Family Relations, Enrollment, and the Christian School

Visit
Parents don’t know what to expect on a visit and, not being education experts, they don’t know what to look for. They may well have a list of questions – either their own or one they found on the web – that they plan to ask at you school and the others they visit. Primarily though, they are looking for the “feel” of the school and for an “experience.”
Who will meet with them? What will be covered and how much has that content been rehearsed? Will they meet another parent who’s like them in terms of child’s grade level or interests or neighborhood? What will the tour include? Have you driven to the school, walked from the car into the building, and then walked the tour route, looking through a potential (and skeptical) parent’s eyes? What materials and / or items will you give them? Tours will differ from school to school and culture to culture. They should be planned meticulously.
Ask these three key questions about all the steps in your approach:
1. Does the visit speak to community? Your school is a key place where the parents will find friends and have their social circle. They want warmth and invitation.
2. Is it organized and professional? Parents expect high standards and don’t want their time wasted.
3. Is it open and transparent? Parents want you to answer all their questions, even the ones they didn’t ask but you know they should have.
Finally, don’t avoid the cost question. The tuition is what it is. Ask parents about their hopes and dreams for their children, then identify how the school can be a partner in that journey. They are making an investment, even an eternal investment, when they choose your school.
Each child has input into the decision on which school to attend. Even at the Kindergarten level, prospective students are part of the “seek” and “visit” phase.
Age is a key factor in what children want. Younger children’s experience centers on the overall atmosphere and the activities and materials they see in the classroom. They also can be impacted by things outside your control – the color of the teacher's hair, for example. Older children and teens are more focused on the program, opportunities for them to make choices, evidence that they will be valued, the way children interact with each other.
Control the things you can. Think about your office – if younger children will be coming in, ensure there is child-friendly furniture and décor. Consider soft furniture on the floor, a small bookshelf that they can browse / ransack, and healthy snacks and drinks.
For older children and teens, separate these visitors from the parents and have them toured by peer teens who have been exceptionally well trained. Again, keep three things in mind:
1. Teen-to-teen persuasion is the most powerful and will often directly impact the conversation later between parents and child. It is not unusual for children to get in the car and say, “This is it! We don’t have to look at any more schools!” That’s your objective. The parents won’t go against the child.
2. Find out beforehand, if you can, what the child’s / teen’s interests are and provide a focus on those areas during the tour.
3. Give them something age appropriate to take with them that connects them with the school.
Note: Before the visit, ensure that you and whoever else meets with that child prays for that child. Maybe it’s obvious, but the prayer is not for success. The prayer is twofold: that the child might find a home at the school that meets the child’s needs; that you will be warm and professional and channel God’s grace as you work with the family. You, as the initial point of contact, are going to become that family’s closest relationship with the school, if they come.