Monday, March 28, 2011

GreenMount School Growing In The Face of Declining Enrollments

Two years ago the GreenMount School invested in a study to determine our sustainability and how we could be better at attracting families. The result of the study indicated that our best tool for letting the public know who we are is good old word-of-mouth advertising. We knew that most of our students had come here because families talked to each other and in most cases had good things to say about their children's experiences at our school. The year before that study we had 68 students enrolled in grades 1-8. Today we are looking at starting the next school year with nearly 100. This dramatic growth occurred because we added a kindergarten and we enriched our ability to communicate our mission, vision, values, and goals. In a time when most private schools are facing unprecedented declines in enrollment, we are certainly bucking that trend. Part of the reason for our success is the fact that in addition to the unique curriculum we offer that helps to create students that are leaners rather than learned, we offer all of this at substantially lower tuition rates than other independent schools. We are in a good place today. But that does not guarantee that we will retain our enviable position. For to do that, we must also retain the students that we have. Families today are very cognizant of the need for their children to learn competitively and to be well prepared for the next step in the educational process. Our focus today is on the curriculum and making sure that it is meaningful, authentic and engaging. Changes will occur at GreenMount over the next few years. We continually access our use of space, our technology needs and what learning processes our students are gaining. The focus of each professional development meeting every Friday afternoon is on supporting our philosophy and making sure that we are providing the best instructional program we can. As an AIMS school we are proud of our short, but successful heritage. However, we will not rest on our laurels and be content with our program. The world is moving too fast to remain idling. The GreenMount School is in "drive" and we will continue to improve every day. Our mantra: "Win small, win early, win often". Ask a GreenMountaineer about our school and visit to see for yourself.