Introduction
School enrollment is now a zero-sum game, meaning that one districts gain is another district’s loss. Marketing for students is a reality in education today and is undoubtedly due to the economic pressures school districts are facing. This is especially true in an era of per pupil funding, school choice, and open enrollment which are driving competition between schools. In light of Michigan’s economic concerns, it has become increasingly critical that that districts are proactive and intentional in all they do to keep current families enrolled. Research shows it is more cost effective to retain a family than it is to recruit a new family (citation??))
According to Hesketh and Knight (1998) “if the workings of educational markets are to be understood, clusters of geographically close schools need to be studied” (21-36). Since students and their parents are free to choose from a range of schools, with either the proximity of the school or the availability of transportation options, the factors that influence parents and students to capitalize on this viability needs to be examined. (Whitty, G. 1997) As communities are enabled by district policies that allow students to choose from a range of schools, and the per-pupil funding they bring with them, it provides schools with the incentive to compete for enrollment. As a result, districts have begun examining various marketing strategies to in order to financially survive.
The first public school open enrollment program was introduced in Minnesota in 1988, and today, according to the Education Commission of the States, 36 states have voluntary interdistrict school choice programs. These programs give students opportunities to enroll in schools and/or districts outside of their neighborhoods. Studies show that students tend to move to districts with lower levels of poverty, higher median family income, and higher-than-average standardized test scores.
In Michigan and in most states, school funding is tied exclusively to the number of pupils enrolled, so many districts look at interdistrict choice as a way to increase revenues, Arsen says (Van Beek, M. 2013). In Michigan, the program is voluntary, allowing district officials to decide whether or not they will accept students who live outside their districts. The MDE reports that during the 2011-12 school year, about half of the 545 districts participated, with about 100,000 students attending schools outside their home districts. Over the past 10 years, the state has seen a nearly 150 percent participation rate increase.
According to Hesketh and Knight (1998) “if the workings of educational markets are to be understood, clusters of geographically close schools need to be studied” (21-36). Since students and their parents are free to choose from a range of schools, with either the proximity of the school or the availability of transportation options, the factors that influence parents and students to capitalize on this viability needs to be examined. (Whitty, G. 1997) As communities are enabled by district policies that allow students to choose from a range of schools, and the per-pupil funding they bring with them, it provides schools with the incentive to compete for enrollment. As a result, districts have begun examining various marketing strategies to in order to financially survive.
The first public school open enrollment program was introduced in Minnesota in 1988, and today, according to the Education Commission of the States, 36 states have voluntary interdistrict school choice programs. These programs give students opportunities to enroll in schools and/or districts outside of their neighborhoods. Studies show that students tend to move to districts with lower levels of poverty, higher median family income, and higher-than-average standardized test scores.
In Michigan and in most states, school funding is tied exclusively to the number of pupils enrolled, so many districts look at interdistrict choice as a way to increase revenues, Arsen says (Van Beek, M. 2013). In Michigan, the program is voluntary, allowing district officials to decide whether or not they will accept students who live outside their districts. The MDE reports that during the 2011-12 school year, about half of the 545 districts participated, with about 100,000 students attending schools outside their home districts. Over the past 10 years, the state has seen a nearly 150 percent participation rate increase.
A result of this increased competition among schools is that it has led schools to increase their focus on marketing their district to both keep current students, and attract new enrollments. This presents an issue for many districts as they are staffed with personnel whose speciality is education, not marketing, and many cannot afford the additional cost of hiring a marketing specialist or firm. However, the ability to control “the brand”, or public perception and image of a school and/or school district is incredibly important in today’s world, where a negative or inaccurate post to a social media site can go viral and have a tremendous impact on the public’s perception of a school, and therefore willingness to enroll in it.
An example of the profound effect that social media and marketing can have on an institution can be seen in the example of David Carroll, a musician, who wrote a song about his dealings with United Airlines. In 2008, Mr. Carroll was flying on United when another passenger was overheard to remark that the baggage handlers on the Tarmac were throwing guitars out of the plane. Sure enough, when Dave and his band members claimed their baggage, they discovered that their guitars were damaged. United, whose slogan is “fly the friendly skies” refused to compensate Dave and his band members for approximately $1,200 in damage, so the band did what all musicians hoping for a hit do, they wrote a song about their experiences and uploaded it to YouTube. The song went viral, with over one million hits in four days, and three million within two weeks, all while United refused to respond, and Dave was being asked for interviews. Eventually, United did try to strike a deal with Dave, but the damage had been done (Wilson, R. Sentium Strategic Communications)
This story involving United and their failure to adequately respond to a marketing crisis ties nicely to the scope of this action research project. As mentioned, schools are facing a marketing crisis in an era of decreasing funding and increasing choice. With most members of the public adopting digital ways to find, share and create information about schools, this study’s purpose is to analyze and interpret the marketing strategies of three demographically different school districts in metropolitan Detroit, MI; Grosse Pointe Public School System, Roseville Community School District, and the Troy School District, and identify any commonalities in successful school marketing that can benefit all schools.
An example of the profound effect that social media and marketing can have on an institution can be seen in the example of David Carroll, a musician, who wrote a song about his dealings with United Airlines. In 2008, Mr. Carroll was flying on United when another passenger was overheard to remark that the baggage handlers on the Tarmac were throwing guitars out of the plane. Sure enough, when Dave and his band members claimed their baggage, they discovered that their guitars were damaged. United, whose slogan is “fly the friendly skies” refused to compensate Dave and his band members for approximately $1,200 in damage, so the band did what all musicians hoping for a hit do, they wrote a song about their experiences and uploaded it to YouTube. The song went viral, with over one million hits in four days, and three million within two weeks, all while United refused to respond, and Dave was being asked for interviews. Eventually, United did try to strike a deal with Dave, but the damage had been done (Wilson, R. Sentium Strategic Communications)
This story involving United and their failure to adequately respond to a marketing crisis ties nicely to the scope of this action research project. As mentioned, schools are facing a marketing crisis in an era of decreasing funding and increasing choice. With most members of the public adopting digital ways to find, share and create information about schools, this study’s purpose is to analyze and interpret the marketing strategies of three demographically different school districts in metropolitan Detroit, MI; Grosse Pointe Public School System, Roseville Community School District, and the Troy School District, and identify any commonalities in successful school marketing that can benefit all schools.