Stephen is a veteran marketing and enrollment strategist with more than 40 years of experience helping organizations grow, including the past 15 years focused on charter school enrollment and retention. A former Dean of Students and Executive Director of Enrollment for a leading charter management organization, he specializes in building sustainable enrollment systems and strengthening school communication strategies. Stephen holds an MBA in Marketing and has worked with major brands including Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins, along with charter schools throughout California. Known as “The Enrollment Professor,” he partners with school leaders to improve enrollment, retention, operational responsiveness, and long-term organizational sustainability.
Enrollment today is no longer just about advertising, open houses, or seasonal recruitment campaigns…Enrollment today is no longer just about advertising, open houses, or seasonal recruitment campaigns. Parent expectations have changed, communication behaviors have evolved, and competition for student enrollment continues to intensify. Schools still relying on yesterday’s enrollment strategies are increasingly finding it harder to grow, retain students, and maintain long-term stability.
Join a group of experienced school leaders for a forward-looking discussion on how modern schools are adapting to the new enrollment landscape through stronger communication systems, operational responsiveness, parent engagement strategies, and enrollment workflows designed for today’s families.
As California continues to experience declining birth rates and increased competition for enrollment, schools must begin viewing enrollment as more than just marketing. Modern enrollment now impacts retention, ADA protection, staffing, budgeting, forecasting, and long-term organizational sustainability.
This interactive session will explore how schools are modernizing enrollment through strategic communication, faster responsiveness, data-informed decision-making, and retention-focused engagement strategies that support both growth and stability. Participants will gain practical, real-world insights into the tools, systems, and operational strategies schools are using to remain competitive in today’s evolving enrollment environment.
Attendees will leave with actionable ideas to modernize enrollment processes, strengthen family communication, improve retention, and build scalable enrollment systems designed for long-term success in the modern era of school enrollment.
This executive-level learning lab is designed for charter school board members, CEOs, executive dire…This executive-level learning lab is designed for charter school board members, CEOs, executive directors, CFOs, COOs, and operational leaders seeking greater visibility into how enrollment, operations, compliance, ADA, and financial systems work together to support long-term school sustainability.
Participants will explore how modern charter schools are moving beyond disconnected systems and toward integrated operational strategies that improve retention, strengthen family engagement, protect ADA, and support stronger financial outcomes.
The session will demonstrate how strategic enrollment outreach systems and financial dashboards work together to provide connected operational and financial visibility across the full student lifecycle — from inquiry and enrollment through attendance, retention, staffing alignment, compliance oversight, per pupil funding, and executive-level reporting.
Topics will include operational responsiveness, parent/guardian communication, workflow visibility, ADA awareness, budgeting, forecasting, compliance tracking, and executive decision-making.
Participants will gain insight into how connected systems can help leadership teams proactively identify operational bottlenecks, reduce communication gaps, improve organizational alignment, and strengthen long-term financial sustainability.
