Category: Clay High School – Team B

For my analogous immersion experience, I decided to replicate the process that a parent might take when seeking information about high schools. For my experience, I chose the internet as the primary source of information, although brochures, parents nights, and recommendations often supplement this process. I mostly treated this process as an information search, and tried to better understand the ways in which a parent might look for information about a school

 

1. Search: South Bend Schools

2. Narrow search to: South Bend High Schools

3. Compare the rankings of each public high school in South Bend. The thing that sticks out are the low rankings across the board for the four schools (none above 5). If I saw that as a parent, that might lead me to seek more information about public schools in neighboring areas, or private school options.

4. If someone recommended Clay high school to me, or if I wanted more information about that specific school, I would go next to the reviews. The reviews for Clay are fairly positive, and seem to paint it in a good light. As a parent, it would be encouraging to read real reviews from parents and students.

5. At this point, I might extend the search to nearby cities, like Mishawaka, to see what other options exist. Principal Eid mentioned that they lose a lot of kids to Penn High School. This makes sense, considering their ranking here is a 9, which is almost double that of the public high schools in South Bend.

6. If education is my number one priority, I might consider looking at only Blue Ribbon schools, to see if there were any in my area.

7. Once I narrowed down a school that I wanted to learn more about, I would go to their website. 2 things stand out when searching for Clay. For one, the school’s official website is only the 5^th thing to come up on google. Secondly, the news article regarding a recent fight is right below it, which could be problematic if a parent sees this in their preliminary search.

8. The website looks slightly outdated. Maybe have more than two pictures on the front page, and cycle through them a little quicker? I don’t think the website is bad, but it could use some modernizing.

9. I would also be interested in seeing some statistics about Clay. Perhaps numbers on diversity, or graduation rates, or college admits. This might be a good section to add to the website, or the “About Us” section.

10. Lastly, it would be important for me to know that the staff was strong. Because of that, I would likely do a search to find information about teachers or principals. One example website I might use would be RateMyTeachers.com

 

It’s very difficult to track the complete cycle of a parent choosing a high school for their child, since it’s such a lengthy and unique process. They might start to be influenced before their child is even board, and they will likely be flooded with information from a number of different sources. The analogous immersion experience I undertook highlighted some ways that Clay can better leverage their online presence to show parents all they have to offer. Their website is strong, but could definitely do more to highlight the elements that Principal Eid is really passionate about.

Expert Interview – Danny Cohen

Date: 3/3/2017

Type: Expert interview with Admissions Officer at Notre Dame

User: Alyssa is an admissions office assistant director at Notre Dame. Her region is Southern California and New Mexico, and I originally met her in Los Angeles. She had some great insight regarding the specifics of admission, and the way that AP and IB programs compare.

Age Range: About 30

(Interview conducted over email)

Summary of Interview:

I began by asking Alyssa how colleges compared the rigor of AP and IB programs. Her answers were:

• Students are encouraged to take either AP or IB courses of they are offered
• If a student can receive an IB diploma, their high school will be considered “most rigorous”
• AP and IB Higher Level courses are viewed on the same level.
  • IB Standard level is less rigorous

I also asked Alyssa what the perception of South Bend schools were.

• She had positive things to say about all high schools in South Bend
• Many St. Joseph County students apply to Notre Dame
• Public vs. Private schools do not affect admissions decisions

Alyssa noted that the paths of students are not compared across high schools.

• If a student can follow their passion in a magnet program, then Notre Dame would take this into account in their admission decision.

Significant Quotes:

“If a student has the ability to receive an IB Diploma, we will consider their high school curriculum to be “most rigorous” in our admissions review process.”

“When comparing an AP course to an IB course, we view AP and IB Higher Level on the same level”

“We hope that students have chosen to challenges themselves to the best of their abilities, based on what is offered at their specific high school.”

“Notre Dame has a great perception of the high schools ​in the South Bend community, both public and private”

“We evaluate each applicant based on the path they have chosen to take within their specific high school, and do not compare them to the paths other students take at different high schools.”

“A student’s choice to be a part of a magnet program is great, and really is a benefit to the student in their ability to pursue their passion(s)”

Entire Transcript:

1) How do colleges compare AP and IB programs? If a high school has an IB program but a low rate of students that actually get a diploma, is that still regarded highly by universities? Is the number of AP courses offered by a high school used as a consideration for admissions?

​ We encourage students to take Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses if those courses are offered by their high school. If a student has the ability to receive an IB Diploma, we will consider their high school curriculum to be “most rigorous” in our admissions review process. When comparing an AP course to an IB course, we view AP and IB Higher Level on the same level, and IB Standard Level on a less rigorous level. We evaluate each applicant solely based on the high school they choose to attend. If one high school offers 20+ AP courses, we would never expect a student to take all of them. However, if a high school offers 3 AP courses, we would encourage the student to take all three, if possible. At the end of the day, we hope that students have chosen to challenges themselves to the best of their abilities, based on what is offered at their specific high school.

2) (This might be hard for you to answer as the SoCal recruiter, but I’ll ask anyways)  What is the general perception that the admissions office has of South Bend Schools? Does the university have a high number of applicants from the city of South Bend? Are the public schools seen as less competitive in admissions considerations vs. the private schools like St. Joe’s or Trinity?

​ You are correct in that my expertise is more geared toward the knowledge of Southern California and New Mexico high schools, but I do know that Notre Dame has a great perception of the high schools ​in the South Bend community, both public and private. We do receive a large number of applications from St. Joseph County, in large part due to the proximity to Notre Dame’s campus (that is common of all colleges/universities). We never compare applicants across high schools, so a student’s choice to attend public vs. private would not impact their Notre Dame admissions decision.

3) Does the admissions office take into consideration when schools have “Magnet Programs” such as the ones in South Bend? I’m not sure if you’re familiar with them, but each of the 4 has a concentration of either Engineering/Medicine/Arts/IB. Would a school such as Notre Dame value an IB school more than an Arts school in terms of admissions considerations, or is it more based on the path of the student?

​ I’ve briefly touched upon this in my first two responses, but ​we evaluate each applicant based on the path they have chosen to take within their specific high school, and do not compare them to the paths other students take at different high schools. For example, we do not expect all students to be artistic, musically gifted, the Student Body President, and the Captain of three sports teams. A student’s choice to be a part of a magnet program is great, and really is a benefit to the student in their ability to pursue their passion(s).

4) What would be the process if a High School wanted to invite Notre Dame to a college fair, or to present to prospective students?

​ ​This is actually very easy! The high school guidance counselor should reach out to their Notre Dame admissions counselor (found on our website) to request a high school visit. When we travel during the months of September and October, we visit 3-5 high schools during each day. If Clay High School (or any other high school you might be working with) wants to invite us to their College Fair, they should pass along an electronic invitation to our office via email. The team of local admissions volunteers (usually alumni, but not limited to) reviews and RSVPs to the invitation. Rarely do Admissions Counselors attend College Fairs, as we have teams of phenomenal admissions volunteers who are eager to work these College Fairs on our behalf.

Date of Observation: 2/28/2017

Location: Clay High School

Type: Immersion Experience

Event: Multicultural Celebration Assembly

Event Description: This was a teacher talent show that included numerous songs and poems. Many students also took part in the performances.

Attached I have two pictures from the intro of the show, followed by a number of videos of the performances during the show.

Takeaways:

Questionable Attendance- I tried to count the attendance at this event and estimated around 75-85 people were in the auditorium for this event. Compared to the size of the auditorium and the size of the school, this was not the best turnout for Clay. Principal Eid mentioned concerns about overloading the bus system, so that may have played a role in lower than normal attendance.

Talented Teachers- As you can see from watching some of the videos I have attached of teacher performances, there is a ton of talent from the teaching staff at Clay. When you are advertised as the Performing Arts magnet being able to show that your teachers have lots of skill you are able to convince prospective parents and students much more easily. You could tell that the parents and students in attendance were proud of the talent level shown off by the teachers.

Community- Without having a larger attendance, it’s hard to tell what the whole school atmosphere is generally like, but from the group in attendance you could really feel a strong sense of community at Clay. From Principal Eid performing with the drumline, to students going wild when their fellow student was singing on stage, this community encouraged one another to be the best they could be. Students of various ethnicities filled the seats of the auditorium and were one as a student body.

 

Steffen Timmer interviewed James, a Notre Dame sophomore, who went to John Adams High School.

Date: 3/1/2017

Type: Interactive Interview

Location: James’s dorm room in Fisher Hall

Team participants: Conducted interview alone

 

User Characteristics: Sophomore Notre Dame student, PLS major

Male

Basketball Player

Father is a professor at Notre Dame

Went to St Joseph’s Grade School in South Bend for 7^th and 8^th grade

Started at Adams for Freshman year of high school

What is this person about – what drives him/her? James is driven to succeed academically as well as athletically, but places academics at the forefront of his decision.

What is this person’s biggest point of pain? Getting the best education could be the pain point. But also it is that his parent’s were the ones that made the high school decision for him. They chose Adams because of the IB program.

Memorable quotes from interview:

“Adams was like a liberal, private school.”

“Adams was like a school within a school with the magnet part.”

“Public schools aren’t great, IB carries Adams.”

 

Top 3 Learnings:

1. Other kids provide a lot of the information James has about other schools. If he hears from someone that he trusts that Adams is a good school then he follows that idea.
2. James would go to St Joseph’s High School if he redid his decision. He says the IB program did not really make a difference on his education compared to if he took AP classes.
3. James said his parents would want him to go to Trinity if they could redo the decision. James has two brothers currently at Trinity and apparently his parents love it there. It is a rigorous school that prepares kids academically. James described Trinity as strict and structured if kids need that. He said some of the kids there are kind of weird and it would not be his type of school.

Key Insight – (1) A prospective student gets a lot of his information about a school from other kids he knows. So making sure kids love their experience while at Clay is key. (2) Parents have a large say in the decision, as James’s parents were the sole decision maker in this situation.

 

I also did a card sort activity with James.

James rated academic rigor as his top reason for choosing a high school, with friends/culture and extracurricular activities tying for second. James rated AP courses as being the most important type of course when choosing a high school when given the option of CTE courses, AP courses, and Performing arts courses. If given the choice of IB courses James may have chosen that. I only had him rank the Clay courses though so we would know what Clay should target. Finally I had James rank 7 local South Bend area High Schools. Clay ranked 6th in James’s list, only ahead of Washington. Clearly there is a perception problem for Clay that we need to figure out how to fix. Finally attached is a video of James’s ranking what factor is most important to him in choosing a high school between location, academics, and safety.

Card Sort – Danny Cohen

Date: 2/28/2017

Type: Expert interview with Parent and President of Holy Cross School Board (Including Card Sort)

User: Brian is the parent of 2 daughters, one in 5^th grade and one in Prekindergarten. He is the president of the Holy Cross School Board. As the interview progressed, it became clear that he was more of an expert than I realized before, so I got some good insight about enrollment from him. Overall, most of the content of the interview was based around the card sort, though.

Age Range: About 40

Occupation: Facilities Director at Notre Dame

Summary of Interview:

We began with a card sort, where Brian ranked the 4 public high schools in the area in order of where he would likely send his daughters. The ranking was:

1. Adams
2. Clay-Riley-Washington (All equal)

The only one that Brian had specific knowledge of was Adams, and that was through conversations with peers and friends who were considering sending their kids to that school. He admitted that he did not have a negative image of the other 3, but was more lacking information about them.

We then moved onto the ranking of magnet programs. The ranking was:

1. IB
2. Engineering-Fine Arts (Tied)
3. Medicine

Brian noted that he was intrigued by the potential of an international program like IB, and its ability to help immerse kids in their academic experience. With regard to engineering and fine arts, he noted the importance of a wide breadth of experience when it comes to education, and how specializing in a certain field can sometimes be limiting for kids. He also commented that his kids’ interests and desires would definitely be a factor in deciding schools.

After this, I had Brian rank the internal factors of a school that were most important to him. The ranking was as follows:

1. Diversity-Course Offerings-College Preparedness
2. Academic Difficulty-Fine Arts-Strength of Staff
3. Friends-Sports-Facilities-Technical/Career Classes

In his Holy Cross School community, diversity was a huge factor for him, both racial and socio-economic, and he will be looking for that as a parent when looking at schools for his kids. He also noted the importance of college preparedness for his kids. Finally, he was adamant on the significance of a wide offering of courses, and a diverse academic experience for his kids.

The next card sort we did was a ranking of the factors that would most turn Brian AWAY from a particular school. In order of most important to least important, he ranked:

• MOST SIGNIFICANT: No AP/IB Programs-Negative Press/Publicity-Fights-Lack of Arts-Low Graduation Statistics-Lack of Academic Rigor
• LESS SIGNIFICANT: Bad Teachers-Few College Admits-Gangs/Thug Culture-Lack of Sports
• (Partway through, he changed the second group to “What do I doubt, or what do I want to know more about”)

Regarding the negative factors about a school, Brian noted his reluctance to believe things until they are backed up by facts or data. As a president of a school board himself, he noted how events can be wrongfully spun in a negative light. Clearly he is going to be very active in his pursuit for information about schools for his kids, and his insight shows how many parents consider a number of different factors when evaluating schools.

The final card sort was related to sources of information that he would use when deciding on a school for his kids. The ranking was:

1. Recommendations-Family Ties
2. Brochures/Marketing Material-Statistics
3. Parent Nights

Brian described that the ranking was more of a process, where he would begin with the sources at number 1 and then work down to 2 and 3.

For him, recommendations are important, but he would be inclined to dig into multiple sources to gather all the possible information. As a school board member himself, he noted the importance of not simply believing everything you hear, and instead digging deeper and asking questions that can lead to more accurate conclusions. The role of a school board should be to facilitate information between parents and the school, and make sure that everyone is informed about the experience that their child could have at a school.

Recommendations/Insights:

• While enrollment is an issue, it’s important to remember that sometimes, families leave schools for reasons that are outside of the control of the school. If people aren’t happy with the diversity at Clay, then Clay shouldn’t necessarily try and change who they are to keep these families. In his mind, schools are strengthened by diversity, and as a diverse school, Clay should seek out families that are looking for this and draw them in.
• Holy Cross is trying to introduce an immersion program at their school where students participate in a two-way immersion track, to support the high Latino population at the school.
• Rather than just thinking about how Clay should change, Brian encouraged them to become more aware of who they are, and highlight and enhance those elements.
• At their last info session, 100% of the people that attended were personally invited. This data supports the importance of peer recommendations, and the way in which word-of-mouth is a powerful tool for sharing information and driving decisions.
• Use parents as resources! Create a group or club where parents can go into the community and “sell Clay”, and help highlight the positive elements of the school.
• For High Schools, feeder schools are extremely important. If possible, Clay should consider partnering with elementary and middle schools to support programs that they have already instituted for their kids. For example, Holy Cross is beginning a two-way immersion program where kids become bilingual through their traditional education. If Clay were to introduce a program that continued this education through high school, they would have a high likelihood of attracting all those graduating students from Holy Cross who want to continue this educational experience. Creating ties with feeder schools is crucial for supporting enrollment.

Significant Quotes:

“Adams is in close proximity to where we live, and I’m aware of a number of families who have had children go to Adams, or are considering going to Adams… Generally positive about different programs they offer.”

“This is more of an information void than an actual ranking. I haven’t explored them in the same way as [Adams].”

“Adams is our default public school option based on proximity and familiarity.”

“Specific familiarity of what goes into an IB program is something I’d need a little more information on.”

“Certainly I would want my child’s feedback…. Their happiness or success in a program could tip the scales a little bit.”

“For some families, these [magnet] labels might be important, and for others not so much”

“Racial and socioeconomic diversity enriches the classroom, enriches the school community, enriches a lot of the other pieces. I very much value that.”

“Study anything, do everything could apply at the high school level as well.”

“It’s going to be important to me as a parent that the school prepares my student for college.”

“I would be drawn to data… That could be a number that could be significant, but I’d want to dig a little deeper.”

Regarding technical classes: “I don’t see this particular coursework as being applicable right after high school.”

“This is a rumor mill category. This is data that I could gather that could be a factor.” (Relating to negative factors that might influence his decision)

“A lack of arts would be a gap in the experience or education that I would want for my children.”

“Is the negative press and publicity true?”

“I think it’s possible if the people I trust were vocal enough that I would already dismiss the school.”

“If I heard something negative, I would explore how the school is handling it.”

“I would be drawn in by positive information about the school, but would want the negatives to be addressed at a parent night or meeting.”

“We’ve had some dwindling enrollment over the last decade.”

 

 

Steffen Timmer interviewed Scott McKissick, the principal at Davenport Central High School to get his insights on how to run a high school with exceptional arts programs.

Date: 2/27/2017

Type: Expert Interview

Location: Phone Call

Team participants: Conducted interview alone

User Characteristics: Iowa High School Principal

Male

Principal of high school that deals with open enrollment and is known for great performing arts

What is this person about – what drives him/her? Driven to create the best environment possible for students to succeed.

What is this person’s biggest point of pain? Dealing with high schools in other districts that are better known for athletics or academics. For example, team that won state in basketball last year had three kids on team that lived in Davenport Central school district.

Memorable quote from interview: “Families go where kids think they can succeed.”

 

Top 3 Learnings:

1. Finding ways to compete on a larger scale than other schools is key. Kids are naturally competitive and if you create opportunities where they can compete nationally than kids will be drawn in. Davenport Central sends kids to Disney World and NYC for show choir, Lucas Oil Stadium for band nationals.
2. Tradition matters. If people went to a high school and enjoyed it, or people who you know enjoyed a high school, then that high school becomes more attractive.
3. Alumni events are key. Between raising money for the school and keeping public perception of the school high, bringing alumni back to the school as much as possible is necessary. Davenport Central hosts ½ dozen alumni events every year in order to keep relationships strong. $250,000 scholarship fund at school funded by alumni.

Key Insight –

(1) Clay can better capitalize on alumni networks to make enrollment from the local area higher.

(2) Competing at a higher level than other local high schools is necessary.

(3) New additions matter. Davenport Central is finishing up a $28 million addition to school, which includes a new auditorium and swimming pool. Kids are already transferring to Central because the swimming pool is supposed to be the biggest, fastest pool in Iowa.

(4) Principal McKissick said his school had very good academic results and attributed a lot of this to the idea that band/arts students are generally hard-working, motivated students. Perhaps Clay’s target group is this student who focuses on high academics and high arts achievement.

 

 

Date of Observation: 2/28/2017

Location: Clay High School

Type: Immersion Experience

Event: Multicultural Celebration Assembly (Students and Parents)

Event Description: This assembly was put on by teachers and students, and it was a celebration of diversity at the end of Black History Month. There were different sketches, poems, songs, and performances throughout the assembly.

Takeaways:

Strength of Diversity

This assembly was entirely dedicated to the celebration of diversity at Clay High School, and the importance of speaking out against intolerance. It is clear that Clay has a diverse population of students, and they are making an intentional effort to celebrate the different backgrounds of Clay students. As Principal Eid has acknowledged, Clay must celebrate their diverse student body, in order to encourage kids from all different backgrounds to attend.

Role of Teachers

Most of the performances were done by Clay teachers, and the excitement and applause for them showed the students’ appreciation for their teachers’ participation. Since teachers have some of the most direct contact with students, it is crucial that they find ways to connect with and encourage their kids. This assembly was one way of doing that, and it seemed to be a great success.

Parent Involvement

Parents were also invited to come to the assembly, and watch alongside their students. This reinforces the importance that parents have in their High School Students’ experience, as they have the capacity to support and bring their child to events around the school.

Low Student Participation

Although the assembly was well-run and encouraging, the gym was mostly empty. Speaking to Principal Eid, he commented that kids sometimes have a hard time coming to events like these, due to transportation challenges. This makes me wonder if there are other events around school that might have a better turnout if Clay offered more busses and transportation solutions.

 

Great job with the interview summaries so far team!  You captured some great insights!  Keep up the great work.  It will be very interesting to see the patterns that emerge.

Individual Interview 2 – Danny Cohen

Date: 2/22/2017

Type: Individual Interview with former St. Joe student currently at Notre Dame

User: Sean O’Brien is a junior at Notre Dame studying Accounting, originally from South Bend, IN. He attended St. Joe High School, a private school in South Bend. Young Jae and I conducted an interview in North Dining Hall, where we asked him some questions about his reasons for choosing St. Joe, and his perception of Clay High School.

Summary of Interview:

Entice:

What enticed him to attend St. Joe versus the other options?

• Religion: Catholic education was important to him
• Best academic high school in the area
• College Preparedness: 20+ kids to Notre Dame every year
• Family ties; multiple relatives went to St. Joe, including mom
• Determined from very early on that he was going to St. Joe
• Only one of two private schools in South Bend

It was clear from early on that Sean was going to St. Joe. With the family ties, Catholic education, and strong academics, it was the clear choice for him. In both the two interviews I conducted about high schools, family ties played a major role in determining where the student would go to school.

Enter:

Sean didn’t describe specifically how he began his high school experience, other talking a little bit about the feeder nature of education, where he went to an elementary and middle school that led into St. Joe. He is originally from Clay Township, and lived across from an elementary school that fed into Clay, so he had a lot of friends at Clay.

Engage:

Sean played football in high school, and took 5 AP classes in his time at St. Joe.

We didn’t speak much about his exit and extension after high school, but he went to Notre Dame and would very likely send his kid to a high school similar to St Joe in the future.

One of the interesting points that Sean touched on was the voucher program, which is a program that allows parents to send their kids to Catholic Schools for a greatly reduced price. He suggested that this might lead to some students who would normally attend a public school instead going to a private Catholic School, for the perceived superior education.

Sean also described the public school system in South Bend as being poorly run and managed, although he wasn’t able to go into a lot of details about that. It seems to be more of a talking point that public high schools in South Bend are bad, rather than actually one supported by hard facts.

Sean also discussed the issue of IB and AP, and why IB was perceived as being superior. He described the way in which IB candidates are separated from the rest of the school, and pursuing the honors track. However, he also conceded that the idea of an IB program is actually a farce in South Bend, since so few kids actually get the diploma. He called the IB program “a joke”, since the classes weren’t any more difficult than other classes.

Sean also talked about how sports were such a significant factor for parents when choosing where to send their kids. For parents of athletes, a major consideration for them is the quality of the sports team at the school, which I didn’t consider a potentially major factor until our interview with Sean.

There are definitely issues of race with regard to Clay’s enrollment, and Sean addressed how the school went from being predominantly white to much more diverse. He didn’t specify why this could have an effect on enrollment numbers, but this is definitely something we will look more into.

Significant Quotes:

“My friends chose Clay because it’s right by their house”

“A lot of professors send their kids to Adams, since it’s in the ‘Old Money Neighborhood’”

“I don’t think Clay has the thug culture that the others do. It’s probably one of the safer ones”

“Adams sends kids to Ivy League schools”

“Public education in South Bend is… very poorly run, and there are a lot of issues there”

“The schools are not managed well, some have problems with gangs and violence. That’s the perception, that they’re not great”

“The best public school around is Adams, because they have the IB program. They’re the best off of the four public high schools.”

“Back when you couldn’t go to every school, Clay was the best public school”

Individual Interview 1 – Danny Cohen

Date: 2/25/2017

Type: Individual Interview with former Clay student currently at Notre Dame

User: Tess Swain is a junior at Notre Dame studying Marketing, originally from South Bend, IN. She attended Clay High School, and had a wonderful experience as a student there. I reached out to her per the suggestion of another interviewee, and had to contact her via email because she was abroad, so I was not able to obtain any video footage of the interview.

Summary of Interview:

Entice:

What enticed her to attend Clay High School versus the alternative options?

• Family ties; seeing her siblings have a successful experience at Clay
• Proximity; Clay was the closest high school to her house
• Similarity; in her mind, all four public schools are almost the same
• Convenience; easy to get to, and already informed about it due to siblings attending
• Price; being a public school, it was a cheaper option than a private school like St. Joe

Overall, it seems that Tess and her parents had a relatively easy decision in choosing to send their kids to Clay High School. They used the experience of their older siblings to determine that it was a good school, and their initial motivation seemed to be motivated by convenience, price, and the relatively-similar academic experience that she could get at other schools.

Enter:

The way that Tess entered into Clay was simply to enroll in the school. Since it was the closest to her high school, it was easy for her to get to the school, and since the school is public, there are no admissions exams or requirements that she had to meet.

Engage:

• Entering into the school community, and becoming a part of it.
• Activities: Trick-or-Treating, Serving, Chanting, Playing Sports, Learning, Growing, Being Challenged, Being Supported
• Some of the objects that Tess addressed were things like athletic events, service events, and learning in the classroom. These are the things that students are physically involved in when they’re at school, and evidently they are big contributors to a students’ enjoyment and success throughout high school.
• Many of her interactions that she described were with staff members. Each day, students interact with teachers, principals, coaches, and more, and parents are likely concerned with how these adults mold and support their children. According to Tess, they did an excellent job.

Exit:

• Currently, Tess is a student at Notre Dame.
• The primary step in the exit process is graduation. Many parents would likely be concerned with their student graduating from high school, which is why graduation statistics are very important.
• It could be useful to highlight successful alumni who go on to do great things, like Tess, because this shows the type of student that Clay creates.

Extend:

• Once students leave high school, they tend to have limited interaction with the school. If they have siblings, like in Tess’s case, they might encourage them to attend the same school. It seems that with families, it’s rare for parents to send their kids to different high schools. Because of this, Clay should focus on attracting parents who haven’t yet decided on a school for their oldest child, in an attempt to get younger siblings into the school as well.

Tess also provided a lot of insight on the challenges facing Clay, and addressed some of the reasons why parents might send their kids to schools besides Clay. Some of the main observations she had were:

• Adams is currently the most popular school to attend, due to friend groups, the IB program, and superior athletics.
• Losing kids to Adams creates a drain-effect, where parents start to perceive it as the better school because more kids are going there, and this domino-effect leads to enrollment challenges for the other three public schools.
• Some parents believe their kids will have a better shot at college or college athletics if they attend Adams.
• Clay is rumored to have the worst magnet program of the 4 public schools.
• Perception is that Clay is filled with fighting, has kids who don’t take school seriously, and receive a worse education.

Finally, Tess gave some advice on how Clay might be able to better market themselves to prospective families.

• Increase the selection of classes, to draw back kids that are flocking to Adams for the IB courses.
• Label of “Fine Arts Magnet” can be detrimental to the school’s image, if parents believe that arts are all that Clay has to offer.
• Increased college preparation courses. This ties back into a point that Tess made about the perception that Clay might not excel at sending kids to college, and improving this could show parents that Clay is serious about the educational future of its students.

Overall, it seems that a lot of the challenges facing Clay are due to its image. People aren’t necessarily concerned with the statistics or facts about the school; rather, it seems that Clay has a problem with its image. Tess says throughout that she “has heard” things like fights being started, or issues with the magnet program, or that the school has gone downhill. This makes me question if parents are truly concerned with the statistics about the school, or if image, rumors, and advice from friends plays a much larger role in their decision.

Significant Quotes:

“I never even considered the other SB public schools because while they may have some variation of pros and cons, at the end of the day all four schools are virtually the same.”

“However, [St. Joe] was too expensive, and I knew Clay would offer me the exact same opportunities.”

 

“What I valued most about Clay was the sense of community.”

 

“[Clay teachers] care so deeply about not only how the students perform in the classroom but what kind of people they go on to become. I always felt that I was being challenged and rooted for, and I think that’s a very important thing to be able to say.”

 

“ I have also heard repeatedly that Clay has the worst magnet program of the four which may deter people from enrolling.”

“ I’ve heard people say that the kids start fights, don’t take school seriously, and receive a lesser education.”

 

“I feel that the label “Fine Arts magnet” is more harmful to Clay than the actual magnet itself.”

“While I thought Clay prepared me fairly well for college, some of my classmates strongly disagreed. We took one required career class freshman year which was not incredibly useful, so I think strengthening that type of requirement as well could be really helpful for students.”

 

Transcript from Interview:

 

Why did you decide to attend Clay, versus the other SB public schools? Private schools?

 

I went to Clay because my three older siblings did. They loved it, and it is the closest high school to my house so it was really a no brainer. I never even considered the other SB public schools because while they may have some variation of pros and cons, at the end of the day all four schools are virtually the same. My mom went to Adams and only has positive things to say about it but did not hesitate in sending us to Clay. It was the most convenient choice and gave us the same education/experience that she got at Adams.

Regarding private schools, I almost went to St. Joe because I grew up playing softball with their feeder team, so all of my teammates went on to school there. However, it was too expensive, and I knew Clay would offer me the exact same opportunities.

 

If you were trying to convince a middle-school parent to send their student to Clay, how would you do it? Essentially, what are the best selling points of Clay?

 

What I valued most about Clay was the sense of community. Traditions like the signature Canned Food Drive, trick-or-treating for the Evan Halford Foundation, and chanting with Derb at football/basketball games are unique to Clay and are some of my fondest memories. Teachers like Mrs. O’Blenis, Mr. Romans, and Mr. Kasper live for their students. They care so deeply about not only how the students perform in the classroom but what kind of people they go on to become. I always felt that I was being challenged and rooted for, and I think that’s a very important thing to be able to say. I also think Clay is a very welcoming place. With the variety sports/clubs/extra-curriculars available in addition to the Fine Arts magnet, there is something for everyone, and that harbors diversity.

 

Why do you believe a parent might choose NOT to send their student to Clay? What are some of the negative stereotypes associated with the school?

 

Right now, Adams is the “cool” school to go to. More and more kids want to follow their friends there, join the IB program, or go for athletics because their sports teams are now loaded due to increased enrollment. Adams’ rise to prominence negatively affects Clay, Riley, and Washington alike. Parents may not send their kids to Clay because they feel that they could get a better education or a better chance at college athletics by going to Adams. I have also heard repeatedly that Clay has the worst magnet program of the four which may deter people from enrolling. Clay currently has somewhat of a reputation that it has “gone downhill.” I’ve heard people say that the kids start fights, don’t take school seriously, and receive a lesser education.

 

What advice would you have for Clay to improve their student experience? More AP classes? Less focus on arts? More college prep classes?

 

I loved my experience at Clay, so this question is kind of hard to answer. I think more AP classes would be good and would certainly help take back some of the crowd that is rushing to Adams’ IB program. If possible, I think a wider selection of classes in general would help attract more students. I feel that the label “Fine Arts magnet” is more harmful to Clay than the actual magnet itself. I didn’t think there was too heavy of a focus on the arts or that the magnet detracted at all from other areas of study. But the magnet does target a niche audience and being pegged as a fine arts school dissuades some from attending. Some think that’s all Clay has to offer. More college prep classes would be incredibly beneficial. While I thought Clay prepared me fairly well for college, some of my classmates strongly disagreed. We took one required career class freshman year which was not incredibly useful, so I think strengthening that type of requirement as well could be really helpful for students.