Knowledge > Admission > FAQ

How are other schools involving parents in helping to recruit students?

Many schools are forming corps of well trained, enthusiastic, and articulate parent volunteers (Gann Academy in Boston calls them "Ambassadors") who support the implementation of the school's recruitment activities. Traditional activities include conducting parlor meetings, helping conduct school visits, and acting as guides during open houses. Less conventional ideas include having the parent Ambassadors buddy up, one on one, with prospective parents with common interests. For example, parent Ambassador X from feeder school Y might be buddied up with several prospective feeder school Y families to answer questions, provide perspective on why they choose the school and how their child was faring within it. In this manner, they play an invaluable recruitment role that could never be performed by the Director of Admission. Ideally, they would stay in touch with the prospective parents through to the matriculation of their child.

Parent ambassadors are identified through word of mouth, email, and newsletter postings. They are thoroughly trained in communicating the school's "why choose our school" story as well as in describing the school's specific differentiating features. Gann Academy uses Ambassadors (parents, students, and faculty) to great recruiting advantage. (AUDIO)

One interesting thing the Gann Academy is doing is providing monthly newsletter tips to parents about how to discretely turn prospects into applicants.

What are some innovative ideas for building relationships with feeder schools?

Here are several suggestions for building strong relationships with feeder schools:

• Admission directors and Heads of School should create strong personal relationships with the heads of feeder schools through lunches and value added presentations of information about how well the alumni of the feeder school are doing in their school! This gives the feeder school something to boast about to its own staff and "customers."
• Feature stories about the achievements at your school of alumni of various feeder schools. Run the stories in your school's newsletter and offer the opportunity for the feeder schools to distribute the newsletter to their parent body as a way to demonstrate their own successes.
• Host an annual Fall lunch and tour for feeder school faculty so they can see firsthand what your school offers its students. Where possible, showcase the feeder school's alumni in presentations so they can see the benefits of referring your school to parents.
• Offer value added services to feeder schools which enhance their own success. Examples might include:
  • Offering a feeder school access to your school's sports facilities or drama facilities.
  • Inviting their students and parents to unique programs, e.g., entertaining concerts or plays. The Community High School of Toronto conducts a very professional annual science fair and invites feeder school students to participate.
  • Inviting their staff to informative lectures featuring acknowledged experts.
• ISM's < article "14 strategies for strengthening relationships with feeder schools"
• Cheryl Finkel describes her strategies for feeder school marketing. (AUDIO)

Our K-8 school invariably experiences a great deal of attrition in the 5th, 6th and 7th grades because that is when select independent private schools enroll students and guarantee them high school admission. What can we do to combat attrition at these critical transition points?

Based on the advice of leading day schools some very effective tactics include the following:

• Schedule at least quarterly "move up" programs that expose students in the lower grades to exciting programs of the older students. Especially effective are activities that build personal bonds between older and younger students. Encourage the older students to mentor younger ones. These are ties that bind students to schools.
• Invite parents of the younger students to participate in these programs as well so they get to see that exciting days lie ahead for their children if they continue at your school.
• Plan and announce ahead of time major activities that will occur during the following year so that younger students and their parents will not want to miss them by switching schools. Examples might include foreign travel experiences, major educational programs with visiting scholars, etc.
• Feature in the school newsletter exciting and motivating stories about successful alumni so that parents so that staying in the school is a direct path to lifelong success.

Our city has very fine public schools. What arguments can we use to convince parents that they should invest in a day school education?

Gann Academy in Boston has been effective in building the case for day school education even in an environment where suburban public high schools are of very high quality. It presents the following chart which speaks eloquently for the value of a day school education in ensuring Jewish continuity. Furthermore, it actively showcases the relevant achievements of its alumni in print ads and posters and in its Open House event and other public forums.

The Community High School of Toronto (CHAT) attracts about one fourth of its 1400 student population from public school students. One of its most successful techniques for making the case for a Jewish Day School education is to conduct grade 8 orientation meetings for parents in the fall (the closing date for applications is the middle of January). The most powerful part of the meetings are the speeches by graduates of the school. The graduates' message is this: "When I got to university, the CHAT kids found the university easiest!"

A study of the alumni of the Kadimah School in Buffalo, New York shows the positive impact of day school education on Jewish continuity.