Ten Steps to a Memorable, Measurable Catholic Schools Week

Recruitment and retention opportunities abound during Catholic Schools Week, the annual celebration of all that a Catholic education offers. Don’t just string together a bunch of independent activities. Instead, thoughtfully plan and develop your school’s approach to take full advantage of the connections to be made.

1. Establish a committee of board members, enrollment committee members, faculty, parents, grandparents and alumni to think strategically about the entire week. Schedule a variety of activities throughout the week. Then segment your contacts and invite prospects that have expressed an interest in a particular activity to attend on the appropriate day (for example, an early childhood story hour during Open House).
2. Develop a theme that not only is marketed during Catholic Schools Week but that also can be used to tie together recruitment and retention strategies throughout the year.
3. Plan events that will draw a crowd, like the school play, science fair exhibit or grandparents day.
4. Inform and involve your current families by hosting a State of the School address.
5. Personally invite any prospects who’ve made inquiries to participate in the week’s events.
6. Keep the registration process simple.
7. Engage the faculty to ensure they are prepared to highlight the features and benefits of the school and each particular class. (See the related case study on The Faculty as Ambassadors.)
8. Make sure that school students and families are represented at Mass, for instance as greeters, readers, altar servers and choir members.
9. Market activities on your website, in social media and in all school publications.
10. Invite alumni to return and talk about the impact the school has had on their life.

See related blog post A Catholic Schools Week Story