33 PR Tips – part I – Policy

Policy: What are your primary PR goals?

1. Recruitment?
2. Retention?
3. Credibility?
4. Parent Loyalty?

Who are your competitors?
5. Are they other yeshivot and day schools?
6. Are they public schools?
7. Are they elite private and independent schools?
8. Look at your answers to the above six questions and then ask yourself: does your PR address your challenges consistently?
9. If you need to recruit: does your PR calendar consider admissions, Open House, and enrollment schedules? A huge PR blast highlighting your strengths AFTER enrollment deadlines wastes time, effort, and money.
10. If you lose students at specific grades, for example, middle school, your PR needs to focus on specific skills gained during those grades that will not be mastered by students who opt out.
11. If you compete with independent schools, you need to make the case for Jewish day school education on a regular basis. Highlighting your excellent secular education will not suffice. You must document how your students thrive in the secular world as educated, committed, proud Jews.
12. If you compete with other yeshivot, you need to address concerns that keep potential parents up at night. How does your school address those issues in ways that your competitors do not? How do you differ from your competitors?
13.  Are you complacent? Don’t be. A few years ago, I spoke with a principal who said, “Our classes are full, so we don’t need PR. Sadly, the school didn’t care about its image or the way parents were treated… until another day school opened in the neighborhood.”

Click here to read 33 PR Tips – part II

PR that is guided by a carefully articulated plan, will hit the target! If you have any questions about laser-targeted PR please feel free to send me an email or call 516.569.8070.

Kol tuv,

Candace Plotsker-Herman