First impressions are quick to come by.
You must have heard it many times , you never have a second chance to make a first impression. It is so true when it comes to schools as it does to people. When a prospective family is entering the front door, they are already shaping up their mind. Is this place well organized? Does it feel alive? Is it a place where my child would prosper?
Most schools do not consider themselves a brand, though in the very real sense they are. Each and every corridor, display case, and bulletin board is a story. The question is whether that story is being told well or at all.
What Visitors Are Actually Looking For
When parents come to a school, during an open house, sporting event, or tour of the school, they are not merely checking the academics on paper. They are reading the room. They desire to experience the culture, the pride, the belonging to a community.
Consider the kind of impression most schools make on their visitors:
- A front desk where you are asked to sign in.
- A few old posters.
- Possibly an old trophy case filled with pictures of the teams in the early 2000’s.
It is not very inspirational. And to a private school that is competing to have students join, or a school seeking to increase community access, such a lackluster entry experience is an opportunity lost. Schools that leave a lasting impressions on visitors the most are those that impart some emotion in them, the feeling of history, success, and belonging right from the start,
Your Hallways Are Doing More Work Than You Think
Physical spaces express values. A school with well maintained, clean corridors and carefully placed achievements gives one a definite message that we are concerned with what occurs within our premises.
This does not imply that you have to refurbish the whole building. Even minor, intentional improvements to the way a school is presented can have a great impact. Updating how achievements are showcased like athletic records, academic honors, alumni successes, etc., will bring a space from forgettable to truly incredible.
This is where a digital hall of fame display can change the game entirely. Schools can now showcase their history in a format that is rich in graphics, simple to navigate and is constantly updated as opposed to having it on a stagnant board with old photographs and worn-out plaques. Visitors stop. They engage. They explore. It is precisely what type of experience you want a prospective family to get.
The Power of Interactive Storytelling
It is one thing to present the information, and another to narrate a story. Listing the years of championships on plaque is information. A dynamic, scrollable, interactive timeline of the athletic history of a school, the photos of the teams, biographies of coaches, videos highlighting the best moments of the team is a story.
Schools are exceptional in history. Years of valedictorians, championship teams, famous alumni, theater productions and science fair winners, and campus tradition. Much of that wealth is locked in filing cabinets or behind dusty glass cases in a hall where nobody hangs around.
The technological advances of the modern world allow replicating all of that under a single roof. A touchscreen hall of fame lets visitors interact directly with a school's story:
- Searching for a specific sport.
- Browsing by graduation year.
- Discovering alumni who went on to do remarkable things.
It is interactive and can never be passive, and it is a good indication to any visitor that this is a school that appreciates the past and the future.
Don't Overlook the Emotional Connection
This is an aspect which is rarely taken into account when discussing the facilities of schools, emotion drives decisions.
When parents look at their child's sport being displayed with pride, real records, real team photos, real achievement, then he or she feels something. Once an alumnus pays a visit and sees his or her graduating class in a living searchable archive, he or she feels part of the picture. Such emotional attachment leads to interest in enrolling, generosity of donors and loyalty to the community.
Educational institutions that invest in the way they portray themselves are not merely putting up decorations in the corridors. They are establishing contacts with the people who pass by them.
Practical Steps Schools Can Take
You do not need to revamp everything at once. There is a set of things that can be done to improve visitor experience:
- Start at the entrance. The front lobby or main hallway is prime real estate. In case it is dull or noisy, then that is the first thing to do. The space needs to be cleared of all unnecessary items while the school's most important accomplishments should be displayed to create a purposeful atmosphere.
- Update how you display achievements. You can start with rotating out old paper printouts and updating trophy cases but consider whether a digital solution would be better for schools' needs? Especially when you need to manage years of records and photos that are difficult to reorganize physically.
- Think about your different audiences. Prospective families, current students, alumni and donors who visit a school with different eyes. An attractive entry experience can be addressed to all of them glorifying the past, connecting to the present, and shaping a vision of the future. For a prospective family, especially the ones that are moving from abroad, the story that they are looking for is one of accessibility and support. Mentioning or displaying information about specific opportunities, such as scholarships for international students, right at the point of entry signals that your school is a global, welcoming community. It transforms a simple hallway into a bridge to a student's future.
- Make it accessible beyond the building. The finest school tales should not be on four walls. Cloud-based services enable the same content being shown on a display in-school to be checked on a phone or laptop anywhere in the globe, it is more important than ever in the digital-first world.
Closing Thoughts
It is not about having the largest budget and the most fancy building that makes a memorable first impression. It is about purposefulness, taking conscious decisions about the way your school is going to be perceived in the world.
The schools that do this are aware of something valuable, each of the visitors who cross the door is a potential advocate, donor, student, or community partner. It is not merely good design to receive them in an atmosphere that is an extension of your school and its history. It is a good strategy.
Begin with your story. And find the best way to tell it.
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