Issue 255

I counted them last week. Seven school websites, seven different independent schools, seven variations of the same promise: "academic excellence."

It was like reading the same brochure over and over again, just with different fonts and stock photos of diverse students looking thoughtfully at laptops.

Here's the thing about academic excellence—it's become the educational equivalent of a restaurant claiming their food is "delicious." Of course it is. That's why you exist. When every school, from the prestigious day school downtown to the small Montessori campus across town, leads with academic excellence, the phrase stops meaning anything at all.

We've accidentally turned our strongest selling point into background noise.

Think about it from a parent's perspective. They're scrolling through school websites at 11 PM, trying to figure out where to spend $25,000 a year, and they see "academic excellence" for the fourth time that evening. What does that tell them? Nothing. What questions does it answer? None. What picture does it paint of what their child's Tuesday morning will actually look like? Zero.

The paradox is real: when everyone claims to be excellent, excellence becomes ordinary. We've inflated the word until it's lost all currency.

But here's what's worse—hiding behind "academic excellence" lets us off the hook from doing the harder work of articulating what makes our approach to learning genuinely different. It's a lazy shortcut that keeps us from digging into the specifics that actually matter.

Instead of claiming excellence, what if we described it? What if instead of telling parents we're academically excellent, we showed them what learning looks and feels like on our campus?

Maybe it's the way your third-graders debate ethical dilemmas during morning meeting. Maybe it's your high schoolers designing real solutions for local nonprofits. Maybe it's how your middle school math teacher helps kids see the geometry in their basketball shots.

Those details paint a picture. Those specifics help parents imagine their child in your classrooms. Those stories stick.

So here's my challenge: Look at your website, your viewbook, your Instagram posts. Count how many times you use some version of "academic excellence." Then ask yourself—if you took that phrase away entirely, what would you say instead?

What would you tell parents about learning at your school if you couldn't use the word "excellent" at all?

That's where your real differentiator lives. And that's what parents are actually waiting to hear.

What's your school's version of "academic excellence"? Hit reply—I'd love to hear how you're moving beyond the cliché.

Thanks,
Brendan

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About Our Speaker

Myra McGovern is the founder and principal of The Polaris Collaborative, a strategic communications and risk management firm serving independent schools and other nonprofits.

Myra worked for the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) for more than two decades before launching The Polaris Collaborative. Most recently, she was the Vice President of External Relations, where her team handled media and public relations, advocacy and public affairs communications, and executive communications. Before that, she served as the Vice President of Media for eight years, overseeing the team responsible for book publishing, Independent School magazine, multiple websites, video content, and social media.

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