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How to stop K-12 enrollment declines5 strategies to compete in the age of school choice and competition

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If you’re interested in how to reverse declining enrollment in your schools this year, read on.

Across the country, public school leaders are grappling with the cost of competition. Charter and private and parochial schools are aggressively recruiting students and families from inside their borders. The surge in competition, coupled with historic demographic shifts, means many districts are enrolling fewer students.

Before school choice existed, student enrollment and retention problems were largely the stuff of higher education. But that’s no longer the case. When enrollments decline and families opt out of their home districts, K-12 school systems risk losing the per-pupil funding that often accompanies those students. Those losses add up. In some cases, they can be quite dramatic—reaching millions of dollars per year in state support.

Fortunately, there are practical steps that public K-12 school leaders can take to attract and retain students and families in an era of increased choice and competition. What follows are five strategies to help you retain students, reverse dangerous enrollment declines, and keep your budget coffers from running dry in today’s competitive environment.

The cost of competition to America’s K-12 schools

What you’ll learn in this guide 1. Retain students

2. Reverse dangerous enrollment declines

3. Keep your budget coffers from running dry

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ECONOMIC IMPACTK-12 districts with declining enrollments face the prospect of major funding losses. In Maryland, for instance, Baltimore City Public Schools lost $38 million in state funding for the 2018 fiscal year because of a decline in student enrollment.

In Maryland, the loss in per-pupil funding is compounded by the state’s wealth formula. As a county’s overall tax base is divided by fewer students, it appears wealthier under the state’s formula—and its per-pupil funding is adjusted downward. So, not only do school districts with declining enrollments receive funding for fewer students; they also get fewer dollars per student.

In Michigan, administrators for Detroit’s public school system are scrambling to reverse a years-long exodus that mired city schools in a massive fiscal deficit.

In California, administrators and board members for the Los Angeles Unified School District have estimated potential losses due to choice and competition in the hundreds of millions.

THE SOLUTIONPublic school leaders can’t afford to stand by and watch enrollments slide, depriving their schools of valuable funding to support student achievement. They must do everything they can to attract and retain students—and keep families from being lured by a growing number of attractive and sometimes better-funded alternatives.

This starts with providing a high-quality educational experience for every child, where students are fully engaged in instruction that meets their learning needs. But, what one parent regards as a “high-quality” educational experience might be viewed very differently by another parent. In the age of social media, negative perceptions—justified or not—can quickly taint a school system’s reputation.

Fortunately, school leaders and others can influence these perceptions by providing better, more attentive customer service. That includes engaging students, parents, and staff; listening intently to their needs; making them feel valued; and using their feedback to shape and improve important school-based programs and services. Taken together, each of these steps can build your school system’s brand—and assert it as the best first choice for students and families.

So, how do you do this? Let’s dive into the five strategies mentioned at the outset.


$38M Amount of state funding Baltimore City Public Schools will lose in fiscal year 2018 due to declining enrollment

Source: Conduit Street, 2017




Listen intently to students, parents and staff

WHY THIS MATTERS: By listening to parents’ concerns and soliciting their feedback on important issues, you can show them that you care about what they have to say—and that can make a powerful (and lasting) impression. You’ll also learn about your strengths and shortcomings, which gives you an opportunity to improve.

HOW TO DO THIS EFFECTIVELY: Survey parents and other stakeholders annually to learn what they think of your school or district’s performance. Extend that invitation beyond annual climate and engagement surveys by introducing an always-on system for parents, students, staff, and others to submit their questions, comments and concerns to the right people. Make sure they can do this from multiple channels, such as the district website or social media. The goal should be to make it easy to reach you—and to make sure that parents, students, and others know where to turn when they have questions or need help.

“We often make assumptions about what we think parents want,” says Kimberly N. Smith, director of public relations for the Alief Independent School District in Texas. “You have to listen. You have to be open to hearing what they want.”

Conduct exit interviews with families who have left your district

WHY THIS MATTERS: Talk with parents who have withdrawn from your schools, and seek to understand the reasons for that decision. Sometimes families leave for involuntary reasons, such as a job move. But often their reasons for leaving are closely tied to one or more negative experiences or perceptions related to the district or its services. Maybe parents have had a hard time getting answers to their questions, or they just don’t feel engaged or appreciated. Understanding these decisions and the reasons behind them will help you create a strategic plan that focuses on reversing these perceptions and winning families back.

HOW TO DO THIS EFFECTIVELY: It’s a good idea and an accepted practice to work with independent third parties to conduct exit interviews. Parents are more likely to be honest with someone who has no connection to the district—and a third party also helps ensure the confidentiality of parent responses.

“We would like to know why families are leaving our district and where they are going,” Alief’s Smith explains. “Is it because they are moving out of our district due to employment issues, or is it because they feel like they can get a better education elsewhere? By having insight into these decisions, we can ensure that our services are better than the competition.”


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Offer more choices than your competition

WHY THIS MATTERS: Families who discover more programs and educational options within the district are less likely to seek those options elsewhere. Don’t give students and parents a reason to leave your schools; instead, seek to provide a variety of programs and choices that rival and exceed what your competitors are offering.

HOW TO DO THIS EFFECTIVELY: Use the insights you collect through community feedback, annual surveys, exit interviews and focus groups to learn which types of programs parents and families want, such as AP courses, gifted and honors programs, career and technical training, arts education, tutoring, extracurricular services or magnet programs. Make sure parents and families know that you offer these programs and services. A lot of schools discover that families leave because they didn’t know that the programs they are searching for are already available in their home district. If you don’t have the means to provide these programs on your own, consider partnering with local industries or online providers to deliver them.

In a 2017 report, the Center for Public Education found that public school systems typically offer more choices for students and families than their competition. But they don’t typically do a good job of advertising those choices.

“What we want to do is offer that smorgasbord approach to education,” says Terrell Davis, executive director of public affairs and special projects for the Wichita Public Schools in Kansas. “We want to have enough programs … that anyone in our city can find a program that best fits their kids’ needs.” Since 2010, Davis says his district has seen its high school graduation rate rise by more than 15 percent, thanks in part to this approach.

Pay close and careful attention to your brand

WHY THIS MATTERS: Never assume that parents are familiar with your district’s programs or its successes. Staying silent allows the competition to unfairly shape your district’s narrative. Take control of your brand story. Highlight your district’s successes—you have plenty of them—and constantly nurture your reputation by actively promoting the good work that your teachers and staff do every day for your students and your community.

HOW TO DO THIS EFFECTIVELY: Use every channel at your disposal—including school and district websites, email, teacher meetings, phone calls and social media. Don’t simply provide updates about policies and events in newsletters or via flyers sent home in backpacks; share photos and write stories about what’s going on in classrooms and in your after-school programs. Enlist the help of print, online and television media to help to xtell those stories. Go big.


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“Wherever there are people—any community event, any social agency—we are there with our brand, explaining to people what we do.” DR. WENDY ROBINSON, SUPERINTENDENT, FORT WAYNE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS (IN)




Keep your ear to ground. Pay close attention to what is being said about your district on social media and in the community. Don’t let criticisms go unaddressed. Respond as appropriate, either by posting a reply online or arranging a face-to-face meeting to clear the air. Get out into your community, in the grocery stores, and bowling alleys; make sure people know and understand your mission. Your competition isn’t afraid to sing its praises. You shouldn’t be afraid to sing yours either.

“We constantly assume that we have to be branding and talking about what we do,” says Dr. Wendy Robinson, superintendent of Indiana’s Fort Wayne Community Schools. “Wherever there are people—any community event, any social agency—we are there with our brand, explaining to people what we do. We have to extend ourselves. We can’t expect them to come to us.”

Make customer service a priority

WHY THIS MATTERS: Like it or not, we live in a consumer-driven society. Parents and families demand great service from other vendors— be it from Amazon, or Zappos, or their favorite airline or hotel chain. These experiences increasingly shape their expectations. And, like it or not, they affect how they perceive your schools. Nothing is more important to parents than their child’s education. By extension, nothing is more important, or more

emotionally charged, than the feeling parents get when they interact with your schools. How parents and families are treated when they have questions or visit your school buildings and campuses could very well determine whether they decide to keep their family enrolled in your district.

HOW TO DO THIS EFFECTIVELY: Greet parents, students and your own staff with a smile and a positive attitude. No exceptions. Respond to their questions and concerns in a timely manner. Remember that every interaction you have with parents reflects the district and helps shape your brand. Set clear expectations and standards for customer service, measure your performance, and make a pact with your team to keep improving. Every. Single. Day.

As a mindset, a commitment to exceptional school customer service should permeate every inch of your organization. “Our vision is that we want to be the first choice for families,” says Earl Dotson, public information officer for the Rockford Public Schools in Illinois. “And customer service plays a big role in that.

Our message is: We’re here to serve, and we’re going to measure ourselves on how well we do.”

Is declining enrollment and school choice an issue for you? Use the charts on the following pages to see trends in your region.


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CALL TO ACTIONAccording to the U.S. Department of Education, total enrollment in public elementary and secondary schools is expected to grow by 3 percent through fall 2026, reaching 51.7 million students. However, changes in public school enrollment during this time will vary by state. Ten states forecast steep enrollment declines of 5 percent or more. These include large states such as Michigan (-10 percent), Pennsylvania (-7 percent), New Jersey (-6 percent), Ohio (-6 percent), and Illinois (-5 percent).

In these states, the competition for students is fierce, and takes on real financial significance.

Projected change in public preK-12 enrollment, by state: fall 2014 to fall 2026


Source: National Center for Education Statistics, “Condition of Education,” May 2017: https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/




PRIVATE SCHOOL ENROLLMENTFrom 1999-2011, the percentage of preK-12 students enrolled in private schools fell from 11.4 percent to 9.6 percent. However, since 2011, private school enrollment has been on the rise. As of fall 2015, it stood at 10.2 percent.

What’s more, changes to U.S. tax law could result in further gains in private school enrollment. The tax reform legislation signed into law in December 2017 allows parents to withdraw $10,000 per year from their tax-free 529 college savings plans to use on private K-12 education expenses beginning in 2018. Experts believe this could encourage even more families to invest in private school education because they can do so with considerable tax benefits.

Private school enrollment by grade level, fall 1999 to fall 2015






CHARTER SCHOOL ENROLLMENTCharter school enrollment has grown significantly over the last 15 years, and this growth poses a serious threat to enrollment in traditional K-12 schools.

Between the 2004-05 and 2014-15 school years, the percentage of all public schools that were charter schools increased from 4 percent to 7 percent, and the total number of charter schools increased from 3,400 to 6,750.

Meanwhile, the percentage of public school students who attended charter schools increased from 2 percent to 5 percent during that time. The number of students enrolled in public charter schools grew by 1.8 million students (from 900,000 to 2.7 million), while the number of students attending traditional public schools dropped by 400,000 in that period.

Public charter school enrollment, by school level: fall 2004 to fall 2014






THE COMPETITION IS HEREIn 22 states and the District of Columbia, at least 5 percent of all public school students are enrolled in charter schools. States where traditional K-12 schools are experiencing the toughest competition from charter schools include Arizona (with 19 percent of its student population attending charter schools), Colorado (11 percent), Louisiana (10 percent), Michigan (10 percent), and Utah (10 percent).

Percentage of public school students enrolled in charter schools, by state: fall 2014


There are three states in which K-12 schools face a “perfect storm” of declining public school enrollment and stiff competition from charter schools: Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. In all three states, enrollment in public schools is expected to fall 5% or more by 2026—while at least 5% of the current public school population already attends a charter school.





THE BOTTOM LINEWith millions of dollars in public education funding at stake, your school district needs a strong strategic plan for addressing the challenge of student enrollment and retention. By listening to parents, students and staff, conducting exit interviews, offering choices and providing exceptional customer service, you can build a school brand that families love and respect—and one they’d never think of leaving, even when the competition comes knocking at their door.


Competition is here. Stay in front of it.Are you facing declining enrollments this year? Looking for a better way to keep families enrolled and engaged? K12 Insight’s school customer experience platform was designed to help you listen to your community, improve your response times, and tell your district’s story. Give us a call—and find out why more than 400 districts partner with us to help improve the school experience.

Contact us for a free consult www.K12insight.com or give us a call at 703-542-9600.

“We often make assumptions about what we think parents want. You have to listen. You have to be open to hearing what they want.” KIMBERLY N. SMITH, DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC RELATIONS, ALIEF INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT (TX)






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