The Value Proposition and Montessori Schools

By Michael Connor, President, Connor Associates Strategic Services, LLC

The Value Proposition

It’s amazing to think it’s been nearly thirty years since I began beating the drum for independent schools’ then emergent and now dominant marketing challenge: communicating value given increasing costs. Exactly what makes your school worth it?

To better understand how schools can discover and communicate value, we created a model to help make the case.

Essentially, educational value tracks across four quadrants. This link details the above four elements of value and relates how you can apply them to your marketing.

Let’s use Montessori Schools as a case study, as they often have difficulty proving return on investment. This discussion may prove helpful to many other schools, too!

Challenge 1: Academic Achievement

Proving value for Montessori Toddler-8th or Toddler-9th private schools is particularly challenging.

Many parents flock to Montessori for Primary School, seeing value in their children learning by their own experience and at their own pace. Some may even make it halfway through the Elementary program.

However, as their child matures, parents often think that the risk of staying with the Montessori approach through Middle School may place their children in academic jeopardy. Eventually, so the thinking goes, they will face more competitive academic and social environments. Many parents conclude it’s better to make the change sooner rather than later.

Challenge #2: How vs. Why

Another Montessori challenge can be self-inflicted.

Sometimes, Montessori faculty spend more time enthralling prospective families with the “Montessori Method” — HOW they do what they do — rather than WHY they do it and the outcomes the student can achieve. This is the essential “return on investment” parents are anxious to see.

They don’t necessarily care about how you get them there, they just want proof that the outcome will be worth it, considering all the other choices they have.

Challenge #3: Who Makes Your Proof Points

It’s clearly up to the school to make the “outcome case” for parents. At these prices, parents have every right to expect the school to justify the cost. But it’s best to let your own constituents — teachers, parents, students, alumni, and especially alumni parents — make the case. Their testimony is exponentially more credible and compelling than the school's administrators doing the talking. After all, they expect the leaders to be positive!

An Effective Approach to Getting to the Value of a Toddler - 9th Grade Montessori School

Greensboro (NC) Montessori School’s value-infused infographic made me a believer in the advantages of their educational program. It is strong precisely because it is grounded in both market and customer satisfaction research, and it hits all four elements of value.

Although initially conceived as a retention reinforcement tool, the infographic could inspire new family enrollment and philanthropy. Greensboro Montessori’s Director of Marketing and Development, Jillian Crone, brought it to my attention following my full-day workshop on value and branding in Raleigh and Charlotte for the North Carolina Association of Independent Schools.

Greensboro Montessori School infographic and proof points cover nearly all the bases:

1. Professional development of faculty who have racked up 300 years of collective service and are still active learners.
2. Geographic, ethnic/language, and dual career diversity in their enrollment.
3. Matriculation to independent and public magnet high schools, with nearly 80% of their graduates entering at least one year ahead of their peers in math and Spanish.
4. ACT scores well above North Carolina and USA averages.
5. Quantitative and qualitative data from alumni about college merit scholarships earned and the advantages the Montessori education and experience conferred on them as adults.
6. Use of the campus as a land conservancy.
7. And to me, the “money shot” is that 96% of alumni claim their family’s investment in GMS was well worth it.

The miracle is how much they got on one page without overwhelming the reader. The only thing I’d add is a list of their college acceptances, which might reassure potential parents and reinforce the long game for current parents.

Greensboro Montessori School Proves Its Value

I don’t think I’ve seen a more compelling case for retention, enrollment, and philanthropy by any Montessori school. What Greensboro Montessori has managed to do on one engaging page is better than what I’ve seen from many private schools over forty years as a teacher, administrator, and consultant.

If there are others of you I should know about, please mail [email protected].

Measuring Your School’s Value

With clear and robust evidence along all four quadrants of value, families will become much more enthusiastic about inquiring, visiting, applying, enrolling, re-enrolling, and donating.

One thing you can count on: Your new and returning families will always want objective evidence of value, not well-intentioned promises.

Mike Connor

Mike Connor is Founder and President of Connor Associates, a communication, marketing, enrollment management, and fundraising advocate for public and private schools and nonprofit organizations.

With 16 Strategic Partners and Research Associates across the United States, Connor has worked with hundreds of clients spanning 4 continents and 26 states since 1998.

Connect with Mike on LinkedIn.