Academic Excellence Means Nothing [275]

Go to any school's website right now. I'll wait.

Somewhere on that homepage, probably above the fold, you'll find a phrase like "academic excellence" or "a tradition of excellence" or "excellence in education."

Now visit a competitor's site. Same thing. And another. Same thing again.

Here's the problem: when every school claims excellence, no school is saying anything. It's not a differentiator. It's white noise. It's the equivalent of a restaurant advertising that they serve food.

Parents scrolling through school websites aren't stupid. They know that every school is going to claim they're excellent. What they're actually looking for is proof. Specificity. Something that helps them picture their kid in your classrooms.

"Academic excellence" doesn't do that. It's a placeholder for the harder work of articulating what actually happens at your school.

What does a Tuesday morning look like in your fourth grade classroom? How do your teachers respond when a student is struggling? What's the thing that happens at your school that doesn't happen at the school down the street?

Those answers are your real messaging. Not excellence. Not rigor. Not any of the other words that have been drained of meaning through overuse.

So here's my challenge for you: describe what learning looks like at your school in three sentences. You cannot use the word "excellence." You cannot use the word "rigor." You have to be specific enough that a parent could actually picture it.

This is harder than it sounds. You might need to talk to some teachers. You might need to sit in on a few classes. You might need to ask parents what they actually noticed when they visited.

But when you land on those three sentences, you'll have something that no other school can claim. Because it will be true and specific to you.

And that's worth more than all the excellence in the world.

Thanks,
Brendan

Discover what truly moves Millennial parents to choose - and stay - in a school. This session explores the generational experiences shaping Millennial parents' expectations and how schools can respond.

Bio: Felicia DePriest Holcomb has expertise in marketing, enrollment management, and fundraising. She currently serves the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, partnering with its 42 schools to develop mission-driven strategies that increase enrollment and strengthen community engagement. A teacher by trade, Felicia holds education degrees from Avila University and Emporia State University, as well as a certificate in Catholic School Management from Villanova University and a graduate certificate in grant proposal development from Fort Hays State University. Felicia is passionate about creating authentic connections that help Catholic schools - and the students they serve - thrive.

RSVP today: https://community.marcomsociety.org/c/guest-experts-e2f31b/the-millennial-mindset-engaging-and-recruiting-families

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