The strength of the academic program
will be what ultimately motivates a
parent to decide for or against a school.
Therefore, the SSATB recommends that
“independent schools spend time with
prospective families describing their
model for teaching and learning as well
as their standards for student success.”
Rather than softening the description
of the standards to avoid overwhelming
parents, schools should actually focus on
the challenges that they will offer. The
emphasis should be on the atmosphere
of growth that will allow each student to
regularly reach new academic heights.
To highlight this atmosphere, it’s often
highly beneficial to allow prospective
parents to experience a classroom in
action and interact with current students
and teachers in an academic context.
It’s academic life, rather than athletics
or extracurricular activities, that are of
greatest interest to these parents.
If your former students have gone
on to reach high levels of academic
achievement or have professional success
10
that can be directly tied to their academic
background, highlight them. Shine a
spotlight on faculty members who have
prestigious credentials or have been
awarded for their ability to motivate
students. Parents want your school to
make their children smarter. Show them
you have the right staff to do so and have
done it before.
However, parents don’t just want to know
that your school can make their children
smart. They want to know that you can
provide them with academic advantages
and opportunities that will make them
smarter than they would be if they went
to school elsewhere.
A child’s education is an emotional
decision for a parent; and emotional
decisions are typically driven by Feig’s
16 hot-button issues. Some apply more
in one situation than another, and it’s
rare to find a decision that’s driven by
just one issue. So when 97% of your
target audience agrees on something, it’s
absolutely critical that you take note.