Today, most schools are feeling the passion and some intrusion from parents happy to be back on campus, and they are even more engaged in trying to influence schools to support the education of their children. For the parents of independent and international schools, that sense of entitlement is even stronger when tuition rises over $50,000 for some day schools in major metropolitan areas. However, all these parents are making a significant investment of their money and time no matter what the cost.

We tend to think of parents as clients. However, we need to think about them more as partners than as pure consumers of a school’s educational product.

One major and often overlooked way to do this is to engage parents as passionate advocates of your school. All parents have some issues with their child’s school but once they have made the investment, they are far more likely to sell the school to friends and neighbors rather than complain, IF the school demonstrates a willingness to listen to them.

If properly trained, parents have the potential to be more than tour guides and volunteers for a parents’ association. They can be mobilized as sophisticated representatives who may send positive messages that offset damaging rumors, help get ahead of a PR crisis, and provide marketing, design, and tech skills that exceed the school’s resources.

The methods, timeframes, and strategies for engaging, motivating, and mobilizing parents to boost admissions interest and to help create solid wait lists are not complicated. However, they do occur in sequence: listening first and asking for support; next tapping into occupational skill sets; next motivating the parents and making them feel truly needed, next recognizing and celebrating their successes and hard work; and finally training them to want to continue and become recruiters and leaders of the next generation of volunteer parents.

Parent admissions ambassadors can eventually become annual giving ambassadors. The growth, enthusiasm and professional development of these parents and families can have a powerful impact. Littleford & Associates has helped to build parent volunteer structures supporting marketing and fund-raising efforts for many schools worldwide.