By Nancy Greene, The Bolles School
A funny thing happens when parents get our re-enrollment email in December. Sometimes it ends up on social media — in a positive way — along with messages like “I’m so proud my child attends this school.” One parent wrote the most amazing testimonial last year, ending with: “Was Bolles really life changing for our daughter? You bet it was! Was it worth every single penny we spent? Absolutely! It was the best decision that our family could have made and we are so glad that we did. Thanks for allowing our daughter the opportunity to attend such a fabulous school. It was an amazing experience for us all.”
Maybe it’s obvious that our re-enrollment letter doesn’t focus on the tuition price. In fact, it doesn’t even mention the amount or percentage change from the year before, though it does link to the new rates as well as enrollment forms. Instead, Head of School Dave Farace writes to highlight certain successes the school and its students and graduates have had in the last year, to draw attention to further improvements to look forward to, and to thank parents for continuing to invest in The Bolles School for their sons and daughters. Each point supports the school’s motto, All Things Possible, which Dave also weaves into the letter.
I would get this letter and think, “This is great. You don’t focus on the money because that shouldn’t be the focus. The focus should be on the value of what we’re doing!”
We implemented this change a few years ago. Our letters never did mention actual tuition amounts, but they were pretty generic and impersonal. I kind of stole the idea from Elon University, where my daughter went to college. In his re-enrollment letters, President Leo Lambert wrote about things like new programs and campus growth and focused on the essence of the school: Engaged Learning. These campus highlights tied back to how the students would be impacted and how their opportunities for engaged learning would be enhanced. Often, he included a video too, which was awesome. I would get this letter and think, “This is great. You don’t focus on the money because that shouldn’t be the focus. The focus should be on the value of what we’re doing!”
At Bolles, each year’s re-enrollment letter is different, but we typically tease out highlights of student successes in several areas of accomplishment: academics; arts, athletics and community service; and further investments in students, programs and facilities. For instance, parents want to see how our students’ AP and SAT scores compare to other independent schools and the kinds of merit-based scholarships our last graduating class received. They know about their own child’s participation in sports, arts and community service, but it’s powerful to see that Bolles has well over 100 state titles in 15 different sports and holds yet more club-sponsored fundraising events for worthy organizations. They get an even better sense of where their money goes when they read about new program initiatives, faculty investments and facilities improvements.
In this year’s letter, we also underscore our ultimate mission — to prepare our graduates for further success — by telling families about how we had four gold medalists in the summer Olympics in Rio, at the same time as we had a Harvard rower in Rio conducting research to help solve the Zika virus. All Things Possible, right?
Parents appreciate that we don’t focus on tuition in the re-enrollment letter. They know it costs money, and they are accustomed to getting a 4 percent increase, give or take, each year. We see no need to put salt in the wound. From the positive reactions we receive, we feel strongly they want to read something positive first. We think this approach changes how they see the numbers when they sign the contract.
Nancy Greene is chief finance and operations officer at The Bolles School, a K-12 day-and-boarding school in Jacksonville, Florida, with 1,665 students.
Photo above: The Bolles School, which has four campuses in Jacksonville, Florida.
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