Episode 120: It May Be Time For You To Consider A Continuous Enrollment Model
The Private School Leader Podcast
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Show Notes
“Enrollment Season”
Two words that can stir up a variety of emotions in nearly every private school leader. Enrollment season can cause you to feel stress, anxiety and uncertainty. You might be thinking “here we go again” and that is going to be a real grind.
According to Independent School Management, 30–40% of private schools are currently using a continuous enrollment model or are working toward implementing this approach in the near future.
For 31 years, I was used to a very traditional model: send out enrollment contracts, remind families of the deadline, start making phone calls when the deadline has passed, etc. But, two years ago, my most recent school switched to a continuous enrollment model and it has been a real game-changer.
On today’s episode of The Private School Leader Podcast, I want you to know that It May Be Time For You To Consider A Continuous Enrollment Model.
I know that you are super busy, so be sure to listen while you are doing something else. I hope that you will get value from this episode as you serve and lead your school community. Thank you for taking some time out of your day to listen to the podcast!
Thanks for making a difference,
Mark Minkus
Is it just me or are the parents at our schools getting more demanding and more intense, more often? Dealing with parents is part of the job as we lead our private schools, but it can quickly lead to stress, anxiety and feeling overwhelmed.
That’s why I created Parent Academy! Now you have a step by step framework that will help you go from feeling stressed and anxious to feeling confident and calm. Over the last 33 years, I have built successful relationships with thousands of parents and I have packaged that knowledge into an online course. Not only that, but after I teach you, I am going to teach your teachers these strategies as well! Parent Academy contains two, 45-minute webinars that are Teacher PD’s with a printable notebook, guided notes and discussion questions. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parentacademy to learn more!
What is your biggest problem right now? I want to hear more about your biggest problem and I want to help you solve it.
Whether your problem is feeling guilty that your family gets what’s left of you at the end of the day, relentless parents, difficult teachers, a lack of boundaries between work and school, feeling overwhelmed, Imposter Syndrome, enrollment or teacher morale, I can help.
I would love to hear more about your biggest problem and I would love to be your coach. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/coaching to learn more about working with me 1-on-1.
Being a private school leader is a VERY difficult job. You have to make hundreds of decisions every day, and you have to keep everyone safe, increase enrollment, keep the parents happy, keep the board happy, motivate the teachers, deal with student discipline, beat last year’s test scores and come in under budget.
That can lead to you feeling tired, discouraged and stressed out. I’ve been there. That’s why I created THRIVE Academy just for you. THRIVE Academy is a digital course that will help you get out of survival mode and get back to feeling energized at school. To learn more, go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/thrive
I am excited to share with you a new resource and I want to give this to you as a FREE GIFT to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. It is called The 7 Secrets To Improving Teacher Morale. As private school leaders, we are always looking for ways to improve teacher morale at our schools, but it is hard to know where to start. Well, now you have a step by step plan and you can grab it at theprivateschoolleader.com/morale
I want to give you a FREE gift called 7 Strategies To Effectively Deal With Difficult Teachers. Sometimes we need some courage and confidence to deal with difficult teachers. What you need is a plan! This guide is a step by step plan that you can use to help one of your difficult teachers improve their performance and improve their attitude. Go to theprivateschoolleader.com/difficult to grab this free guide!
I’ve created a free resource for you called “The 6 Things That Every Private School Teacher Wants From Their Leader”. This guide is a 6 page pdf that will be a game changer for you. I guarantee you that if you do these 6 things, the teachers at your school will be happy to follow you. You can pick up your free guide by going to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/guide
I want to give you a gift to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. I have created a FREE guide for you called “5 Strategies To Help You Work With Difficult Parents”. We know that working with parents is part of the job and most of our parents are great, but some of them can be very demanding and emotional and difficult. This guide will give you the tools that you need to build better relationships and have better meetings with the difficult parents at your school. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parents to grab the guide. Thank you again for listening every week!
Please check out all of the free resources on my website that can help you serve and lead your school community. There are "Plug & Play PD's" (45 minute webinars with guided notes) as well as Top 10 Lists of Leadership Books, Productivity Books and TED Talks over at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/resources. You can grab the show notes for today's episode at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/episode120
Please write a review of this podcast and help the algorithm push this content out to more leaders. I would love to get your feedback about the podcast, ideas for future episodes and hear about how you are implementing these strategies in your life and at your school. You can email me at [email protected] Thanks!!
I’ve created a FREE RESOURCE for you called “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit”. This is a 10 page pdf that will help you to keep your staff and students safe and help keep your school out of court. Litigation is expensive, time consuming and extremely stressful. This common sense guide will help you to be more intentional and proactive when it comes to protecting your school. You can grab “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit” at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/lawsuit. Thanks!
I am excited to share a brand new resource with you. It is a 9 page pdf called: “How To Use Verbal Judo To Have Better Conversations With The Parents At Your School” What is “Verbal Judo”? "Verbal Judo" is a communication strategy that focuses on using words effectively to de-escalate conflict, resolve disputes, and achieve positive outcomes in various interpersonal interactions, particularly in high-pressure situations.
George Thompson and Jerry Jenkins wrote a book called Verbal Judo: The Gentle Art Of Persuasion. So, I have taken several important strategies from the book and applied them to your life as a private school leader. Grab your free copy of “How To Use Verbal Judo To Have Better Conversations With The Parents At Your School” at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/judo
TRANSCRIPT:
Welcome to the Private School Leader podcast, where private school leaders learn how to thrive and, uh, not just survive as they serve and lead their schools. I strongly believe that it is possible to have a long and happy and fulfilling career as a private school leader. And my passion is to help you figure out exactly how to do just that right here on the Private School Leader podcast. And I'm your host, Mark Minkus. • • So I want to start today's episode by saying two words • • that will cause you to feel a certain way. • • • • And I'm not sure exactly how they're going to make you feel, • but I'm going to sayve them and then ask you a question. • •
About 30 to 40% of independent and private schools use a continuous enrollment model
So ready. Here are the two words. • • • Enrollment season. • • • • • • • Enrollment season. • • • • So does that cause • joy and happiness and excitement and, • • • • well, or • • • • • does it cause stress and anxiety and uncertainty and thinking about a grind and thinking, here we go again, and chasing down families and not being sure who's coming back and, • • you know, what emotions • • • come from the two words enrollment season • • • for you. • • • • Well, if you're listening to this in real time, • • • • we're right around the end of January, beginning of February, • • • • and I've been talking to my coaching clients, and I'll tell you when I ask them the question, what's taking up the most headspace, • • • • really, since winter break, and even the week before winter break, • • almost all of them have said, well, it's enrollment season coming up. So dot, dot, dot. • • • • • I'd, um, • say probably about 80% of my clients that that's the answer to that question. • • • And, you know, for me, for 31 years, • • • • • I • • • was at a school where we had a traditional, • • quote, unquote, traditional, um, enrollment season where, you know, you send out enrollment contracts • • and then you, um, um, you know, remind families of the deadline and you start making phone calls and you send reminders, and when the deadline has passed, then you • • • • • chase down families and, and you meet with the • director of enrollment and go over a long list of kids whose parents have not yet re registered for the fall. And, you know, the. Do you know of anything that's going on with this family, why they might not be coming back? Is it that they're just disorganized, so on and so forth? • • • So that was my experience for 31 years. But at my most recent school, • • um, two years ago, • • • • the school switched to a continuous enrollment model. • • • And several of my coaching clients have also switched to this model, some in recent years, and some have been doing it for • • eight, maybe 10 years. • • • • And so I'm not sure • • • • where you're at on this Issue. I know that ISM • • says that about 30 to 40% of independent and private schools in America are using, uh, a continuous enrollment model or are working towards implementing this approach in the near future. • • So 30 to 40%. • • • • But if you're in that 30 to 40% and you're already • • using a continuous enrollment model, I still want you to stick around and I'll tell you why in a few