Your school's a product; package and market it!

Carlene McCalla-Francis, Guest Columnist

A product is commodity that is marketed for sale. A product's success is generally dependent on two factors: packaging and marketing.

The education sector is a service industry. School administrations must be aware that their institutions offer a very vital service and the product must be attractively packaged and marketed.

The attractive packaging of an institution plays an important part in the school's effectiveness. This packaging includes the school's image and stakeholders' perception of the school. Administrators need to realise that the school's climate should speak for the school:

A clean environment must be maintained.

Maintenance of school plant.

Learning environment inside and outside the class must be conducive to learning.

Security and safety must be a priority.

Staff morale must be high. This is very critical.

From the outside, stakeholders must know that everything is done to enhance the learning process.

All stakeholders have to share and buy into the school's vision. A commitment in achieving this vision should be the staff mission.

Packaging a product without marketing is useless. As such, attractively packaged product should be marketed. This can be passively or actively done.

Marketing: Passive (without directly advertising) and active marketing (through the media).

Passive marketing: Stakeholders should passively market the school so that prospective consumers (parents) will know that:

The school is effectively managed and governed.

Children will be exposed to a motivational learning environment.

High academic performance is the school's culture.

Avenues for social and personal development are enhanced.

Human and mental resources are efficiently managed and used.

Safety and security, health and welfare are top priorities.

Active marketing: Advertise your institution as the best choice for the potential consumer (parent).

Highlight your school's success at parent-teacher association meetings, in the media, etc.

Showcase the advantages of utilising your services/benefits of utilising your product.

Involve your consumer (parents and other stakeholders) in getting feedback on your product.

Consistently review your product for improvement (self-evaluation improvement and planning).

Benefits

Knowledgeable, motivated and qualified staff.

Stimulating learning environment.

Child-centred approach to learning.

Child's experiential background.

Use of the environment in teaching, e.g., buildings, bodies, etc.

Continuous feedback so that a child's growth path can be monitored.

Exceptionally effective teaching strategies/methods such as projects, homework, community walks, field trips, etc.

Dedicated and committed staff whose main aim is your child's success.

Clean environment.

Disciplined students.

How to package school well before you can effectively market:

Principals should remember that we are the chief instructional leaders in the school. Hence we should conduct regular workshops with teachers, and visit classes to see teachers and students at work.

Motivate the staff, congratulate them and let the staff be part of the decision-making process in the school. Treat everyone as equal. Motivate the children; reward them for improved work, good work, and excellent work.

Set targets and remind them daily about the targets set for the grades. When the targets are met, reward both students and teachers. Rotate teachers based on teacher competence, rather than years of experience and qualifications.

Principals should do termly appraisals. Make teachers accountable by giving specific job descriptions and report on performance termly.

Also, parents should partner with schools and be held accountable as well. Schools should have regular parent-teacher child conferences.

One should have proper student records and should use these records to track progress so that parents can see the growth path of the child. Where weaknesses are observed, parents and teachers should work as a team on improving them.

Where parents refuse to play their part, the board of the school should apply sanctions to the guilty parents as outlined in the Childcare and Protection Act and the Code of Regulation 1980.

Carlene McCally-Francis is the principal of Kensington Primary, the most successful among schools with more than 20 students who sat the 2011 Grade Four Numeracy Test. Ninety-one per cent of its 205 students attained mastery in the exam.