InspirED School Marketers SPARKCAST

Dr. Olaf "Ole" Jorgenson joined Almaden Country Day School in San Jose, CA as head of school in 2008. Before ACDS, he worked as a school leader and teacher in public, private, and international schools since 1987. Beyond his role as a head, Ole volunteers as a trustee at Gateway School in Santa Cruz and serves as a Field Instructor for the Klingenstein Center at Teachers College, Columbia University, where he also sits on the Center's Advisory Board. His publications and presentations center on instructional leadership, science education, and parenting. Ole lives in San Jose with his family.

Founded in 2010, Tara's agency, Design TLC, specializes in WordPress websites and digital marketing for small schools, enrichment programs, camps, and education-focused nonprofits. Tara combines her marketing and technical experience with the perspective of a parent whose children attended both public and private schools, and participated in various camps and enrichment programs. In this podcast, Tara talks about SEO basics and what every private school should be doing to increase their Google ranking.

Mishel Gantz is the Director of Enrollment at Synapse School in Menlo Park, California, a small independent school that fully integrates an emotional intelligence program and a robust constructivist curriculum. Prior to that Mishel was the Chief Experience Officer at Watershed School, a grade 6-12 forward-thinking, intentionally small, independent school in Boulder, Colorado. There she was responsible for driving Watershed's enrollment and bringing their student body to full capacity. She developed this through a deliberate, relational strategy with a plan to differentiate the school's unique style and mission.

Tom Olverson serves as a consultant for RG175, a firm doing executive searches as well as highly personalized leadership and governance consulting to schools, based on the values of integrity, inclusivity, knowledge, and flexibility. Tom and all of the members of the RG175 team are personally and professionally experienced in recognizing, promoting, and sustaining leadership at both the executive and governance levels in schools.

Simon Noakes is the founder and CEO of Interactive Schools, a UK-based global organization focused on school marketing and communications in the US, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Australia. Simon's global experience & passion for strategic marketing, thought leadership, future-thinking, new technology & human-centered engagement is transforming schools around the world. The firm specializes in bespoke creative experiences including responsive school websites, parent communications, social media training and influence, and digital marketing strategies.

Interactive Schools won a 2018 Brilliance Award for Charlotte Preparatory School's (US) website. Learn more about Simon and Interactive Schools at www.interactiveschools.com and on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Private school marketers hear the warning signs loud and clear. If private schools want to thrive, not merely survive, they need to innovate and become something so great that parents can't ignore them. They need to be so outstanding, parents will be standing in line with their children to get in. Enter The Mastery School of Hawken as one road to innovation that has great promise.

Scott Looney joined Hawken School as its 10th head of school in July 2006. Since that time he's worked to advance the school with a variety of forward-focused initiatives that have earned national recognition. His belief in student-centered and authentic learning has fueled each effort including the founding of the Mastery Transcript Consortium in 2017 and the new Mastery School of Hawken, which will welcome its students in August 2020.

Terry Dubow has served as Hawken's Director of Special Projects since 2015, a role that has allowed him to develop strategic messaging and positioning for the launch of the Mastery Transcript Consortium, and now the development of the Mastery School of Hawken. He's also served as the Associate Head of School at Westtown School, the Director of Strategic Projects and the Director of Communications and Marketing at Hathaway Brown as well as an English teacher.

Private school marketers hear the warning signs loud and clear. If private schools want to thrive, not merely survive, they need to innovate and become something so great that parents can't ignore them. They need to be so outstanding, parents will be standing in line with their children to get in. Enter The Mastery School of Hawken as one road to innovation that has great promise.

Scott Looney joined Hawken School as its 10th head of school in July 2006. Since that time he's worked to advance the school with a variety of forward-focused initiatives that have earned national recognition. His belief in student-centered and authentic learning has fueled each effort including the founding of the Mastery Transcript Consortium in 2017 and the new Mastery School of Hawken, which will welcome its students in August 2020.

Terry Dubow has served as Hawken's Director of Special Projects since 2015, a role that has allowed him to develop strategic messaging and positioning for the launch of the Mastery Transcript Consortium, and now the development of the Mastery School of Hawken. He's also served as the Associate Head of School at Westtown School, the Director of Strategic Projects and the Director of Communications and Marketing at Hathaway Brown as well as an English teacher.

Trevor Waddington is an educational entrepreneur with 17 years of experience working in independent schools as a teacher and admissions administrator including St. John's Episcopal School, Christ Episcopal School, and Green Acres School, all in Maryland as well as Hill Top Preparatory School in Pennsylvania. He is s past president of the MAESA (Mid-Atlantic Episcopal Schools Association) Board of Directors. On the business side, Trevor is the founder of DCschoolHUB and NYmetroSchools, and is the Founder and Principal at Truth Tree Consulting, a full-service firm that works with independent schools in the areas of admission, marketing, brand development, and financial operations. These three companies fall under the umbrella of TYW Education Group.

Angelo Otterbein was President and founder of Silverpoint, which he started in 1996. Silverpoint grew to include over 300 independent schools from all over the world. In 2013 the company merged with Finalsite, Inc. where Angelo now serves as Chief Innovation Officer, involved in product strategy, business development, digital strategy and website consulting.

Kealan Duffy is the UK Production Manager for Finalsite, overseeing the designers and developers in the UK office to deliver innovative and engaging websites to clients across the globe. Kealan has a strong passion for audience-driven web design and has been working closely with schools since 2009 to understand their needs and lead the creative direction of their projects.

Patrick F. Bassett began his career in 1970 as a teacher, coach, and dorm parent at Woodberry Forest School (VA), followed by two headships—Stuart Hall in Virginia and Pomfret School in Connecticut. Pat served as the president of ISACS—the Independent Schools Association of the Central States—from 1993 – 2001, and then as president of NAIS from 2001 to 2013. After leaving NAIS he co-founded Heads Up Educational Consulting that provides strategic, operational, governance, and programmatic guidance and consultation to educational enterprises. Now, after 48 years in the independent school business, Pat recently announced his retirement from the industry. Rob talked with Pat about his career that spans 48 years and dedicated to private schools, his big takeaways about the industry then and now, and how schools can thrive in the future.