with Laurel Baker Tew, Chief Enrollment Officer, Viewpoint School (CA)

When a head of school search is underway, admission and enrollment leaders are placed in a unique position during such a year of transition. The successful delivery of future families--those in the admission pipeline for the coming school year (the same year that the newly chosen head will begin her/his duties at your school)--is essential to the continued smooth operation of the school. The enrollment of those families is also essential as to whether the admission/enrollment leader will be initially perceived by their new Head as successful or unsuccessful in the execution of their job responsibilities: they are typically the first employee at the school to receive a job performance report card from the new head upon the head’s arrival in the summer. How can you manage such tremendous change at your school to present your head with a robust incoming class and solid retention figures, instead of an enrollment and budget problem when they arrive?