Villa Academy Selects Connor Associates for Comprehensive Market Research and Training
Connor Associates is pleased to announce an ongoing partnership with Villa Academy, a Catholic, independent, coed preschool through grade 8 in the Laurelhurst neighborhood of Seattle, Washington.
Villa is taking a comprehensive approach with Connor Associates to ensure it is prepared to thrive in an environment where currently half of NAIS independent schools are seeing declining enrollment. Head of School John Milroy is pleased with the partnership, already underway:
"After several years of enrollment growth at Villa, followed by a couple years of missing our targets, it became obvious that we needed to re-examine the "ways and means" we were following to meet our enrollment goals. We needed a comprehensive approach to enrollment management.
We did our homework, investigating a number of similar firms, and we spoke with their past clients. Given Mike's broad experience in independent schools and his "partner approach" to working with clients, it was clear to us that Connor Associates was the team we needed to get us back on track. We’ve been very pleased with the Villa-Connor partnership to date and expect good outcomes in the months and years ahead!"
On the docket for Villa are:
1. Enrollment feasibility studies to identify top mission-appropriate prospects in the present and a forecast of where their most productive markets will be in five years.
2. Image Audit to monitor perceptions of key stakeholders, the admission funnel, and community leaders.
3. Alumni Survey to solicit ROI to boost admission conversions and yields.
4. Competitor School analysis to help clearly and compellingly distinguish them in the marketplace.
5. Donor prioritization to determine those who have the highest capacity to give and to prioritize and focus fundraising efforts.
6. Strategic marketing plan to tie all recommendations from the research together in a way that will prioritize goals, tactics, ownership, deadlines, and KPIs.
7. Administrative, board, and faculty training on their role in executing the plan, followed by a board retreat.
Villa Academy was founded in 1903 and currently offers over $1,000,000 in tuition assistance annually. Located on 31 acres by Lake Washington, 90% of its graduates attend independent high schools and many matriculate to Yale, Harvard, Princeton, and UCLA, reinforced by the strong foundation of academic and character education Villa provides.
We are proud to have Villa Academy as a client. Connor Associates Strategic Services, LLC is based in Northern California and has served the market research, planning, and branding needs of hundreds of private, charter, and independent boarding and day schools and colleges in 26 states, Europe, Africa, and Asia over the past 20 years. For information on how we can support you, please visit us!
