A school’s reputation is everything. It shapes its future, drives enrollment, and keeps its energy and extra funds flowing. When performance is slipping—test scores down, attendance low, graduation rates dropping—word gets out and families start looking elsewhere. When that happens, enrollment falls, cash reserves dry up, and the cycle spirals down. But the reverse is also true—when a school’s reputation is up, parents talk positively and enrollment grows. Partnerships blossom, enthusiasm and optimism surround the staff and school. But what makes a school’s reputation, and how can a solid, data-enriched story build a compelling narrative that has people buzzing? Data can tell stories, and it’s up to you, school leaders, to tell those stories well. If you don’t, other people will tell them for you, and they may not show your school in flattering light.

Parents want their kids in schools where success feels inevitable, not just possible. They’re looking for evidence that their children will thrive, and charter schools often present themselves as an ideal option. But when a charter school starts showing underperformance in its public data, even if it offers many things that are difficult to measure, parents may start to question its value. For families who expect the best education within their reach, this can be a dealbreaker—and for the school, it can become a reputation problem. 

Here are three things a school can do to ensure it is promoting its reputation and expertly demonstrating its strengths.

Understand your public data.

Many people in schools don’t understand or even closely examine their school’s record. They think what is posted is in the past, and now it’s a new school year. But parents and community members are looking, so that means you need to be looking, too.  Look at your school’s report card. Study what it is really saying. Be prepared to answer questions about things like attendance measures, academic proficiency, academic growth, enrollment numbers, graduation rates. Know what they mean, and what parents and community members should know.

Outshine your school’s competition.

Charter schools exist in a competitive environment. Though you may not be thinking much about your competition from day to day, parents and community members are. Who are your competitors? Identify your school’s competition and study where they are doing well, and where your school may be doing better. Make a list of the things that you are doing better than the other schools around you. Put that list on your website, or at least have it handy to provide to parents when they inquire about your school. (Tip: Websites like Greatschools can identify schools that are nearby and similar to yours if you don’t have a list already. Draw a radius around your school from 1 to 3 miles—that’s your direct competition.) 

Be explicit about and highlight your school’s accomplishments.

School leaders are always looking for ways to talk about their schools’ and students’ accomplishments, like winning art competitions or competing in science fairs. However, these are often one-off events and rarely show the big picture. You need to tell a clear, concise story of success. Make a one-page document that you can distribute highlighting your school’s specific achievements in the past year or two. This should include both written statistics and colorful graphics to highlight accomplishments. Have it both printed and ready to send out in digital form. Give it to everyone in the school so they can share it with parents, friends, relatives. Remember, people are talking about your school—get them talking about things you want to highlight, using concrete data and visuals to connect your story.

If your school can do these three things:

• Develop a deep understanding of your public data and what it means,
• Identify your competition and highlight where your school provides concrete advantages and results over other schools, and
• Create accessible one-pagers of statistics that tell clear stories of successes over the past few years,

then you will be well on your way to generating telling the story of a school with a strong reputation.

If you need any assistance in putting any or all of these three things together to promote your school, the data experts at School Frontiers are here to help you. Just give us a call.