Collegial Competitors: Working in a Consortium

Jasmine B. Harris, Director of Admission & Placement, The Lamplighter School, TX, Sarah Markhovsky, Director of Admission, Greenhill School, TX and Cindy Newsom, Director of Admission, The Episcopal School of Dallas, TX Do you wonder what is going on in the admission offices at competitor schools in your area? Dallas is a competitive market saturated with independent schools. Collectively, we receive almost 5,000 applications, and make selective offers to only 2,200 applicants. How do we cooperatively shape the expectations of applicant families? Over 15 years ago, a group of local admission directors came together to provide a forum to share common areas of concern and discuss issues that arise in dealing with the admission process and procedures at our schools. From this emerged the Independent School Admission Association of Dallas (ISAAD), a group of 16 schools that work as a consortium to further the spirit of cooperation among the schools and to assist in making the admission process as user-friendly as possible for our constituents. We present how schools run efficient admission offices while guiding families through the admission process in a fair and caring manner—all while supporting each other through the ups and downs of the admission cycle. Included are shared testing, a joint Private School Preview, common application dates and financial aid processes, guidelines for contact with families, and a new consortium website.