We are gearing up for a steering committee meeting today in the strategic planning process for Carlisle School in Southern Virginia. And, how's this for a greeting back to campus?
Freshly Minted Strategic Plans for St. Andrew's and Derryfield
ISA is pleased to share two freshly minted strategic plans from our clients. Each of these plans have just launched in the fall and winter of 2013-14 and feature some very interesting key initiatives.
Strive for the Highest - Advancing the Queen's Vision for Today's Hawai'i
The St. Andrew's Schools in Honolulu, Hawaii launched their strategic plan to much fanfare in September. Part of their initiatives included the birth of a co-located elementary (lower) school for boy's, as well as an online initiative called iPriory and an extended campus initiative called Priory in the City. Read their strategic plan here in PDF file format.
Leading Lives of Passion and Purpose
The Derryfield School in Manchester, New Hampshire launched their strategic plan just last month, in January, with a campus community evening. Thematically organized around key initiatives spanning alumni engagement to new master planning facilities, Derryfield has built perhaps their most ambitious strategic plan in decades. Read their strategic plan here in PDF format.
ISA completes roughly eight to ten strategic plans per year on behalf of our clients. Each strategic plan is highly distinctive, with unique initiatives that match the needs of each client and their operating and competitive context. And, each strategic plan features a different launch strategy and communications cycle, often leading to a capital campaign. We post recently completed plans on our blog as part of our normal communication.
Ed-Activists and Peaceful Revolutions
Ian keynoted at the Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy Odyssey Fundraiser Luncheon yesterday at the Chattanooga Convention Center. His topic focused on education as a tool of social transformation and as the primary success factor for solving poverty. Charging community leaders and attendees who support the school as "ed-activists who were waging a peaceful revolution on poverty", Ian laid out research on the individual and community benefits to educational attainment.
The luncheon was the fifth annual benefit for CGLA. Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy opened five years as a charter school serving girls from the inner city. The curriculum has a high focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) and sends nearly 100% of its students - most of whom emerge from low socioeconomic groups - to college. A surprise appearance from country star Jimmy Wayne, who has his own story of overcoming poverty, ended the event. Check out his performance with some members of the CGLA choir below.
Ian to Speak on Education and Poverty
Ian will be speaking at the Odyssey Luncheon for the Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy on Tuesday at noon EST. His topic: "Education as the Agent of Social Change". The event will be live broadcasted on local PBS TV, and the video will be posted on our website after the event. You can follow along on Tuesday by following the hashtag #justcause on your Twitter feed.
For more information about Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy, please take a moment to check out the video above about this remarkable school.
SAIS Interview - Q & A on Leadership with Ian
The Southern Association of Independent Schools has posted an interview with Ian on leadership trends and issues. The interview precedes the SAIS Heads Leadership Retreat on April 6 and 7 in Charleston, South Carolina.
- To read the article, please click here.
- To register for the Heads Leadership Retreat, please click here.
- To view the video promo on the retreat, please click here.
University School of Milwaukee Names Enrollment Manager
University School of Milwaukee names new Director of Enrollment Management
Eric Peters, Director of Admissions and Financial aid at The Tatnall School in Wilmington, has accepted the position of Director of Enrollment Management at University School of Milwaukee in Milwaukee, WI. Eric, a native of Wisconsin, will be in effect, coming home.
"I have wanted to work for University School of Milwaukee for a long time. In my view, it's the top high school in the state as evidenced by their profile".
Eric brings to the position ten years of Independent school admission and administration experience in both a day and boarding setting.
How Symbols Reflect Campus Culture and Shape Communication
I have been reflecting a lot lately on the impact of symbolism on communication. I think we often underestimate the power of simple symbols in our campus culture and what they communicate to people about our shared belief system. And, as I often find, subtle symbolism on school campus actually overrides or conflicts with the marketing messages that the school or college is projecting.
Walk on any school or college campus and you will quickly get a feel for the culture of the place, but it is likely not just from words spoken. If you pay just a little bit of attention, you can pick up icons, symbols, and other visual expressions of culture just by walking around snapping a few photos or videos. For example, a campus with really poor or aging navigational signage might have a hard time reinforcing a marketing message that it is an open and inviting community to all. Or, a campus with a very formal communication interaction or style between faculty and students may have a hard time building a credible marketing message of student-centeredness. My favorite examples are schools and colleges that really focus on a message of socioeconomic diversity yet create feelings of exclusivity in the way they dress their campus imagery, from facilities to facades to campus entrances.
I encourage you to take a walk around your campus with a newcomer, a first time visitor, and ask them what they "see" and what it communicates to them when walking around campus. You might be surprised that some of the marketing messages your campus has been working so hard upon are being eroded by subtle symbolism. And, you might find some interesting ways to reinforce some of your key messages with more intentional symbolism.
Foothills School Selects ISA for Strategic Planning
Foothills School in Boise, Idaho has selected ISA for research and strategic planning services. Our work will commence in February with research that informs the strategic planning process.
Foothills School of Arts and Sciences is the oldest independent preschool through 9th grade school in Idaho’s Treasure Valley. Opening its doors in 1992 to 12 students, and having grown to more than 150 students in preschool through 9th grade today, the school prides itself on having a challenging and inquiry-based curriculum that meets students' individual learning needs. Foothills School maintains a commitment to small class sizes, ensuring that all members of our learning community get to know each other well.
Position Opportunity: St. Andrew's Schools - Honolulu
St. Andrew’s Schools, located in Honolulu, HI seeks a highly motivated professional to serve as the school's Director of Enrollment Management. The Director will provide the school’s broad strategic leadership of enrollment planning, and will serve as the point of integration for recruitment, admissions, financial aid, information management, reenrollment, and retention functions of the school. The Director is a senior level position, serving on the school’s Core Administrative Team, and reporting to the Head of School.
Established 1867, St. Andrews Priory has earned a reputation as one of Hawai‘i’s premier college preparatory programs for girls, graduating confident and articulate young women who go on to achieve greatness—in Hawaii and around the world. Through the recent inception of St. Andrew’s Preparatory School for Boys, The St. Andrew’s Schools opens a new chapter on academic excellence for Hawai‘i and the nation. Queen Emma Preschool is the third of St. Andrews Schools divisions. It offers a high quality, developmentally appropriate curriculum with knowledgeable staff that offers quality adult/child interactions in a safe and nurturing environment.
The Director of Enrollment Management will serve as the chief enrollment officer for all of the St. Andrews divisions. The Director will serve as the chief point of integration in all strategic areas of enrollment management functions. This position is essential in executing the strategic development of an advanced, integrated enrollment unit. The Director will play a key role in articulating the strategic enrollment management philosophy of the school and collaborating with other departments in its proper execution.
For a full position description, please click here.
Roanoke College: The Anatomy of a Brand
When you are a small, private, liberal arts college of just over 2000 students, how do you differentiate yourself in a competitive landscape of colleges with international brands, national selectivity, and NCAA division one athletics? That was our challenge with Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia a few years back. We completed a CASE award winning campaign with our strategic communications partner Robert Rytter that, in the end, launched a brand that drove demand, applications, and interest in the college. It also solidified a market position and set of brand attributes that drove communication with stakeholders.
Our comprehensive research process demonstrated that this small private college competed on the front line with the likes of Virginia Tech, University of Virginia, James Madison University, and The College of William and Mary, to name a few. What we learned is that Roanoke was the only college that shared three brand attributes that no other competitor could claim. They included a classic college setting (it feels like a movie set for how college should look), learning first hand (including research opportunities for underclassmen), and an intimate community that focuses only on residential undergraduates (no graduate students). Armed with our results, our strategic marketing plan produced a positioning strategy, communication and brand recommendations, and a world of creativity from the Rytter team.
Perhaps most interesting was the brand launch. A college with great spirit but void of a mascot, Roanoke branded a website - classiccollege.com - where stakeholders could upload suggestions on the first mascot for the college. Peppered with "failed auditions" of classic American icons, like this Vanilla Ice lookalike below, the website featured student talent in vignettes about classic college concepts. This microsite drove interest among alumni, students, faculty, and even prospective students alike, and pushed the new brand into existence. Check out the other videos at the site.
Four Parameters to Do Anything Strategic
Why should one priority show up in your strategic plan, while another was pushed aside by the steering committee? We find that creating the proper rationale for doing anything strategic is something that many schools and colleges struggle with during planning processes. As a result, we have found that focusing on at least one or more critical parameters that a strategic priority must address can help focus your plan on the most important goals. Here they are in no particular order.
- Missional Mandate - A strategic goal must be in the plan because your mission mandates it, regardless of marketplace or revenue opportunities.
- Competitive Imperative - The competitive environment dictates this priority if your school or college wishes to remain competitive.
- Revenue Driver - Your school or college can make revenue in this venture.
- Element of Distinction - Adding a specific strategic goal will make your school or college more distinctive in the marketplace of sameness.
Make sure your priorities are grounded in at least one, if not more, than each of these parameters. Balance is also important. It is not helpful to have a handful of initiatives that all meet missional mandates, or only a set of initiatives that drive revenue. Balance across these four priorities helps keep a strategic plan balanced.
Ian to Lead SAIS Leadership Conference (VIDEO)
Join Ian and leaders across the Southeast and the nation as we gather in Charleston, South Carolina on April 6 and 7 to discuss the development, growth, and impact of leaders. For more information, or to register, visit the SAIS website here.
Enrollment Feasibility Studies
Over the course of the past several years, we have had several requests to complete market research regarding enrollment. Certainly, the downward spiking of the economy over the last five years has prompted such requests, as independent schools and private colleges seek to ascertain enrollment viability from their service areas. Often, we call these studies enrollment feasibility programs, and deliver them within the course of completing a strategic marketing project.
Is it possible to understand the viability and sustainability of enrollment for a given private school or college? We believe that it is possible as long as a very specific methodology is followed. We believe there are three critical data points to complete a successful enrollment feasibility study. They include:
1) A clear understanding of the current mission appropriate audiences at the school or college, as well as their decision set and information sources which influenced their enrollment. This often includes a sophisticated market segmentation analysis of current audiences.
2) A clear picture of the service area around the institution, it's competitor environment, and the market segmentation and demographic projections within that service area. This allows the school to examine different market segments, total capacity in the service area and system for enrollment, yielding proper penetration rates and projections for the school or college.
3) A clear understanding of marketing communications program – as well as strategic enrollment management function - of the organization. This helps us understand to what extent these functions of been leveraged to bring about enrollment sustainability.
When analyzed collectively, these three components give us a solid picture of the viability and sustainability of enrollments, opportunities for growth, and projections for the future. The challenge, as with most research projects, is gathering the right data and having access to the right tools. Because we do similar processes on a regular basis, we have a very clear understanding of the methodology and access to the right data and research inputs, giving us clear picture for a school or college with which we serve.
ISA Announces "Just Cause" Talk
Ian will be featured as the keynote speaker at the 5th Annual Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy Odyssey on February 11th. The Odyssey is the premier annual fundraiser for the charter school that proves access to high quality education to distressed students in Chattanooga. Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy is the focus of our Just Cause campaign this year, as we are delivering strategic planning and research services to the school.
Ian's talk - "Education as an Instrument of Social Change" - will highlight data that demonstrates education as a proven recipe for breaking cycles of injustice, poverty, and inequality. His talk will be featured on PBS in the Chattanooga region and will be available immediately on our website after the talk.
Happy Holidays from ISA
ISA wishes you the very best of the holiday season. In an effort to afford ourselves the opportunity to refresh and reflect, ISA will be closed from December 23rd through January 3rd. During this time, ISA staff members will be checking email, voicemail, and our Basecamp collaboration feeds only periodically. We wish you a safe and enjoyable holiday season and look forward to our work together in the New Year!
The Phases of Research
We throw around the concept of research to make informed decision making in our strategic discussions all the time. But, what do we really mean when we use the word research? It is a concept that is discussed widely and broadly but sometimes it is a science that is misunderstood. Let's pull it apart.
There are four phases to research that we believe are really important. The final phase is the most important to formulating strategy. They are:
1) Data - Raw or native information gathered for purposes of analysis is called data.
2) Information - Data that has been organized into meaningful sets is called information.
3) Insight - Information that has been properly analyzed can reveal insight.
4) Actionable Insight - The nirvana of research is actionable insight, where meaningful insight turns into a strategy or direction.
Research rarely jumps off the page and tells you where to go or what to do. But, actionable insight can provide the needed lens to use research to move forward. Data, information, and even analysis can be useful, but only when they produce actionable insight can you move an organization forward through thoughtful strategies.
ISA Update on Email Servers
ISA has examined our email servers issues and solved earlier issues. As a result, we migrated all ISA staff to Gmail accounts this morning. The proper Gmail accounts are found on the bio page of each ISA staff member. These can be easily located on the ISA Team page in our main navigation structure.
ISA Experiencing Email Outages
As of 8:25 AM Pacific time, ISA was experiencing some email outages on our iansymmonds.com email server. Our email service provider has been notified and the issue is in process of being addressed. We will post a follow-up note when we have a final solution to this issue. If you need to reach an associate immediately, please call us at our toll free number at 888-334-6078.
Note to clients: Our Basecamp client collaboration software or toll-free phone numbers are not impacted by this outage.
Baker Selects ISA
Baker Demonstation School has selected Ian Symmonds & Associates for strategic planning commencing in January. The Chicagoland school is located in Wilmette, Illinois.
Baker Demonstration School is an independent coeducational school, serving toddler through eighth grade children, dedicated to creating well-rounded students through the principles of progressive education.
ISA Adds New Team Member
We are pleased to announce that Kirsten Williams has joined the ISA team. Kirsten recently joined Ian Symmonds & Associates, assisting front office duties, handling project research, and conducting client management. Her background in process engineering brings an organized approach to all projects and her extensive project management and documentation experience carries over to researching, analyzing, and editing reports and presentations for ISA.
Kirsten holds a B.S. in Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering from Oregon State University. She worked for over a decade in the past-paced high tech and computer industry. She and her husband Paul keep busy raising 4 daughters in Portland, Oregon.