The Road to 400 Students at SJNA The 2021-2022 academic year marked the first time St. John’s Northwestern Academies saw an increase in enrollment numbers since 2016. With Mr. Joe Sevenz serving as the Dean of Enrollment, an invigorated emphasis on digital marketing took center stage as the pandemic continued into its second academic year. The Academies opened in the fall with 181 students, and midterm enrollment welcomed 13 new students. MG Lima has charted a bold course for SJNA over the next four years. For the 2022-2023 academic year, the enrollment goal has been set at 244 students with an overall goal of 400 in 2025. This will require an estimated 86% retention rate and an increase of 50+ new students from the preceding year. With such an aggressive approach, the appropriate question is how SJNA will achieve this type of growth. Mr. Sevenz has provided three areas of focus (summarized in Three R’s).
The First R: RECRUITMENT
Marketing drives recruitment – digital, print, radio, TV, and word of mouth. The goal of all this marketing? Over the next three years, add at least 200 new students to our academies. We have a wonderful story to share. We have history, tradition, and ritual bound together with cultural diversity, ethnic acceptance, and academic achievement. We offer an oasis of our four core values of accountability, integrity, respect, and selfless service. We have created a marketing plan designed to tell our story to families looking to improve their children’s lives.
The Second R: RETENTION
The next task after bringing in 200 new students? Retain 200 of our current students over the next three years. Adding 200 new students to 200 returning students gets us to our goal of 400 young people on our campus over the next three years! Culture, climate, and opportunities determine retention. We continue working toward a living environment where students, staff, and faculty feel secure, nurtured, and included. We have designed additional leadership and training courses focusing on developing a culture and climate marked by sound judgement and best practices. We have expanded social and athletic opportunities by increasing our weekend off-campus activities, and we have boosted our sport offerings to meet the many interests of our students.
The Third R: REFERRALS
The third R links recruitment and retention into an important act – refer a friend, neighbor, or family member to SJNA. A personal referral coming from a current student, an alumnus, or a fellow parent makes for the strongest possible endorsement. No one has developed a marketing message to replace a personal endorsement. We have put in place a very popular REFERRAL PROGRAM whereby both the referring family of a current student and the referred family of the incoming student have $1,000 credited into each student’s account. The students may spend their $1,000 at the Campus Store or Mouso Hall to purchase additional
clothing, school supplies, gifts, or food and snacks.
If you have any RECRUITMENT, RETENTION, or REFERRAL ideas, please share them with our enrollment department at (262) 646-7199, (800) 752-2388, or admissions@sjnacademies.org!
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The Beacon | SPRING 2022
St. John’s Northwestern Academies
