Purpose
This framework exists to solve one problem: enrollment outcomes across your network are inconsistent because there is no shared system. Some schools hustle and fill seats. Others struggle. The difference is rarely effort. It is almost always process.
This document gives every school in the network a single, repeatable enrollment system. It is designed so that school leaders do not need to invent their own approach. The decisions have already been made. Schools just need to execute.
How This Framework Works
Every school follows the same five-phase cycle, regardless of grade band (K-5, 6-8, 9-12). Each phase has defined activities, timelines, and metrics. The only things that change by school are the local details: community partners, feeder patterns, and event dates.
The five phases:
- Pipeline - Build a list of prospective families
- Convert - Move prospects from interest to application
- Close - Get accepted families to complete enrollment
- Retain - Keep enrolled students through the school year
- Measure - Track what is working and fix what is not
Phase 1: Pipeline
Goal: Build a steady flow of prospective families into the enrollment funnel year-round, not just during enrollment season.
Required Activities
Digital presence (ongoing):
- School website has a working inquiry form above the fold on the homepage
- Google Business Profile is claimed, accurate, and has recent photos
- School runs at least one paid social media campaign per enrollment cycle targeting families within a 5-mile radius
- All digital ads drive to a landing page with an inquiry form (not the school homepage)
Community outreach (monthly):
- Attend or host at least one community event per month (farmers market booth, library story time, community center table, church partnership)
- Maintain a list of at least 10 active community partners (daycares, pediatricians, barber shops, churches, community organizations) who display school materials
- Distribute physical materials (flyers, door hangers) within a 3-mile radius at least twice per enrollment cycle
Referral system (ongoing):
- Every current family receives a referral ask at least twice per year (fall and spring)
- Referral incentive is clearly communicated (school swag, recognition, priority sibling enrollment)
- Staff referrals are also tracked and recognized
What Schools Do NOT Need to Decide
- What the inquiry form looks like (template provided)
- What the landing page says (template provided)
- What flyers and materials say (templates provided)
- Which social media platforms to use (Facebook and Instagram, pre-built ad templates provided)
- How to track inquiries (standard CRM or spreadsheet tracker provided)
Key Metric
Monthly new inquiries. Target: at least 20 new inquiries per month during enrollment season (varies by school size; see appendix for targets by capacity).
Phase 2: Convert
Goal: Move every inquiry to a completed application within 14 days.
Required Activities
Speed to contact:
- Every new inquiry gets a personal phone call within 24 hours (not just an email)
- If no answer, a text message is sent within 2 hours of the missed call
- A follow-up sequence runs automatically: Day 1 call, Day 1 text, Day 3 email, Day 5 call, Day 7 text, Day 10 final outreach
Tour experience:
- Every interested family is offered a tour within 5 business days of inquiry
- Tours follow a standard script (provided) that covers the school's value proposition in 3 key points
- Tours end with the family sitting down to start the application on the spot (device provided)
- If an in-person tour is not possible, a virtual tour option is always available
Application support:
- Families who start but do not complete an application receive a follow-up call within 48 hours
- Common barriers (document collection, language, technology access) are anticipated and addressed proactively
- Translation support is available for the top 3 languages spoken in the school's community
What Schools Do NOT Need to Decide
- What the follow-up sequence looks like (pre-built and automated)
- What to say on the tour (script provided)
- How to track application status (standard tracker provided)
- When to follow up with incomplete applications (automated reminders)
Key Metrics
- Inquiry-to-tour rate.
- Tour-to-application rate.
- Time from inquiry to completed application. Target: 14 days or fewer.
Phase 3: Close
Goal: Every accepted family completes enrollment paperwork and shows up on Day 1.
Required Activities
Acceptance communication:
- Acceptance notification goes out within 48 hours of lottery/decision
- Notification includes a clear checklist of next steps with deadlines
- A "welcome call" happens within 72 hours of acceptance, from someone at the school (not a robo-call)
Enrollment completion:
- Families receive a step-by-step enrollment packet (physical and digital) with every required document listed
- An enrollment completion event is held where families can come in, get help with paperwork, and meet staff
- Families who have not completed enrollment by the 2-week mark get a personal call from school leadership
Summer engagement (for fall enrollees):
- At least 2 touchpoints between enrollment and the first day of school
- Options: summer mailer, welcome video from the principal, back-to-school supply pickup, new family orientation
- Families receive a "What to expect on Day 1" communication 1 week before school starts
What Schools Do NOT Need to Decide
- What the acceptance notification says (template provided)
- What the enrollment checklist includes (standard checklist provided, customizable for state requirements)
- How many summer touchpoints to do (minimum 2, playbook provided)
- What the Day 1 communication says (template provided)
Key Metrics
- Acceptance-to-enrollment rate.
- Day 1 show rate.
Phase 4: Retain
Goal: Keep every enrolled student through the full school year and re-enrolled for the next year.
Required Activities
Early warning system:
- Track attendance weekly. Any student below the attendance threshold in a given month triggers outreach
- Track parent engagement (event attendance, communication responses). Disengaged families get a check-in call
- New students get a 30-day check-in call: "How is everything going? Is your child adjusting well?"
Family experience:
- At least one family appreciation event per quarter (not a fundraiser, a genuine appreciation moment)
- Parent satisfaction survey administered twice per year (fall and spring) with results reviewed by leadership
- Concerns raised in surveys or conversations are followed up on within 1 week
Re-enrollment:
- Re-enrollment campaign begins in January for the following year
- Current families get "intent to return" forms by February
- Families who indicate they may leave get a personal conversation with a school leader
- Sibling enrollment is proactively offered to every family with younger children
What Schools Do NOT Need to Decide
- What the attendance threshold is for outreach (pre-set)
- When to start re-enrollment (January, pre-set)
- What the parent survey asks (standard survey provided)
- What the 30-day check-in script says (script provided)
Key Metrics
- Annual student retention rate.
- Re-enrollment intent rate (by February).
- Mid-year withdrawal rate.
Phase 5: Measure
Goal: Know exactly where the funnel is leaking and fix it in real time.
Required Activities
Weekly tracking:
- Every school updates a shared enrollment dashboard weekly (template provided)
- Dashboard tracks: total inquiries, tours scheduled, tours completed, applications submitted, applications completed, acceptances, enrollment completions, Day 1 attendance
Monthly review:
- School leader and enrollment point person review the dashboard monthly
- Network enrollment lead (you) reviews all school dashboards monthly and flags schools that are off-target
- Schools below target on any metric get a support call with specific action steps
Enrollment season post-mortem:
- After each enrollment cycle, every school completes a brief retrospective (template provided)
- Network compiles lessons learned and updates the framework annually
What Schools Do NOT Need to Decide
- What to track (pre-defined metrics)
- What the dashboard looks like (template provided)
- When to review data (weekly updates, monthly reviews, pre-set)
Key Metrics
- Funnel conversion rates at each stage
- Enrollment vs. capacity.
- Cost per enrolled student. Track to optimize marketing spend.
Implementation Timeline
Toolkit (Templates Provided Separately)
- Inquiry form template (web and paper)
- Landing page copy template
- Social media ad templates (3 variations)
- Flyer and door hanger templates
- Follow-up sequence scripts (call, text, email for each stage)
- Tour script
- Application tracker spreadsheet
- Acceptance notification template
- Enrollment checklist (customizable by state)
- Summer engagement playbook
- 30-day new family check-in script
- Parent satisfaction survey
- Re-enrollment campaign playbook
- Weekly enrollment dashboard template
- Post-mortem retrospective template
The Guiding Principle
Every piece of this framework exists to remove the question "What should we do?" from the school level. The answer is already here. Schools execute. The network supports. Enrollment grows.