tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8940382534555474392012-02-16T08:33:41.208-08:00Mike Ziemski, M. Ed.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09329278655668091417noreply@blogger.comBlogger21100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-894038253455547439.post-64928709387080777882011-07-12T16:36:00.000-07:002011-07-12T14:04:10.906-07:00As SchoolAdvancement.com begins its fifth year, I've been encouraged by some individuals to include a blog that can be commented on and shared with others. Since the SchoolAdvancement.com site is being redesigned, I'll undertake such a project here. We'll see how things progress before deciding to include this in the SchoolAdvancement.com redesign.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/894038253455547439-6492870938708077788?l=enrollmentessentials.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Mike Ziemski, M. Ed.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09329278655668091417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-894038253455547439.post-67242970088012567712011-07-12T13:56:00.000-07:002011-07-12T13:56:19.946-07:00I was asked to post this in a personal blog. Since I don't have a personal one that deals with school issues, I thought this might be an appropriate time to start one, since SchoolAdvancement.com is undergoing a facelift after five years of existence.<br /><br />Academic excellence, faith formation and a safe and caring environment are "expectations" of a Catholic school. Parents already know those things and are not going to pay for expectations. The question schools must ask themselves is, "What is 'remarkably different' about our school that will not only attract Catholics but others because it's where they want their child to be educated?" The parent, along with the child, must feel that the school environment is where they want to be and must become emotionally engaged with it - not just logically engaged. The reasons listed above are logical ones. In fact, they're probably not even reasons, but simply rationale.<br /><br />As an example, I used to work for a Diocese that had two high schools. When I first started there and walked into the one that was centrally located to most of the elementary schools of the Diocese, I could have been a ghost walking from the from door to the office. The other high school that always seemed to be struggling to get by financially, however, had a completely different atmosphere. I was made to feel welcome there as soon as I walked in the door. Students were polite, asked if they could escort me to where I was going and their enthusiasm for the school was high. I wondered why the school struggled as much as it did - all people would have to do is come to the building and they'd be immediately hooked. Some research showed that although there were differences between the Catholic high schools, the reception was the same when one entered the public high school that "competed" against the latter Catholic high school mentioned previously. It stood to reason then that potential families didn't want to pay tuition when they saw "no significant difference" in the educational program (and educators know all about what happens when the research shows "no significant difference"). <br /><br />It's not good enough to know yourself and your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats; you also have to know your competition and their SWOTs too. Touting Catholic values, excellent academics and a caring environment won't increase enrollment - unless others see that a difference is manifested in the actions of the school's students.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/894038253455547439-6724297008801256771?l=enrollmentessentials.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Mike Ziemski, M. Ed.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09329278655668091417noreply@blogger.com0