It’s January, and as peak student enrollment season approaches, we’re handing out a few tips to maximize engagement with prospective students and families.
Don't assume all families "get" the application process.
Every state – and school – operates differently.
Explain how your open student enrollment period works – when it opens, when it closes, if waitlisted students need to reapply each year. Detail how families will be notified about lottery placements. Include information about sibling policies. Anticipate questions families may ask, and answer them now through an easy-to-find place on your website.
Create an immersive tour experience.
School tours are extremely valuable touchpoints in the student enrollment journey. You’re literally getting prospective students and families in the front door, and entertaining a captive audience eager to decide if your school is the right fit for them.
The best way to get interested families onto your campus is by making the tour scheduling process a breeze. BASIS Charter Schools has a streamlined tour registration across all of their campuses in Arizona, Louisiana, Washington, D.C., and Texas. The charter network does a great job highlighting the benefits of taking an immersive campus tour, and shares exactly what parents and families can expect when they arrive – from tour length and topics to visitor check-in procedures.
Does your school offer tours or other visit experiences? Is it easy to find how to plan a visit on your website? Detail whether families need to request tours from the office, or if they should choose from standing events scheduled throughout the year. If you’re offering pre-scheduled events, be sure to list enough options (2-3 each month), to provide flexibility for busy work and family schedules – or consider offering virtual tours.
Already a recruitment tool in higher education, virtual school tours gained popularity in K-12 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, they should be considered a best practice for increasing accessibility and reducing barriers for families. It can be as simple as a recorded walk-through of campus with an informational voice-over, or as advanced as the interactive 360-degree virtual campus tours and maps at Franklin Towne Charter High School and Valley Christian Schools.
Build a reliable network for family-to-family support.
Mentor matching isn’t a new concept in education, but it’s primarily considered for teacher-to-teacher relationships. The “buddy system” works just as well for supporting new families! The Buddy Family Program at Lake Norman Charter in North Carolina is organized by the Parent Teacher Organization to “engage new families right away and provide them with a personal point of contact.” Similarly, Palisades Charter Elementary School in California hosts official “buddy group playdates” for families with children in the same or similar grade, which often prompt future connections.
Help new households feel prepared and part of your school culture by setting them up with a veteran family that can introduce them to school traditions and volunteer opportunities, share advice from personal experiences, guide them through regular school procedures, and answer questions throughout the year. Sure, newcomers will connect organically with others as they get more involved in a school community – but why wait? By intentionally nurturing family-to-family connections, you can put incoming parents at ease from the start – and grow new advocates in the process!
These strategies not only ease the transition for newcomers but also strengthen the culture within your school. By investing time and effort into these areas, you are not just filling seats; you are building lasting relationships and a strong, vibrant school community.
AI contributed to the graphic and framework for this blog.
Molly is the liaison between education leaders and the agency, connecting the K-12 community with services designed to accelerate performance and market position. She leads content and partner engagement strategy and is a frequent conference presenter and podcast/blog guest. Molly likes to push it to the limit, and races competitively in Obstacle Course Races on the weekends.