{"id":2596,"date":"2025-07-21T15:00:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-21T19:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/archangeladvancement.com\/?p=2596"},"modified":"2025-07-18T21:44:16","modified_gmt":"2025-07-19T01:44:16","slug":"baby-steps-marketing-step-3-of-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archangeladvancement.com\/?p=2596","title":{"rendered":"Baby Steps Marketing: Step 3 of 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week’s Marketing Matters article outlined a four-step program to begin a relationship with parents of newly Baptized\u00a0children in the parishes or churches\u00a0that support your school.\u00a0 This week, I promised to offer a tip on what to do if you already have a Pre-K program, and<\/strong> you’re including those parents in your “regular” parent-teacher meetings and<\/strong> encouraging them to be a part of your\u00a0school community – but they’re still not enrolling in your Kindergarten.<\/p>\n

First, you need to be honest with yourself and your practices.\u00a0 Are you really<\/em><\/strong> including them in your regular parent events, treating them as if they were parents and guardians\u00a0with\u00a0children enrolled in\u00a0your K-5, 6 or 8 school?\u00a0 Many schools consider Pre-K to be a separate service to parents since the children are in school only a few days a week, or, if they’re there every day, it’s only for a limited amount of time.<\/p>\n

If you’re really and truly reaching out to parents and guardians, and including them in all your community-building activities and events, then we need to look at three things – fundraising, market pricing, and the competition.<\/p>\n

Fundraising<\/strong><\/p>\n

Involve your pre-school parents in it…even if they’re paying the full-cost of the Pre-K program.\u00a0 Remember that fundraising is not a Development strategy, since Development is long-term oriented and fundraising is short-term oriented.\u00a0 Fundraising is part of Retention since it builds community within your school.\u00a0 When I think of fundraising, I think of car washes, spaghetti dinners, nights at the races and the like.\u00a0 It’s where people involved in the school work together to involve the community.<\/p>\n

I know lots of folks think of fundraising and think of selling cookie dough, popcorn and wrapping paper.\u00a0 While those activities do require people outside the family to buy those products, in difficult economic times, these are the first things are eliminated from the families’, neighbors’ and co-workers’ budgets.<\/p>\n

Unless the sale is of a “signature” product for which the school has built a reputation, then consider this question: Would you really want your<\/em> kids going door to door to sell magazine subscriptions?<\/p>\n

If your answer is, “No, just tell me what I have to pay and I’ll pay it,” then increase your tuition by that amount and be done with it.\u00a0 Forget charging the “Development Fee.”\u00a0 If you state that it is a fee, then it must somehow be paid.\u00a0 Since it is a stated fee, it’s not tax-deductible.\u00a0 However, if you request a contribution over and above tuition and fees, then it may be tax-deductible (check with your local tax professional\/advisor before instituting such a program).<\/p>\n

Market Pricing<\/strong><\/p>\n

I know of a school that has more children in its Pre-K program than it does in their K-8 program.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because the average cost of their half-day Pre-K program is $1,000 per year, while their K-8 tuition is over $4,000 per year.\u00a0\u00a0 If your school’s Pre-K program is a half-day program, and your regular school tuition is $4000, then the Pre-K tuition should be $2,000 per year.\u00a0 When I suggested this to the school, they said, “But we’ll lose half of our Pre-K enrollment!”\u00a0 Yes, but doesn’t $1,000 x 200 = $2,000 x 100?\u00a0 Plus, half the number of students may not require the same number of teachers, saving\u00a0you money, and you can create a waiting list which always spurs even more interest.<\/p>\n

The bottom line, however, is what happens when that child is ready to move from Pre-K 4 to K.\u00a0 Parents have to decide if they’re going to make the quantum leap from $1,000 per year to $4,000 per year.\u00a0\u00a0 Guess what most are going to decide?<\/p>\n

I know of another school that had charged $700 for their all-day 2 day-per-week program, and $900 for their all-day 3 day-per-week program, when their Kindergarten tuition was a little over $4,000 per year.\u00a0 They said that their program was competitively priced with other daycare programs in the area.\u00a0 Today, their K-6 tuition is just under $5000…but the average a parent pays for daycare is $210 per WEEK!\u00a0 It’s important to remember that Pre-K is not daycare.\u00a0 Your Pre-K program needs to be remarkable, just as your K-5, K-6 or K-8 program is remarkable, providing an excellent experience at an excellent value.\u00a0 For this school, increasing the tuition from $700 to $2,000 per year and the $900 to $3,000 per year would have set the school for a streamlined and value-priced progression from Pre-K into Kindergarten.\u00a0 Would schools have to have the same conversations they have with K-5, K-6 or LK-8 parents?\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 Would financial aid have to be offered?\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 Is that congruent with treating Pre-K parents the same way you treat parents of children in grades K-5, K-6 or K-8?\u00a0 Yes.<\/p>\n

The Competition<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since we started talking about the competition in the previous section, let’s look at the other extreme regarding other Pre-K programs in the surrounding area.\u00a0 One school I had worked with told me, “Oh, they do such a great job, and we don’t want to hurt them.”\u00a0 Let me just ask this question – if it came down to taking students away from them, or closing your school because there aren’t enough Kindergarten registrations, which would you choose?<\/p>\n

You can certainly work collaboratively.\u00a0 If that Pre-K that does a great job doesn’t recommend your elementary school program, then develop a relationship with them so they will.\u00a0 If they refuse because of a myriad of reasons they can come up with, then you might consider some ways to get those parents to your Pre-K program before you lose the opportunity.<\/p>\n

And by the way that school that didn’t start their own Pre-K program isn’t around anymore…but the Pre-K that was down the street from this school is still thriving.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Michael V. Ziemski, SchoolAdvancement, 2010-2025 (Original Publication Date: 20100719)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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