SchoolAdvancement (TM) Helping Schools Advance Toward Their Vision

MARKETING

Click here for this week's free marketing tip, Marketing Matters ^(SM)!

ENROLLMENT

Click here to find out more about BASICS - a FREE TOOL to help bring more students into your school! Enrollment Estimators (TM) are now available for the 12-13 school year!!

DEVELOPMENT

Development Development

A monthly article to help you form a development mindset from a fundraising one. Click here for this month's artilcle!. If you're already developed in Development, and want to advance toward an Advancement mindset, check out Advancementality:. Every week, a new post is made to advance your ability to attain an attitude necessary for Advancement.

PRESENTATIONS

Access to presentations given throughout the year can be found here!

* "Miracle Marketing" - For those in the Diocese of Harrisburg, click here to view or download the presentation. For those in the Diocese of Buffalo, click here to view or download the presentation.

* "Retention: The First Step To Growing Your Enrollment"

For those in the Diocese of Harrisburg, click here to download handouts from the presentation.

For those that attendend the NYSCIRS Conference in Albany, click here to download handouts from the presentation.

For those that attended the Alliance of Catholic Schools of Lancaster County, click here to download handouts from the presentation.

For those that attended the West Virginia Christian Education Association Conference, click here to download handouts from the presentation.

One Great Idea...

...doesn't mean all the ideas that flow from it are great.

Today's Marketing Matter focuses on several elements of the system of Advancement, namely Asset Management, Enrollment and, of course, Marketing. A recent publication by NCEA titled "Weathering the Storm: Moving Catholic Schools Forward" by Leonard DiFiore, John Convey, and Merylann Schuttloffel from the Catholic University of America (2009) speaks to five elements (sound familiar?) that provide solid financial guidelines for Catholic schools today:

"A K-8 enrollment of 225 (25 per classroom);

A per-student cost within $500 of the Diocesan median, unless higher costs result from a deliberate decision by the school to limit enrollment;

At least 70% of the school's operating budget come from sources other than the parish and/or diocese;

Parish investment of no more than 20% of the parish's ordinary income; and

Enrollment declines of no greater than 5% annually or 20% over five years."

These are great goals to keep in mind as your school moves forward in forming a firm financial foundation, and are excellent benchmarks for currently high-performing schools to maintain as a minimal baseline.

Unfortunately, I have a feeling that individuals involved with schools will read this, and after investigation, find that their school's enrollment is 158, have a per-student cost that is $575 higher than the Diocesan median, have 30% of its budget come from a sponsoring parish, 34% of the parish's ordinary income supports the school, and an enrollment decline of 6% annually. If this is the finding, then those involved with the analysis will make the recommendation to close the school.

These are benchmarks - and in the corporate world, benchmarks need to be set before they can be achieved.

Remember, it's what one does with the data that is important. I've seen instances where Catholic Schools Week is a marvelous celebration of a school's achievements, and then, two months later, the announcement is made that the school is closing. Nothing dashes hope as quickly as telling parents engaged in their school that it's closing.

So let's form some hope - use these items as goals to plan the work that needs to be done, rather than justifications for extreme solutions.

It's also important to realize that while some information presented in a text can be solid, other information can be circumspect. While the text states that "an effective Catholic school and strong Catholic identity go hand in hand" is absolutely true, the authors go on to say that "Catholic identity is the 'value-added' component of Catholic education that makes Catholic schools attractive to parents."

Call me Thomas, but I would dispute that argument without seeing the proof. We are a people of the "AND." We embrace it, because we believe that Christ was both true God AND true man. Our schools are both business AND ministry (they're also a school, but that's another conversation). To say that Catholic identity is "value-added" means that we can effectively carry out our mission of being a Catholic school without a strong Catholic identity - and that's not what today's parents see. A strong Catholic identity is not "attractive," it's expected! Today parents in our schools, members of Generation X (the ME Generation), won't pay for expectations. They want to know what makes your school a unique, special and remarkable place, and also want to know what's in it for them - not just for their children. Another point in the text supports this stance when it states, "In addition to providing a quality academic program, a Catholic school is expected to teach about Jesus Christ and proclaim His message."

Rule #1 of marketing is "Know Yourself;" Rule #2 is "Know Your Audience;" Rule #3 is "Communicate Your Strengths to Your Target Audience through Channels They Utilize;" Rule #4 is "The Goal of Marketing is to Increase Inquiries," and Rule #5 is "Check and Adjust."