NAIS TrendTalk Webinar: Trends in Demographics

Amada Torres, NAIS VP of Studies,

Insights, and Research

torres@nais.org

A Few Reminders

• Have questions?

You are on mute, but you can still pose your

question by typing it on the right side of your screen.

I will answer questions at the end.

• Participate in the poll.

Periodically, I will poll the audience. Participate in

this anonymous poll on the right side of your screen.

• We are recording this webinar.

And we’ll send you a link!

Agenda

• School Population Trends

– White Children Becoming the New Minority

– Growth of Hispanic Population

– The Rise of Asian Americans

• Trends Affecting School Parents

– Changing Forms of Marriage and Family

– New Parenting Styles

– Parents as Consumers

School Population Trends

White Children Becoming the New Minority

NAIS Students by Race and Ethnicity

Source: DASL

Audience Poll

Have you noticed a decline in the number of

Caucasian students applying to your school?

– Yes. The decline is evident.

– Yes, but the change is not that noticeable.

– No. It seems to be about the same.

– No. There are more Caucasian students

applying to my school.

– I don’t know.

Growth of Hispanic Population

The Rise of Asian Americans

Audience Poll

Does your school have a strategy in place to attract

Hispanic families?

– Yes, and it is very successful.

– Yes, but it is not working that well.

– No, we are not targeting any specific racial or

ethnic groups.

– I don’t know.

Action Steps

• Continue monitoring the demographics of your

school population. Assess the need to explore new

markets for students.

• Make sure to understand the educational

expectations of diverse families.

• Fine-tune your communications and messages to

provide a welcoming environment to increasingly

diverse families and explain school expectations.

Trends Affecting School Parents

Changing Forms of Marriage and Family

Source: Joseph G. Kosciw and Elizabeth M. Diaz, Involved,

Invisible, Ignored: The Experiences of Lesbian, Gay,

Bisexual and Transgender Parents and Their Children in

Our Nation’s K–12 Schools, GLSEN

Action Steps

• Closely monitor your student demographics, especially

at the lower grades. Delayed marriages and

multigenerational families may cause parents to have

fewer children.

• Assess the need to provide additional support and/or

special services to attract students from minority groups

or from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, who are

more likely to come from new family structures.

• Provide multicultural diversity training and offer programs

for parents that include information about LGBT families.

New Parenting Styles

Audience Poll

How is your school demonstrating that it delivers the type of

outcomes that high-investment parents are expecting?

– SAT/ACT scores

– College matriculation rates

– ERB Achievement Tests

– Alumni surveys

– AP

– Tests on individual student growth (like MAP)

– Surveys on school experience and student engagement (like

HSSSE)

– Tests to measure 21st century skills (like CWRA)

– Tests to measure non-cognitive skills (like MSA)

– Other

– Don’t know

Action Steps

• Regularly provide information that shows the value

of your institution’s educational experience.

• Spell out the reciprocal obligations of parents and

schools.

• Keep the message of “educating the whole child”

front and center.

• Create more opportunities to engage fathers in

school-related activities.

Parents as Consumers

Gen Xer vs. Millennial Parents

Gen Xers Millennials

• Individualistic • Digital natives

• Believe in

measurable results

• Public parenting

• Price sensitive • Used to

customization

• Consumer minded • Green sensibility

• “Stealth-fighter” • Less aggressive

parenting style

Types of High-Income Parents

Action Steps

• Offer data on student outcomes and the return on

investing in an independent school education.

• Prepare for the “à la carte” consumer.

• Survey parents annually to understand what is

important to them and how they view your school.

• Conduct a parent segmentation, brand valuation,

and tuition elasticity study.

“Rapidly changing demographics demand

that we engage in a vigorous, ongoing,

and systemic process of professional

development to prepare all educators in

the school to function effectively in a highly

diverse environment.”

As Diversity Grows, So Must We

Gary R. Howard

Thank You for Attending!

• Please complete a very brief survey at

the end of this presentation.

• Find free resources for trustees at

www.nais.org/go/trustees.

• Read more about trends in the NAIS

Trendbook, available in the NAIS online

bookstore at www.nais.org/bookstore.