The Challenge: This leading Boston preschool/elementary school had stalled in the middle of its 10-year growth plan. The most dramatic steps of the plan were upon them—physical expansion, increasing enrollment, and raising an endowment. But administration and parent leaders alike were unsure what these changes meant in terms of cost, competition, and the core school values.

Our Findings: We found families were much less concerned about tangible aspects of their children’s school, like tuition, location and facilities. Rather, the conversation turned to the development, happiness, and success of their children. Parents also opened up about their own unspoken insecurities, specifically surrounding parenting. They revealed they were looking for guidance from the Montessori-trained faculty.

Our Strategy: Armed with these insights, school leaders immediately reframed how they presented the school to current and prospective families. They adopted new, child-centered language that immediately moved parents (“My Precious Child”) and gently offered guidance surrounding parent’s insecurities. They rolled out a new communications strategy and remodeled the parent/teacher conference to better demonstrate a full knowledge of each student. Speakers who could address both parent and student needs were scheduled.

The Results: The school expanded enrollment, took on additional space and completed its first capital campaign. All this while maintaining high retention, best-in-class standardized test scores and excellent placement. The school has found our insights so useful that they continue to turn to us whenever an issue requires more understanding. Resonance provided continuing insight regarding tuition levels, next-school placement and organizational chart restructuring.