Marketing Your Catholic School: Information from the DSB Fall In-service

The Diocesan School Board Spring In-service was an unqualified success. Everyone who came out to St. Gregory's was treated to great hospitality, excellent food, and lots of good information.

If you weren't able to attend, or if you'd like to share what you learned with members of your school community, click the links below for more information.

Why choose a Catholic school for your family?

Your school's curb appeal

Three keys to email marketing

Mark your calendar! Our next in-service, which will focus on marketing your Catholic identity, will be held on Saturday, September 20. Look for more information as the date draws closer.

Recap of the March 5 Diocesan School Board Meeting

The Diocesan School Board met on March 5, 2014. Some of the highlights:

• The Board was joined by representatives from the St. Vincent de Paul School Advisory Board. Sr. Julie, principal, talked about the school's marketing efforts and how they have managed to get their enrollment up to over 600. The key: reaching out personally to families at Sunday Mass, promoting the Arizona Tuition Tax Credit, and making sure families know tuition assistance is available for those who want it. Thanks to the help of the Daughters of Charity and the utilization of the tax credit program, St. Vincent de Paul has become a shining example of how schools can really reach out to their community and fill their classrooms. (Note: any local school advisory board who wishes to come to a meeting of the Diocesan School Board is welcome. See your DSB representative for details.)
• The finance committee reported that the high school enrollment and budget figures are all healthy. The high school admissions departments are looking at record numbers of applicants for the upcoming school year.
• The spring in-service will be held on March 5 at 5:30 p.m. at St. Gregory. The topics will be curb appeal, composing your school's elevator speech, and digital marketing. The latter topic will be the major gist of the evening, featuring a presentation by Eric Olsen of Fasturtle, a digital marketing company. About 100 people are signed up.
• The Catholic Schools Office reports that principal searches are being conducted at St. Jerome and St. Theresa, ten schools have completed the accreditation process with ten more coming up next year, and a steering committee is in place as we begin a feasibility study for the planned West Valley high school.

Make a Post-Catholic Schools Week Plan!

Catholic Schools Week is over. You've evaluated the Open House, you've followed up with potential new families, and you've swept up the confetti from the teacher-student volleyball game.

Now what?

You know you're not done with recruitment, not by a long shot. So here are a few things to put on your to-do list for the coming months.

• Plan at least one more Open House. It can be a Sunday after the Masses (move the hospitality table to your school courtyard!) or even a weeknight. Put the date at the top of your website, advertise in church bulletins, and get the word out through the Catholic Sun using their free Sunbeams. Recruit your student ambassadors, get your parents baking cookies, and get ready to show off everything your school has to offer!
• Make plans to send a few representatives to the preschool information nights in your area. Make sure they're armed with lots of information about your school.
• Educate your parents about the importance of filling out their FAIR (Financial Aid Independent Review) form so they can get the maximum amount of scholarship money available to them. The deadline is April 15! 
• Make sure you have your tuition set for the 2014-15 school year! Current and prospective parents need that vital information for planning purposes. Once you've settled on the number, publish it on your website, in your parish bulletin, and put it in the information packet given to prospective families.
• Take a look at your information packet. Does it include everything a family needs to register? Is all of your contact information (phone, emails, website) visible right away?
• Do a thorough assessment of your website. Eliminate anything that's outdated, post new photos, and spruce up the language if it needs it. Take a look at the teachers' pages, too, and if there is old or outdated information there, gently point it out to them.
• Take a look at your school's outward appearance. Is it warm and inviting? Do visitors know how to get to the office? 

Finally, plan to join the Diocesan School Board at our spring evening in-service on March 6. We'll be covering three simple topics: Preparing Your School's Elevator Speech (why your school's the best in a paragraph or less), Your School's Curb Appeal, and Digital Marketing, Your School's Most Cost-Effective Marketing Tool. We're meeting at St. Gregory's Gordon Hall at 5:30 p.m. and we promise to have you out of there by 7 p.m. A light supper will be served. RSVP with your name and school so we'll have enough for everyone.

Technology in Your School

How does your school use technology?  

Do you use iPads? 

How do you plan for the future?

If your school is one that is starting to integrate iPads into the classroom, you have seen how valuable a tool it is. When Apple announced the new iPad Air, it started me thinking. The iPad has been around for three years.  Three years isn't a very long time. Think about how it has been entangled into our everyday life. Think about all the other tablets that are now being sold.

Five years ago when we were looking at schools for our children we knew we wanted technology at the school.  We never dreamed there would be a device that would be handheld and have a touchscreen our child would use to take tests or do homework.  Now here it is.

What is my point?  If we didn’t know about the iPad; five years ago, what do you think the next five years will bring?

How do we prepare our schools, our teachers and our students for technology that we don’t even know about yet?  In five years will the iPad be obsolete?  Will Apple or Google or a couple of Harvard students come up with something totally new and different?

What Does Your School Website Say About You?

What does your website communicate about your school?  I have spent time on your websites, and they are amazing.  When you think about your website, it doesn’t have to be super fancy, or cost a lot of money. 

Do your parents use your website?  How many times are people going to your site.  If you have a prospective family, would they use your website to find out information about your school.  If families do not use your website, do you want them to?  Do you use social media, Facebook, Twitter or any other social media or form of digital communication?  Do you want to use those sites, but don’t know how.

Looking around at our school websites; I would say we are all doing things our own way.  The other great thing about this is if you want to do something different, look at another school in the diocese and see what they are doing.  Meet with another school to see if what they are doing could help your school.  We can all get together and help each other. 

Social media is not going away, the question is how much do we want to share and  embrace it?  Not every school will do this the same way, but we can all help each other achieve our individual goals.

What does your school do?  

What would you like to do? 

 Are you happy with your website? 

Are your parents happy with the your website? What could they improve?

Building your School Community

What would your community say about your school? 

In our community we talk about the parking lot chatter, and I understand it.  I am one of those moms in that parking lot.  However, when you aren’t in the parking lot, when you meet a new neighbor, what do you say about your community? 

Does your school have an ambassador or mentor program?  When my son started Catholic school in first grade, I felt a little left out of the loop.  My son was fine, but it took me a little while to find my niche. (I may actually still be searching for it.)  A few years ago our school started an ambassador program that pairs new families up with an existing family with children in the same grade.  I love the opportunity to volunteer in this program.  I can brag about our school and help a new family feel welcome and settled.  It has spawned friendships for myself and my children. 

As my children get older and, ultimately, I get older, I realize it is this community of like-minded families that keeps me going.  It is knowing that my children have multiple people in their lives that have the same morals and values that I have.  It is often hard to see the importance of this when your child is young.  As they grow up we often lose control of many aspects of their life.  Gone are the days where the playdates included the parents. I can have confidence in their independence because I know the community that has helped shape them into the young adult they are now.

What does your school do to build its community?  What have you done that worked or didn’t work?

Night of Hope Wrap Up

Did you go to the Night of Hope?  I went and had a wonderful time.  I really love this night.  I always leave the night wanting to give all of our money to the Catholic schools.  Then my husband reins me in and we make a more reasonable donation. 

There is something very special about this night.  I always get a little teary-eyed when I listen to the children in the videos.  Our world is full of negative voices all the time; to hear these children talk about God and Jesus as a friend is amazing.  To hear them talk about walking in the footsteps of the Lord, make me grateful that my children attend Catholic School. 

There are always some funny parts of the night, and this year was no exception.  We always seem to be there for the annual Zombie Walk downtown.  Streets were closed and getting to the event wasn’t easy, but we all made it.  It did feel weird talking to the police officer about the Night of Hope on Zombie Night. 

Fr. Parks did a wonderful job reminding all of us about how important our teachers are.  Teachers never know the influence that they have on our children.  One teacher can truly change a child’s life.  God works to put all of his angels in our lives for a purpose. 

This night truly makes a difference in the lives of many of our students who attend Catholic school in the Diocese of Phoenix.  Thank you to everyone who helped to put this night together and all who came out in support.

Why do parents choose Catholic School?

As a parent who sends her kids to Catholic Schools, I am often amazed by the reasons some parents send their children to Catholic Schools. I admit that I have heard all kinds of stories as to why families come to our school or why they leave our school.  Yet, I still think there is a lot to learn about why families come to our schools.  If you google “why choose Catholic School” numerous links come up, many from dioceses across the country.  I did find this article interesting, even if it is from 2009. (http://catholiceducator.blogspot.com/2009/01/top-ten-reasons-to-choose-catholic.html)

You should start by asking the simple uestion: why are parents choosing your school?  Is it location, cost, better education? Once you know why they are choosing your school, you can use that information as a springboard to other tools to bring in families. 

When I went to Catholic high school, it was simply because that was where my father went to school. We didn’t need a reason.  No one asked me where I wanted to go to school, I was told where to go. Today we have many high schools, public, private and Catholic, that host eighth grade days to allow students to see what it's like to actually spend a day at the school. Students are a part of the decision-making process. What are we doing to appeal to those students and their parents?

There are families who don't need to be sold on Catholic Education. There are some families who see your school as a private school, and there are others who value the education and moral values that you provide. 

What drives families to your school?  What tools do you use to attract and retain students?