Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education - Supporting Jewish Day Schools: Knowledge: Admission: Top 10 Strategies for Increasing Enrollment

Do hire a full time Admission professional, also called an Admission Director. The role of building external relationships and nurturing families through the application process is too demanding and important to be left to volunteers or a busy Head of School.
Do define in writing exactly how your school is unique, how you differ from the competition. This will serve to focus all of your communications and create the potential for synergy among them.
Do develop a short "sound bite" which summarizes your school's distinctive qualities and make sure that the faculty and administration know it well. Repeat it often in print and in verbal communications.
Do define the precise characteristics of the student you are seeking to recruit in as much specificity as possible. The criteria should relate both to the types of students you can currently serve and those you cannot. Then make certain your Faculty Admission Decision Committee is careful only to admit students who meet these criteria. To do otherwise will cause you to admit students who will likely not succeed at your school, which will tax your staff beyond its ability to deliver, and will ultimately hurt your school's reputation when the students leave the school.
Do carefully define the list of schools, synagogues, and other organizations, which will supply you with appropriate candidates. Build relationships with your feeder schools and continually look for new markets.
Do develop comprehensive plans for each individual feeder school and its director, staff and parents, to build intimate familiarity with the wonderful qualities of your school and the successful track record of the feeder school's graduates at your school.

A helpful hint for creative planning: imagine that the feeder school in question is actually a constituent part of your school, "in the family," so to speak, and treat them as such. Involve them in exciting activities, communicate successes to them (particularly those involving their alumni), and offer them the benefit of your facilities and resources. Treat them as "family" and they will become "family".
Do make the admission process for a prospective student as user friendly as possible beginning with getting the prospects to inquire about the school, getting them to visit the school, helping them complete the application process, and finally having them matriculate. Actively monitor the status of each potential student prospect -- via a searchable electronic database if possible -- through the admission process of inquiry, visitation, application, and through to matriculation. Keep notes about contacts with them and keep in touch with them all the way through the process.
Do prepare a master calendar detailing how admission will work to cultivate feeder school relationships to produce the requisite numbers of inquiries, visits, and applications needed to fill the school. This calendar should be widely communicated to all relevant school constituencies so they know about critical events, e.g., open houses, parlor meeting and school visits, and can support them. This calendar should be integrated with the school's overall calendar for coordination purposes.
Do create a cadre of motivated and trained volunteers to help with admission from among your school's students, parents (non-Board members), and alumni/ae. The Admission Director should be the impresario who selects and mobilizes these individuals in support of key events, telephone calls, emails, and panel discussions to ensure the appropriate people are available to follow all candidates through to successful matriculation.
Do respond to and care for current students and their families as though they are candidates for continual internal recruitment. By applying the same consistent nurturing to current students as you do for prospective students, schools avoid attrition.