Do you know how to keep current and potential parents informed about everything going on at your school during breaks or the out-of-touch summer months?
It’s easy; just use your school website.
See, your school’s website should be the first place parents check when they need information about your school. Since your administrative team will be limited during holidays and the summer, parents need to rely on this source of information to stay in the loop when they’re not face-to-face with teachers and admin.
Having all this intel readily available online will make returning back to school a breeze for parents, teachers, and students alike.
Plus, since summer is the best time to boost your school’s enrollment numbers, you really want your website to make an impression during this critical window when you’re not around to handle walk-ins.
New parents and potential students will be browsing your school’s website to see if they connect with your school’s message, mission, and outlook. You don’t want them to see outdated content when they land on your page.
These reasons (and more we’ll get into later) all make solid arguments for why you should always keep your school website updated, regardless of if school’s in session. Today we’re going to show you how to do that the easy way.
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Make Your School Website the #1 Destination for Information
As we discussed in our post about how to stay in touch with parents during the summer, your email newsletter is the best tool your school can use to keep parents in the loop when you’re not around.
Use your email newsletter to send reminders about upcoming deadlines, exciting events, and other tidbits and details.
Unfortunately, after parents read these newsletters, they’ll have to dig through their email inbox to find them again if they need to check a date or seek clarification.
So make it easy for parents by updating your school website with essential information, such as:
Important Dates/Details for the Upcoming School Year
Don’t neglect your website’s calendar just because school’s not in session.
Most parents only think they need to know the date their kids (finally) go back to school, but your administrative team knows that’s not always the case.
Parents also need to know the deadline to register, which vaccinations their student is required to have, the PTA meeting schedule, summer team tryout times and locations, and the list goes on. Keep your calendar updated with this information so parents always have a reliable reference.
If your school policies are changing—like if you’re switching uniform companies—create a bold announcement on your website so parents can’t miss it.
Special Events & Volunteer Opportunities
In addition to all your academic and athletic events, don’t forget to add dates for special events and volunteer opportunities to your school calendar.
Giving parents and students information about these activities during a break, when they’re not overwhelmed during the hectic school year, makes it simple to plan ahead. People will be excited for the event and not stressed when it creeps up on the calendar—a surefire way to increase your event attendance numbers.
Summer/Holiday Activities in the Area
If you know that your neighborhood is home to the best sprinkler park in the tri-state area, or the scariest autumn hay-ride, consider adding a fun ‘Local Activities’ section to your school’s website.
Parents are always looking for family activities to do in the neighborhood—especially when the kids aren’t in school and they’re bounding with energy.
By highlighting kid-friendly local events and places, you’re establishing trust and authority in the eyes of your parents and they’ll look to you for more spot-on recommendations.
Upgrade Your Forms for the Digital World
Instead of sending home a giant packet of forms for parents to fill out—for every student they have enrolled at your school no less—it’s time to update this process for the digital world we’re living in.
Forms to Fill Out Before the First Day of School
Don’t let your administrative team get stuck under a pile of forms on the first day back to school. Like so many other services you probably already use, your school has the power to go paperless.
Here’s the best part: When your parents submit these forms, they’re automatically organized into an easy-to-read spreadsheet for your administration team.
This makes searching for specific information about students as easy as performing a Google search.
Summer/Winter Reading Lists
Ask your teachers to email their summer or winter break reading lists to your administrative team before the break so you can upload them to your school’s website.
Create a new page, title it Downloadable/Printable Summer Reading Lists, and make it easy for parents to find.
Here you’ll add links separated by classes and grades. For example:
- Summer Reading List – Grade 7
- Summer Reading List – Grade 7 – Honors
When parents click on these links, they’ll have the option to simply view the reading list in their browser (to order books online) or download and print the list to take to the library.
Instead of waiting for the summer reading lists to arrive in the mail—or hoping students don’t lose the paper copies they’re given before the end of the school year—you can add these links to your site before the summer so parents and students have time to coordinate book readings.
School Supplies Lists
Most students are given a list of classroom supplies parents will need to donate, such as tissues, paper towels, crayons, etc., on their first day back to school.
Brainstorm with your teachers and create one general ‘Back to School Supply List’ per every grade or age range. Post this list online so students come prepared on day one.
Focus on Enrollment
Summer is the best time to ramp up your school’s enrollment numbers. Parents are more likely to start their child at a new school at the beginning of the school year than transfer them mid-year.
This means your website needs to make enrollment a top priority.
Go to your school’s website and ask yourself, How would I get more information about enrolling?
The answer should be glaringly obvious as you should have a large banner, button, or separate page leading to this information. Parents of potential students shouldn’t have to spend more than 5 seconds on your homepage to figure out how to enroll or find information about enrolling.
But your website probably already has that covered, right?
Now it’s time to set your school apart from the others.
Schedule Social Media Posts
In our article about how to boost enrollment numbers during the summer months, we stressed how essential it is to keep up with your school’s social media plan during summer and other breaks
This includes everything from blog posts, Facebook updates, link sharing on Twitter, picture-tagging on Instagram, and even your newsletter to a degree.
You want your school to remain present in your followers’ lives, as all the other pages they follow will continue to post. If you drop off, your school’s account will be out of sight and out of mind for most parents and students.
Create light-hearted posts like “The 10 Best Summer Sunset Views” in your neighborhood or “How to Take a Holiday Vacation that Won’t Break the Bank”, and schedule them to launch on a consistent basis while you’re away.
Potential parents and students will be thrilled with all the useful and relevant content you’re providing for free regularly, plus it also shows how connected and modern your school is. Parents won’t wait to dive in.
Student/Teacher Profiles
Your students and teachers are the best salespeople when it comes to winning the trust of potential parents and students.
Before the start of the school year (or via email during the summer), select a few interesting, high-achieving, noteworthy students and teachers to profile.
Create a light read that highlights what attracted them to your school, how your school is helping them further their education/talent, their plans/ideas for the future, a day-in-the-life piece, etc.
Your goal should be establishing a relatable perspective that shows parents and students that they’ll fit in with your school.
Simplify the process by adding digital forms parents can fill out to start the enrollment process on their time.
While that may seem like a lot of tasks to accomplish, just remember to concentrate on three big areas of your website: delivering updated information to parents, adding digital forms to your website, and beefing up your enrollment content.
Follow these tips and you’ll have a school website that’s back to school ready.
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