Enrollment

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!

Wilkins Family Testimonial

Dear SJNMA Leadership/Faculty/Clergy/Staff:

Our family is beyond grateful for all that each one of you gave in your efforts to welcome families during Families Weekend back in October. We not only felt like the “red carpet was rolled out” but also felt an instant connection to staff, students, and other families by the atmosphere each one of you were integral in creating that weekend. In the two short months that our son had been a student at SJNMA this school year, we felt more a part of the SJNMA community than we ever did with our son’s previous school in 2.5 years!

We left Delafield feeling like we were a part of something special and so thankful that our son is benefiting from the exceptional education and training that SJNMA offers. What you are providing is not just a superior education but also the training-up of men and women who will leave as leaders, serving in their respective communities. It is a unique and worthy mission that you have each signed up for in working for SJNMA. We can say that your hard work truly pays off in the results that we have seen in our son.

Reflecting back on the Families Weekend and the time that went into the planning of the parades, meals, Senior ceremony, church service, conferences, athletic events, and family activities was not only noticed but also very much appreciated by our family. Every adult on campus (from staff to groundskeeping to cadet store to cafeteria) was so professional, friendly, and put their best foot forward. We were also impressed by the student body...greeting us with eye contact, confidence, and smiles; offering help; and engaging in conversation.

Wow! We are beyond impressed with the work being done at SJNMA. Each adult and student leader is visibly committed to ensuring that the cadets and prefects who pass through your doors daily are held to accountability; are expected to give their best effort; and are being pushed to “rise to the top!” We can speak to that culture of success, leadership, and maturity by how we have witnessed our son transform in the few months he has been a student at SJNMA. We couldn’t be happier and prouder! To see your own child excel, get involved, and shine after having been in an environment where mediocrity and anonymity was acceptable is the best gift in the world! SJNMA is the best thing that has happened in our son’s life.

Thank you for doing what you do every day to make a difference in the lives of each SJNMA student. God bless your efforts!

With immense appreciation,

Karla and Forrest Wilkins Before the start of his first year at SJNMA, Josh Wilkins 2022 successfully completed Raider School.