Linfield Christian School

Linfield Christian School
Temecula, CA

A conversation with Lisa Taylor, Marketing Manager

Linfield Christian experienced significant growth this year. Last year the school year began with 751 students and this year 855 students enrolled, a 14% increase!

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

Our school had been in transition for about a year. We did not have a permanent head of school or a Director of Admissions or Marketing. The loss of both our former head of school and Advancement Director had been abrupt.

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

I wasn’t apart of the why but my assumption is that our board of directors felt those areas were needing extra attention and support.

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

Rick Newberry has hands down been the best consultant we’ve ever worked with. We’ve had about 3 others over the past 5 years and while they gave information that was helpful and insightful, they didn’t give practical solutions. Rick validated what we were doing well and supported us through the things that weren’t going so well. He gave ideas that were possible and made sense for our situation. While working with Rick in the area of Marketing, I was able to encourage my team to try some new things such as honoring our seniors on social media, redesigning our website’s homepage and other areas, and resurrecting a campaign called Why Linfield which had been neglected for a while. He gave me the tools and understanding to get my team on board so that it wasn’t a challenge getting them out of their comfort zone.

What did you like best about working with Rick Newberry?

Honestly, Rick in general. His demeanor, encouragement, and knowledge helped to cultivate trust quickly. He is pleasant to work with, talk with, and I never felt afraid or embarrassed to share struggles or ask about areas I wasn’t familiar with. He created such a positive and comfortable atmosphere.

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

 I don’t know if I was necessarily surprised that the recommendations worked (I really believed they would!) but to actually see the successful outcomes for ourselves was not only a great experience, but helped mend some challenges I’d been facing with my respective team. The marketing team I have has been in place for a while and was holding on to the same strategies from years prior. Once they were able to see the success with the recommendations Rick suggested, I saw an openness to try other things as well.

Were there specific programs from the Enrollment Catalyst Program that generated the biggest impact for your marketing and enrollment efforts?

From a marketing perspective, we have yet to see some of the new programs because we are still in the planning stages but I would say once the ambassador program kicks off, I expect to see it make our Ambassador program 100 times better! I am also encouraged to see how we change up our preview days, and how sharing more of our stories on our website will help engage our current families more and reach out to prospective families.

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

Partnering with Rick will be worth every penny and second spent! Rick’s strategies and recommendations are practical and will fit your needs perfectly. He does not force his ideas and thoughts but works as a partner with you. His weekly coaching meetings are so helpful and the meetings ensure he is helping to guide you in the right direction.

I appreciate that he shares examples with you, helps you make connections with other schools, and is willing to research if he doesn’t have an answer for your issue at that moment. Rick has made a positive impact in the way I do my job and how I approach situations. He has given me tools I didn’t have before and has been a trusted support during a time that where we lacked support from leadership.

Please provide any additional comments that you want to share:

I am hopeful that our school will see a need to have Rick back for a follow up site visit and will allow us to continue using Enrollment Catalyst in some capacity.