveness of using texting to communicate with prospective families. We used this specific strategy to confirm visits, sending student experience day photos to parents, and thank folks for visiting us. Many families expressed their gratefulness in our personal points of contact. The ambassadors group also provided us with a greater reach and capacity to tell our school’s story. Although we had utilized parent ambassadors in the past, the specific roles of the ambassadors made that group much more effective.

What would you say to another school leader to recommend Rick Newberry to help them in their enrollment and marketing effort?

Rick Newberry does a tremendous job of evaluating and reviewing each school and provides helpful recommendations and strategies. His passion for assisting schools is evident in the detail he provides each school he works with. Rick’s guidance and mentorship helped our new team develop plans and held us accountable to them. I would definitely recommend your school using Enrollment Catalyst. He has helped us transform our team and his recommendations really turned around our enrollment efforts. It was a pleasure to work with Rick!