In our ideal world, for a school, there is no other satisfying moment than to see your student, who used to be a 6th grader, now become a high school graduate. Perhaps you even knew them since Kindergarten! It is a harsh reality that sometimes parents do take their kids out of a school. The reasons behind them enrolling their children in a different school may vary. It could be reasons unrelated to the school’s performance. For instance, parents have to be relocated for career-related reasons hence they have to withdraw their child from the current school. However, there are also parents who are unhappy in their current school which results in families leaving schools.
Today, we will be discussing efforts that can be made in order to keep student families happy and ensure returning students for the following semesters. Since the students and their families are the reason the school is open, it is important to understand why they may leave and how you can prevent this from happening.
Why do families leave school?
Apart from personal reasons that cannot be avoided, there are a few main reasons why parents may take a student out. This includes a disconnect between what they were told before admissions as well as student and parent dissatisfaction which includes the relationship with teachers, the efficiency of the school management, school safety, and costs. In certain cases, parents are unhappy that schools are unprepared for the new school year. It is key that schools are aware of how to be prepared well in advance.
How to keep your students and their families happy
Retention is a commonly overlooked strategy for growing a business. You worked hard to get your customers, keeping them will keep your business more profitable. There are a number of ways to make sure that you can retain the families. It is crucial to ensure students and parents are satisfied with the school management, lessons that are being taught, a healthy environment, and a good relationship between students and their teachers and also among students themselves.
1. Advanced preparedness for the new school year
In order for families to be satisfied with the school’s management, the school has to be well-prepared in many areas. For instance, making sure to communicate with parents early and clearly. Parents can prepare their children for the year ahead. Last-minute announcements are a huge problem and might be one of the reasons parents remove their children from the school, especially if it happens frequently.
2. Forming relationships with parents
Organize a “date” with parents to get them to feel more involved with the happenings in school. You could invite parents over for an open day to engage with them and form a better connection between parents, students, and teachers. The event does not have to be grand or extravagant, hosting something as simple as a coffee and conversation event would suffice. At the end of the day, connected families are happy families. You could also use the opportunity to conduct a satisfaction survey to hear feedback from parents on areas the school needs to improve. Although the survey could easily be done online, it is always good to form a good relationship with parents and establish a good rapport.
3. Ensure a safe school environment
Apart from those efforts, safety also comes at the top of the list. It is of utmost importance for a school to ensure a safe and healthy environment for students to enjoy their learning experience. No parent would be happy or comfortable sending their children to a school where do not feel is safe. School facilities should always be inspected and serviced to prevent accidents from happening.
Despite that, schools should be strict and ensure that there is a no-bullying policy. Parents of bullies need to know what is going on. This helps to ensure students safety. Teachers should identify the struggles these children are facing in cases like this and monitor their student’s well-being. It would be unfortunate for victims to be leaving schools, while bullies roam free without consequences. Moreover, when students are happy and safe in school, they are more likely to have a good attendance record. Schools can also try other efforts to improve and enhance student attendance.
4. Building your online presence
Almost everybody is on social media these days. Get social. Use your Facebook or Instagram feed to keep parents updated with the happenings in school. Grab the opportunity to build a good image online (and offline of course). Schools could also send monthly newsletters to recap the events at school and announce upcoming activities. Are the students doing something exciting? Post it online and ask parents to log on to watch it live. Parents of children in the school will love it. Parents of children who are not enrolled in your school will wish they were.
5. Keeping Your School Modern
Being up to date with technology can make everyone’s lives easier. For instance, using a robust and reliable Student Information System to improve the teaching and learning experience. The SIS is more accessible and makes managing student affairs easy and pragmatic. We mentioned before how important it is to introduce digital literacy programs in early childhood education. This will help prepare children with the skills they require to engage in technology responsibly and shape digitally literate youth.
We hope this article has helped you gain some insight into how to keep student families happy. Stay tuned for more updates and let us know what topics you would like us to feature next. We love hearing from you! Register for a free trial today 🙂
