Director of Admissions and Outreach

About Woodstock Day School

Founded in 1973, Woodstock Day School (WDS) is a progressive, independent school set on a 40-acre campus in New York’s Hudson Valley. Located midway between the towns of Woodstock and Saugerties and roughly two hours north of Manhattan, WDS is a board-certified member of the New York State Association of Independent Schools and offers a unique and inclusive educational experience to approximately 200 students from nursery school through grade twelve. WDS believes that there is no such thing as an “average” student, and our combination of purposefully small class sizes, intensely committed faculty and a culture of individual respect empowers our students to aim high, shape and achieve their personal goals, and prepares them to make a positive difference in a complex world. Added to the program in 2003, our middle and upper schools offer outstanding programs for grades 6-12, helping students discover their passions, achieve academic and personal excellence and demonstrate a commitment to service. WDS actively seeks to build a diverse community of educators.

Summary

The Director of Admissions and Outreach oversees all aspects of admissions, recruitment, and financial aid and will direct the admissions process from inquiry through enrollment. The Director will lead a collaborative effort to develop and implement both short-term and long-term recruitment strategies to ensure Woodstock Day School meets its enrollment objectives. Additionally, the Director of Admissions and Outreach is responsible for overseeing the school’s outreach and marketing initiatives for both current and prospective families, including enacting a pro-active communications strategy, ensuring a vibrant presence on social media, and making sure the school’s website is engaging and accurate. The Director is supervised by the Executive Director and will work closely and collaboratively with the Office Manager/Admissions Coordinator. He/she/they will serve as a member of the Admissions Committee and Operations Team and collaborate with other staff and faculty to achieve the school’s enrollment and outreach objectives.

The ideal candidate will be a data driven decision maker, an experienced admission and financial aid professional, and a creative leader in admission, recruitment, and retention. The Director will develop and lead inclusive outreach efforts to draw diverse families to the school and ensure that Woodstock Day School continues to enroll and retain promising students who both thrive as part of the school community and in turn contribute to the community as a whole. The Director should be a team player who has a warm collaborative nature, positive energy, sense of humor, possess superior organization and prioritization skills and is self-motivated in the completion of his/her/their work. She/he/they will have exceptional communication and interpersonal skills including outstanding writing and public speaking skills and the ability to interact comfortably with a variety of people. This person will have a genuine empathy for prospective and current families and an awareness of the needs and sensitivities of parents, students, faculty, staff and administrators and ultimately be able to manage expectations and deliver admissions decisions in a manner that is honest, caring, and diplomatic.

Key Responsibilities

Admissions & Enrollment

● Represent Woodstock Day School and serve as a liaison between the school and broader community and as the main point of entry to the school community for prospective and new families.

● Engage and inform prospective parents and students about Woodstock Day School and the benefits of a WDS education.

● Inspire the school community to actively participate in admissions events including but not limited to: school tours, open houses, student shadow visits, curricular information sessions, and special school community events.

● Lead and develop a communications plan with prospective families to move them from inquiry to enrollment.

● Manage parent and student expectations and deliver admissions decisions in a manner that is honest, caring, and diplomatic.

● In close collaboration with the Admissions Committee, facilitate the selection process of new students.

● Work closely with the registrar to coordinate admission and enrollment processes.

● Use quantitative and qualitative tools to inform decision-making and devise strategies for addressing specific admissions and enrollment-related situations.

● Engage in continual evaluation and improvement of the admissions program with the goal of maintaining a capacity enrollment of qualified students.

● Develop, enact, and evaluate short- and long-term retention plans to encourage families who are currently enrolled in the school to re-enroll.

● Manage and support the school’s financial aid process.

● Collect, analyze, report on, and use enrollment data to inform and development immediate and long-range enrollment objectives.

● Ensure the admissions process supports families from diverse backgrounds and develop strategies to expand enrollment from families who bring diverse perspectives and backgrounds to the school.

Outreach

● Establish and maintain positive relationships with educational constituencies including local schools, preschools, consultants, admissions directors, and organizations, and create networking and partnership opportunities.

● Create a multi-year recruitment plan, including a plan for ensure the school draws strong interest and enrollment from a diverse group of families and students.

● Oversee the development, planning, and execution of outreach and marketing materials and events, including but not limited to print publications, the school website and social media pages, internal communications with families that promote what is happening at the school on a daily basis, and special community events.

● Assist in taking photographs and collecting pictures and stories of school events and daily activities. Maintain an appropriate photograph library for the website, social media, and publications and mailings Additional Responsibilities

● Document all admissions and outreach activities, engagement, and progress within the School Management System.

● Manage the budget for admissions and outreach activities.

● Maintain current knowledge of the school’s curriculum and educational program.

● Advise and support the admissions and recruitment work of other school programs, such as Summer Adventure, after school programming, and other special programs of the school.

● Serve as an active member of the Admissions Committee, Operations Team, and other committees, task forces, and teams, as assigned.

● As needed, participate in meetings with the Board of Trustees and Board committees.

● Additional responsibilities, as needed and assigned.

Qualifications

● Bachelor’s degree, master’s degree preferred.

● A minimum of 3-5 years prior experience working in admissions, recruitment, financial aid, and/or marketing.

● Strong commitment to Woodstock Day School’s mission.

● Superior communication skills both written and spoken.

● Self-starter, high energy, flexibility, warmth, and sense of humor.

● Technologically savvy with previous experience using CRMs or Student Management Systems, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Google applications.

● Willingness to work extended hours on an occasional basis.

● Ability to exercise good judgment and use discretion with confidential information.

● Proficiency with social media.