AISAP52

There are days when I feel as if I am doing just fine despite the hard times we are all living through. Then there are days when I walk around the boarding school campus where I live and see masked students distanced from each other underneath big outdoor tents, and I can't help but think I’m in the midst of some strange dream. Who would have believed last year at this time that we would be doing virtual open houses and interviewing students and families over Zoom?!

It’s why I was especially excited for AISAP to host 250 admission and enrollment professionals at recent Conversations with Colleagues where AISAP members came together to share ideas and learn from one another. Needless to say, there is no magical fix for some of the issues confronting the admission and enrollment profession, but I would like to share the top ten things we learned as a community from these lively and robust conversations.

1. This year, we need to focus on creating a process that ensures the safety, health, and well-being of every applicant and their family.
2. While we need to pivot to virtual events now, we also need to embrace that they may be here to stay due to the level of flexibility they provide in connecting with families
3. It's okay that we are still trying to figure this out. We need to give ourselves permission to try and fail and try again. Because we don't have to have all the answers, we’ll need to more flexible and comfortable with uncertainty. (Something that doesn’t come easy for us as type A planners!)
4. Perfection is the enemy of good. In times like this, sometimes good is good enough.
5. When done the right way, Virtual Open Houses can be very successful! For an example, check out the recent webinar by Maggie Jackson from the Hawken School where she shared advice, checklists, and other resources on hosting virtual events.
6. Rehearsals for ANY virtual event (or any part of the process that is new and different) are essential—practice, practice, and practice. Have someone from your admission team attend the event to experience it from the perspective of an applicant.
7. While we have had to shift away from some familiar everyday practices and are "losing" some pieces of our process, we are also gaining new information that is equally important. As an example, a child can perform a song on the piano for an admissions team member over Zoom.
8. Many schools are focused on equity as a top priority and are moving to test-optional – a move they may have wanted to make for years.
9. Schools are collaborating like never before. Admission directors are coming together in their regions worldwide to come up with solutions to various challenges collectively. As just one example, Boston Area Lower School Admission & Enrollment Professionals have created a Virtual Evaluation for PreK & K applicants, which can be recorded by the child's parents/guardian at home.
10. More than ever before, it is imperative that schools communicate clearly and articulate their value. Many schools have had to dig deep and think clearly about the top one or two things they do really well.

Questions remain for all of us, and we will continue to come together to support one another during our monthly Conversations with Colleagues. We’ll continue to ask ourselves, "How do we capture the school's ’feel’ and culture virtually? How do we retain families who joined us in the fall as potentially ’temporary’ students? Are we selling our pre-COVID school, our current school operating during a pandemic, or the post-COVID school?” 

One thing is for sure, admission and enrollment professionals are essential workers. Keep going. Keep leaning on each other. Stay calm and enroll on. Thank you for all you are doing for your schools and the children and families you serve!