February 17, 2016

AGENDA

9:30 Prayer, Welcome, Introductions, Overview

9:45 eCommunications

10:30 Break and Networking

10:45 Website Best Practices

11:30 Group Discussion

12:00 Adjournment

PRAYER

Mission of OCS – More kids in great Catholic Schools

To increase Catholic school enrollment and provide every student desiring a Catholic

education with excellent academics, strong faith formation and vibrant community in a

sustainable way through a strong and coherent system of high performing schools.

You are not alone!

The Office of Catholic Schools

is here to support all of your efforts.

Office of Catholic Schools

Marketing Enrollment Team

Kurt Lewis

Megan Beenblossom

Juana Graber

Vicariate 1, 3 and 6

Vicariate 2

Vicariate 4 and 5

Our team brings you best practices from

outside experts and internal success stories

• Early childhood marketing

• Parent ambassadors (word of mouth)

• Working with Pastors – Enhancing parish support

• Enrollment and revenue growth (tuition tracker)

• Value Propositions: Proving Catholic School Success

• Website / Social Media

• Customer Service

One thing we will need from you…

Your numbers!

• Beginning in March, we will once again begin

requesting enrollment numbers from you each month

• If your numbers are up-to-date, we will be able to

provide you historical information on your enrollment

trends and year-over-year comparisons.

http://ocs.archchicago.org/MarketingOperations/EnrollmentManagement.aspx

The Office of Catholic Schools Portal

Month Topic Date

March Retention is a Yearlong Commitment:

If you only focus on one thing this year, make it retention.

March 15

April Your Families are your Customers:

Creating a culture committed to customer service

April 19

May Recruit ‘Em and Keep ‘Em:

Developing a targeted early childhood marketing and retention plan

May 17

Enrollment Management Newsletter

Current topics • Helpful hints • Spotlight on success stories • Reminders

Subscribe to the monthly

newsletter to stay in the loop:

http://bit.ly/EM-Newsletter

Using Technology

to Communicate

with Families

eCommunications

Electronic Communications

and Newsletters

It’s more than just sharing the school calendar.

It’s about spreading your brand awareness.

By building regular communication with families,

you enable them to recognize your brand and

associate it with a positive sentiment

Parent newsletters should be an essential part

of every school leader's communication plan

An integral piece of your school-to-home

communications plan

Important to consider:

What resources do you have available

to you — budget, time and internal support?

Who does your newsletter or

social media now?

Effective school newsletters

• E-mail Services

• Effective and attractive design

• Content

• Effective photos and videos

E-mail Services most used by our schools

• Mailchimp

• Constant Contact

What other services have you had

success with?

Mailchimp

Note: This is also a very clean

website that is easily navigated

mailchimp.com

Choose a template - lots of options

Simple is best (and usually easier)

Effective Design =

Direct Marketing

Start with the

most important

news at the top

Important tactics

• Compelling headlines

• Bold most important information

• Use bullets to make easier to read

• Links should be easy to find

• White space

• Is your e-newsletter mobile friendly

Electronic Emails

Content – What do your readers like?

Are you sharing photos of students?

On Facebook too?

Videos that parents can easily click on and share on their

own Facebook page – don’t forget to tell them to do so…..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N90VyUmgLWE

Make sure

somewhere in

your newsletter a

parent can easily

find these things

Include information that parents

can forward to promote your

school

Be thinking about your own audience.

What do you really know?

Share the good news in your newsletter and social

media – it’s what makes our Catholic schools unique!

And electronic communication has made reaching

our parents easier than ever

A happy family is our best retention tool

• Paper copies are nice for the younger students who like

to see their class in action.

• Older students could receive one to their school email

Encourage teachers to do newsletters for

their individual class

Don’t forget to track your emails…

This way you can see what’s working

Why is it important for our schools to

communicate electronically with our parents?

For schools it is about storytelling and getting our

stakeholders (teachers, students, administrators, parents,

community) to spread these stories

The average person spends 4 years looking

down at their cell phone over a lifetime?

If resources are few (when aren’t they)…

Consider sending a weekly “necessary news” email

and a more robust one on a monthly basis

Having a newsletter parents look forward to =

A better Brand Experience

The Children…

that’s why we’re here!

15-Minute

Break

Best Practices for

School Websites

Services to Consider

• Wordpress.com

• Weebly.com

• Squarespace.com

• eCatholic.com

• Drupal.com

• Others?

Ideally, you should be

able to edit your

website in-house and

in real time.

Minimum Information

Contact Information

• Physical and/or mailing address

• Phone and fax numbers

• Email address for the principal, secretary, or monitored

“general” mailbox

School Information

• Mission and vision

School Information • Application link

• Donation link

• Map/directions

School Information

• Link to AoC/OCS

• Link to social media sites

Directories

• Principal information and message

Directories

• Faculty and staff information

Directories

• Classes (course offerings)

News and Announcements

• Upcoming events

• Recent achievements, celebrations, and events

• Reminders, invitations

Resources

• Student handbook

• Parent handbook

• Enrollment/admissions

information

• Other school policies

• School forms

Calendar

• Holidays

• Picture day

• P/T conferences

• Standardized testing dates

• Student performances

• Board meetings

• Social events

• Registration deadlines

• Report card days

• PTA meetings

• Fundraising events

• Book Fairs

Optimal Information

Contact Information

• Parish information

School Information • Profile

• Parent volunteer information

School Information

• Link to inquiry form for school tours

Information on Using Forms

• Google Forms

• Today’s sign-in

Directories

• Teams/clubs

• Departments

News and Announcements

• Newsletters

• Requests for participation/support

Resources

• Schedule

• Lunch menu

• Athletic schedule (or in calendar)

Resources

• Alumni information (request form)

Resources

• Dress code

• Library/media center

• Guidance and counseling

• Graduation requirements

Other Great Options

• Website translation: St. Pius V

• School video: Holy Cross

• Facebook widget: St. Zachary

• Doodle scheduling tool

Group Discussion:

What Can We Do

Right Now?

http://ocs.archchicago.org/

MarketingOperations/EnrollmentManagement.aspx

OCS Resource

Portal

Enrollment

Management

Calendar 2015-16

Enrollment Management Checklist: FEBRUARY

• Communicate referral program for current families to bring new families to

school

• Has your school website been updated recently? Is it branded? Does it

reflect your value prop?

• Follow Up with families from Open House

• Enlist Parent Ambassadors to help with Spring recruiting

• Set date and begin promoting Spring Open House or Admissions Event

• If you are in the city of Chicago, consider sponsoring “Movies in the Park”

or if you are outside the city, begin planning a summer event or activity

• Plan “step up” days for Pre-K and K students and invite their parents

Enrollment Management Checklist: MARCH

• Advertise Spring Open House and summer programs

• Participate in a community service project

• Sponsor your neighborhood team or advertise with sports program in the

area

• Time for a Spring Clean-up of Electronic Media- Look at website, Facebook,

Twitter and if necessary redesign a plan for outreach

• Host a Curriculum Night

• Create new family "manual" to address any FAQs

• Send letters from teacher (next grade level) to current families

• Check out your profiles on Privateschoolreview.com and Greatschools.org

Enrollment Management Checklist: Retention and Recruitment Tips and Tricks

• Phone Bank

• NUT Card

• Ice Cream Party

• Free Gym Uniform

• Referral Incentive

What are Your Great Ideas?

Best of Luck this

Enrollment Season!

The Children…

that’s why we’re here!