Win the Conversation

Education is the new competitive market. Whether you agree or disagree with the "school choice" movement, in most communities, due to open enrollment public, charter, and private schools, parents today have choices for their child's education. Due to school budgets tied so closely to enrollment, schools have become hyper-competitive as they fight for every student.

Parents are passionate marketers of schools. Logically, people talk about what they love, and there is nothing that parents love more than their children. Because children spend most of their time in school, their school experience is often the topic of parental conversations. People talk to (and listen to) those they trust before making a big decision. Parents trust other parents and deciding on a school is a big decision. The conversation is happening, and in today's competitive educational market, schools need to be talked about ... in the right way!

Oscar Wilde quipped in The Picture of Dorian Gray, "There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about." 

So how do you make sure you are talked about positively? How can schools win the conversation? With stories!

Stories -- If you tell the stories, you rule the world.

Stories are the most powerful marketing tool for schools ... both for good and ill. When parents share about a teacher who went above and beyond to know/love/care for their child, the message will be powerfully positive. The opposite is true ... if a parent is treated rudely by an administrator, the message spread can be damaging to the reputation of the school.

Plato first noted the importance of stories when he said, "Those who tell the stories, rule society." Andrew Fletcher, a Scottish politician, expanded this notion to wrap in the power of the arts over legislation to impact society, saying, "Let me make the songs of a nation, and I care not who makes its laws." Stories (and songs) rule the world!

Storytellers - Word of Mouth (WOM)

The best advertising is always positive word of mouth marketing. In fact, it is said that advertising is for companies who don't have a positive word of mouth presence ... when is the last time you saw a Starbucks advertisement on television? This is true also of schools. Schools with strong WOM, spend very little on marketing ... and WOM marketing is free!

Again, WOM can be positive or negative. When parents select a school, it is most often due to positive word of mouth from other parents, and when families leave (especially multiple families in one year), it is often due to negative word of mouth. 

Of course, a quick WOM strategy is social media. Social media posts are fast and free. Parents notice social media posts, especially about schools. If the posts are positive, the positive reputation of the school grows. Imagine if every parent in your school would post one positive thing about your school each month ... what a positive, free marketing strategy. 

In the 21st Century, schools must have an active social media presence, posting something positive each day. Flourishing companies have "social media influencers" in their marketing department; schools should too. Someone on staff needs to wake up each day with the drive to post something each and every day. You have to "win the day" in your market (this means someone has to watch the social media presence of your competitors); does your social media "win the conversation"? When a school has an active social media presence, it is easy for your parents to like, share, or re-post to all their friends/followers ... in today's world, this is an endorsement.

The best WOM marketing is still face-to-face. Most prospective parents realize that social media will post the "wow" of the day, and they'll want to know the "real story" from a current parent. If a parent is an active promoter on social media, they will probably get a DM about the school ... encourage them to take a phone call or grab a cup of coffee to share about their experience. 

High School & College Note -- today, teenagers are more often making the decision about school, and they discount postings by adults or from the official school account. Consider "hiring" student social media influencers to create student-to-student content to reach this audience.

Raving Fans

Blanchard and Bowles in their book titled, Raving Fans (1993), share that "satisfied customers" is not good enough today, flourishing companies (and schools) need "raving fans." Parents (and sometimes grandparents) are the raving fans for schools. Identify who they are ... find them, thank them, equip them, mobilize them!

Every school administrator can list a handful (hopefully more) of raving fans at their school; they often are the Parent Association officers, the classroom volunteers, the ones who are in the front row of every concert or performance, and the ones who are re-posting on social media. They are not just the satisfied customers; they are the ones oozing with excitement about the great things happening at the school. Identify them and thank them for being positive promoters of the school. Words go a long way, so speak with these fans ... make a phone call, send a note, set up a personal visit, or just have a conversation at an event.

In addition to thanking them, equip them. Help them promote the school by giving them school merchandise (remember, they are saving you in the marketing budget!) and positive stories to share. They won't wear what they don't have; they won't share what they don't know ... but raving fans are eager to do both.

Every school has admissions events that are run primarily by school staff. These events are targeting prospective parents, and, of course, they want to meet the administrators, teachers, and staff that will be closely working with their children; however, prospective parents want to hear from other parents. If you infuse a couple raving fan parents into the event, you will "win the event," and hopefully gain a new family. Each school is different, but can a current raving fan parent be "on call" to join a tour, give a follow-up call, or participate in a parent panel. 

Give 'em something to talk about!

Marketers use the phrase "control the message" and say, "Whoever controls the message, controls the masses." That seems too Orwellian to me, but schools should guide the conversation that parents are having by flooding them with positive things happening at the school. The schools that are "winning" the conversation are the ones who are giving their families something to talk about. 

Here are some thoughts on the message (mostly thinking of social media) ...

• Post Frequently and Regularly ... pick a time of day or day of the week that you consistently post to optimize traffic/views (e.g. general social media - 7:00pm, 3:15pm, and 8:41am daily 2024 Research). Try some different times, and find out what works for your school.
• Keep it Short ... think of a meme rather than a state of the school report. The average attention span of millennials (most k-12 parents today) is 12 seconds ... don't blink, Gen Z parents are coming, and their attention span is 8 seconds. 
• Align the Message to What Your Parents Want to Hear ... what is important to your parent community? Student engagement? Care for students? Active learning? Fun? Rigor? Safe environment?
• Make it Fun ... if you can make them smile, they will remember it, and repost. I still hear about the time that we called a snow day with the three principals making snow angels.
• Turn Heads ... while everyone loves cute pictures of students playing, look for the unique activity that is going to catch someone's eye. 
• Educate ... everyone likes to sound smart, so help your parents "be the expert." Equip your school community with current facts from external research or internal surveys. These are best presented in "Did you know?" or Infographics.

Competition in schools is here to stay. Flourishing schools will win the conversation! 

Who Owns the Child?

 All teachers and educational leaders have a philosophy of education. While many are unwritten, every teacher believes specific tenets about why we educate and how we educate children. A philosophy of education must begin with a view of the child.

If a teacher believes that a child begins in "tabula rasa" or with a blank slate, then he/she educates with that presupposition. If a teacher believes that every child is the compilation of random cells that only lives 79 years and then ceases to exist, then he/she educates with that presupposition. If a teacher believes that each child was wonderfully knit together in the womb by the creator of the universe and will live forever after this life is done, he/she educates with that presupposition.

Aligning the practice of educating to an educational philosophy is essential to provide a clear and flourishing learning environment for students. Unfortunately, that alignment is not very common.

Recently, I heard an interesting way to describe this educational challenge. An individual describing educational philosophy, asked the question ... who owns the child? While using the term "owns" to talk about a child (or any human) is unsettling to our modern minds, how you answer that question, leads you to a view of the child and ultimately a philosophy of education.

The State Owns the Child

Some countries, communities, or political systems elevate the power of the state and believe that every child (every human) belongs to the state. An education aligning with this framework would prepare students to be effective "cogs in the wheel" of the state and effective citizens. This system would identify gifts/talents early and prepare students for a specific job to serve the greatest benefit of the state. This seems like something out of an Orwellian world, but much of our educational system is focused on preparation for a specific job, and parents and educators are pushing children earlier and earlier to select a career path. Citizenship is also commonly found on the list of a school's Expected Student Outcomes. What a limited educational philosophy!

The Parents Own the Child

While Christians believe that children are gifts from God to parents, this perspective has been warped in recent years. Parents believe that they own the child, and it is their sole purpose to ensure that the child is successful. This perspective leads to "helicopter parents" who constantly hover over their child, making sure that every decision is made to benefit the child ... or the more aggressive, attack version, now referred to as "Blackhawk Parents." An educational system with this perspective caters to the parents (the owners of the child) and promotes the perspective that the customer is always right (and, in this case, knows what is best for the child). This has led to an explosion of homeschooling and overly involved parents at all levels (even at the college level). Helicopter parenting is not new ... remember James and John's mother and her request of Jesus in Matthew 20?

The Child Owns Him/Herself

Today, self-ownership is the most prevalent answer to the question, who owns the child? This fits with our individualistic and ego-centric society and is the by-product of the "pursuit of happiness" phrase found in the "Declaration of Independence." The most common question asked of children is, "what do you want to do when you grow up?" Innocent enough, but it insidiously promotes this perspective. Parents today are "gentle parenting," allowing the children to rule themselves. Children, at an earlier and earlier age, are making up their own rules and selecting their school, activities, or even religion ... whatever makes them happy. Student autonomy reigns supreme in this philosophy and produces ego-centric people. We definitely see the results today of decades of this educational (and parenting) philosophy.

God Owns the Child

Christians believe that God is the creator and sustainer and Lord of all things; essentially, God owns everything, including children. God gives children to parents, but he doesn't relinquish "ownership" of them; He doesn't "orphan" them. Parents are stewards of this precious gift, but each child is still a child of God. In fact, God, throughout scripture, promises that he is our father and that we are his children (I Cor 6:18; Jn 1:12-13; Gal 4:5; Rm 8:14-17, et. al.). This (and the previous section) remind me of the Heidelberg Catechism Q&A #1 ...

Q.	What is your only comfort in life and death?
A.	That I am not my own, but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death,  to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ.

We are not our own, but we belong to God!

So, what does an educational philosophy look like with this view of the child?

First and foremost, it begins with the view that the child was fearfully and wonderfully made, knit together by God in the womb (Ps.139). Every child (every student) is preciously made by God and has rich and inherent value. Second, it means that every child (every student) is an eternal being who will live forever.  

Pause and re-read those two presuppositions. 

Teachers are working with God's precious handiwork, and the work of education has eternal impact. It is no wonder that James warned that "not many of you should be teachers" (3:1). Wow, what a high calling!

Christian educators ... Do you have this perspective of the children who enter your classroom? Do you understand how God views each of your students? Do you also understand the eternal impact you have?

Unfortunately, many teachers, even Christian ones who affirm Heidelberg Catechism #1, teach from a view of the student that aligns closer to the student being owned by the state, the parents, or self. This misalignment does not lead to flourishing students. 

In order for Christian education to lead to flourishing, it must begin with a Christian view of the child and a Christian philosophy of education.