2010 NAPSEC Conference - Breakfast Roundtables
Internal Sustainability Discussion
Participants were asked whether the economy has had an impact on enrollment and if so, has there been an impact on human resources issues (salaries and benefits, recruiting and retention).
Enrollment - Three participants said that enrollment was down, one for the first time since the school began. The reasons cited were districts pulling their higher functioning students and money-driven placement decisions due to district budget shortfalls.
Salaries and benefits - three schools reported that they have experienced difficulties. One person said that his school did not give its annual holiday bonus. Another said that school directors had to take two weeks off without pay. A third indicated that they could not provide raises for staff.
Recruiting and Retention - three schools reported dismissing lower performing employees. One school opted for position elimination, which the teacher fought assuming that seniority was the primary factor in making staff layoffs. The other two schools terminated staff outright due to poor performance (employment at will). One participant commented that both approaches are valid as long as schools are consistent in following either position elimination or employment at will in their policies.
There was a discussion about the impact of terminations and layoffs on staff. One school, which had a high staff turnover rate, said that the firings sent a message and staff attendance improved. Another person stressed the importance of communicating with staff about what was going during the termination process. The group agreed that showing fairness and honesty with employees minimizes morale problems. One person mentioned that, by paying more attention to staff and adding a significant training component, staff turnover at his school dropped from 40 percent a decade ago to 4 percent today.
2nd Discussion - External Sustainability
Participants were asked how they approached fund development and public relations during difficult economic times. The group agreed that diversification was important. Schools must offer a variety of programs and tap into different streams of money. One person said that they operated a network of schools, behavioral clinics and a residential component. Another spoke of strategies to reduce administrative costs. A participant working at a for-profit school asked how his school could raise money? The group said that for-profit programs often form separate foundations to support their charitable efforts.
Fundraising - One person reported that her school has maintained its list of donors but the level of donations are way down. Some donors not able to contribute and have asked her to try again next year. She added that one successful strategy is to get staff involved in the fundraising effort. Many of her employees have used their personal contacts to solicit small grants ranging from $500 to $5,000. Several mini-grants have come in and employees have become more invested in the school’s future.
With regards to public relations/marketing, one person said that her outreach efforts to child study teams and district liaisons were very effective. She found that districts had a certain stereotype of the type of child the school served. Based on this information the school sent out new advertising materials. Another school recently received NCASES accreditation, which it plans to use in its advertising. She recommended that schools in the same region consider advertising as a group. Six schools polled their resources in her region and were able to purchase ads in major dailies, movie theatres, billboards and local supermarket weeklies. Another person recommended subscribing to Constant Contact, which lists business cards and e-mail addresses. More persons are visiting her school’s website and subscribing to the newsletter.
One participant asked how a small school could get started with marketing efforts? The group suggested using a combination of e-marketing and traditional public relations strategies. The school should sponsor an easy-to-use website and open a face book page. Printed materials such as brochures and newsletters are still useful. The school must expand its network of contacts and staff should attend various community meetings and events, including the chamber of commerce. One school has a community service day with students and staff working on civic projects, handing out brochures and wearing school T-shirts. At another school the staff attend a local NBA sports event and are introduced at the game.
