There are several reasons teacher retention should be a priority for Christian school leaders. Keeping good teachers affects students’ academic growth, staff morale, the ability to align classroom practices with the school’s mission and vision, and teacher replacement costs. Bottomline, high teacher retention is critical because it is good for students and their learning.
Diversity in the Christian School: Retention Is About the Environment You Create
The old adage “if you build it, they will come” is often used to justify the creation of new and exciting diversity programs. However, in an environment where Christian families of color often have options when it comes to private education, the question to ask is not only “will they come?” but “will they stay?”.
Effective Messaging: Summary vs. Significance
School leaders know the importance of supporting the admissions efforts of their school with well-developed plans in order to effectively communicate with prospective parents before, during and after “sales efforts” (admissions team activities) have taken place. Marketing efforts can increase the pool of families exploring your school as an option and also prepare prospective families with information that makes them more … Read More
The Real Value of Retention
This past summer, I gave a presentation at a school leadership conference on creating a culture of retention at the organizations we work. In determining where I wanted to go in the conversation I found a number of great quotes on the value of retention. Amy Gallo, in the Harvard Business Review (Oct. 2014) said, “depending on which study you … Read More
Working to Keep the Students We Have
Increased competition within the schooling marketplace, combined with the shifting priorities of a new generation of parents, has rendered the fortunes of independent and parochial schools more uncertain than ever before. As we have noted here previously, as of just two years ago, private schools enrolled more than 10% fewer students than in 2000. And within that overall enrollment decline … Read More
When Satisfaction Doesn’t Mean Happy Parents
We often hear talk about satisfied customers when we are considering customer service. Customer service is a relatively new concept to Christian schools so it may be helpful to consider what other businesses look at when they work on customer service and satisfaction. Though many of the techniques and motives that schools use are different from other businesses, the main goal … Read More