Perpetual Enrollment: Together Until Graduation

Posted on by Paul Drake

“We are the only industry that repeatedly requires our customers to make a decision about whether to continue using our services.” – Pat Bassett, former head of NAIS

Your cell phone company, your cable company, even your gym all operate on the premise that you will continue to pay for their services until you specifically request to terminate your contract. Why do we operate our schools any differently? Perpetual enrollment contracts assume that your families are going to stay. Why are you spending hours, days, even weeks, chasing down re-enrollment contracts from families who intend to return?

In this session, we’ll discuss what perpetual enrollment is, sample language for contracts and communications, timelines for implementation, pitfalls to avoid, and lessons we have learned from years 1-4 of Westminster Academy’s journey!

Elizabeth Perkins

Elizabeth Perkins is in her 7th year as the Director of Admission and Marketing for Westminster Academy in Memphis, TN. Prior to joining Westminster, she served as adjunct faculty in the Fogelman College of Business and Economics at the University of Memphis; teaching courses in organizational strategy, communications, and management. In her spare time, Elizabeth serves as the Director for the Memphis Ostrander awards (Memphis' theatre awards for collegiate, community, and professional theatre) and as a judge for high school theatre. Additionally, she serves on the board of directors at Theatre Memphis. Recently, Elizabeth was named by the Memphis Business Journal as one of the top “40 Under 40” in the Memphis area. In her "previous life" (AKA, before children!), Elizabeth was the Internal Communications Leader for the Capital Aviation Services division of General Electric. She holds a BA in political science from the University of Memphis, an MBA from Union University, and completed the Certification for Admission and Enrollment Professions in 2018. Elizabeth has presented several times on admission topics at previous conferences for SCL, ACCS, ERB, and the Association of Independent School Admission Professionals.

Follow the Numbers: Using Admission Data to Build Strong Budgets

Posted on by Paul Drake

Forecasting enrollment – and therefore available tuition dollars – is tricky business. The predictive data points range from number of tours and applications, to the number of seats available in each classroom, and the percentage of those seats that are discounted through financial assistance or faculty discounts. There are even more nuanced “data” points such as community trends and “local buzz.” The Admission Director has an up-close and personal view of all these data points, and can therefore provide Boards with valuable insight as they create a budget for the following school year. In this session we will discuss how Admission and Boards can work together to forecast enrollment to build financially sound schools.

Amy Burgess

Amy Burgess is the Cohort leader for SCL's Admission and Marketing cohort, and the former Director of Admission and Marketing at Covenant Classical School in Fort Worth, TX. Amy started the Smart School Growth agency to help K-12 Classical schools reach their enrollment goals by using proven Admission and Marketing strategies. Schools are complicated “businesses.” The stakes are high, budgets are slim, and staffing is lean. Amy helps equip Admission and Marketing teams to clarify their schools' messages, tighten their marketing efforts, work with their Boards and School Heads to forecast enrollment (and therefore budgets), and enroll their faculty and staff in the mission to reach (and keep) more families.

Leslie Moeller

Leslie Moeller is the current Chairman of the Board of the Society for Classical Learning, former Chairman of the Board of the Geneva School of Boerne, current Board member of New Covenant Schools, former Head of Upper School at The Covenant School, and former Head of School at Geneva School of Boerne. Leslie has used her broad experience in teaching, administrative, and governance of classical, Christian schools as the basis for her consulting work with boards across the nation over the past 12 years.

Communication: Integral to Your School’s Culture

Posted on by Paul Drake

Amy Allen

Amy Allen currently serves as the Director of Educational Development at The Academy of Classical Christian Studies. In this role, she is responsible for the development of new curricular projects and professional development for staff and faculty. Previously, she taught second and third grade as well as grammar Latin, also at The Academy. She has been involved with classical education for 13 years. In addition to her full-time work at The Academy, Amy is affiliated with the University of Oklahoma where she is an Adjunct Professor teaching courses on Elementary Education and a Ph.D. Candidate in the field of Curriculum and Instruction. She is also a published author and has presented at multiple education conferences nationally and internationally.