It's been another busy season, with schools trying to solve enrollment challenges from all angles. One school I’m working with is trying to fill a 9th-grade class in a market with less than 300 students who are of the appropriate age, capable of paying 50% of tuition, and within a reasonable commute time. Meanwhile, another school is struggling to fill kindergarten spots in an area with plenty of students and financially able families, but with a saturated market leading to unpredictable yield and quickly disappearing waitpools as schools scramble to fill spaces. These are both seemingly insurmountable barriers.
In essence, there are two main issues at play. Firstly, declining markets are prevalent in many areas, resulting in smaller applicant pools. Secondly, in markets with higher populations, there seems to be an oversupply problem, resulting in qualified candidates receiving multiple offers and unpredictable, and in many cases, low yield. We all know this is not sustainable.
So, I’ve been wondering how we can approach these issues from new angles. The NAIS Jobs-To-Be-Done research identifies problems that families want us to solve, offering a platform for creative thinking to meet needs while setting ourselves apart from the competition or attracting new families. This is a great starting place if you haven’t considered it already.
Most decisions of all kinds, to me, feel like a choice of a path as opposed to "right" or "wrong." Perhaps educational decisions are partially driven by parents seeking to pave pathways to success for their children, and their choice of school reflects these pathways, which can be quite narrow. They are trapped in a “right” or “wrong” or “better” and “worse” mindset as opposed to a more neutral, one-is-different-not-better-than-the-other mentality.
We're often bombarded with stories of individuals who have followed a linear trajectory: excelling academically, climbing the corporate ladder, or achieving fame and fortune through a particular talent or skill. While these narratives are undoubtedly inspiring, they represent just a fraction of the countless routes one can take towards success. For every CEO who rose through the ranks of a Fortune 500 company, there's an entrepreneur who started a thriving business from their bedroom. For every bestselling author with a string of degrees, there's a self-taught writer who honed their craft through sheer determination and passion.
Emerging non-traditional educational models, such as coding boot camps, entrepreneurship programs, and online learning platforms, are increasingly popular, putting another obstacle in our way as we attempt to advance our missions.
We face seemingly conflicting challenges: families have a narrow definition of success, creating a narrow funnel to our product, yet there's a market need for educational options catering to broader pathways to success.
To address these challenges, we can do a few things. In a very competitive market where everyone is talking about the same benefits, a unique definition of success, and demonstrations of that success, may be compelling. And/or we can broaden our market appeal by thinking creatively about our programs in order to deliver different kinds of success to families who are not already considering our schools.
These ideas require willingness to take a couple of risks. It's through daring to innovate and explore new avenues that we can truly shape the future of education and better serve our students and communities, as well as ensure the health of our schools.
