OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Did you know Omaha has 3 all-girls Catholic High Schools? That's more than other cities that are much larger. In reporter Molly Hudson's conversation with them, she learned that the way students decide where to go to high school is changing. Teens are more often making the choice for themselves and found that means these schools have had to get creative to recruit and retain students.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Even when you're built on tradition change is inevitable.
"I have definitely seen a shift towards the student and the girls having more of a voice in the process and really leading the way in terms of what high school she wants to go to," said Lauren Mueller, admissions director at Duchesne Academy.
When students make the choice, schools have to adapt their messaging to make connections with students in junior high.
At Duchesne and Marian, social media is student-run.
"We do spend a lot of time with them, we meet every other week, and we are training them and equipping them to be really strong leaders and helping them understand the responsibility that they have, but they take it very seriously," Mueller said.
Mary Gibb, president of Mercy High School, is the school’s first layperson to lead the school and took the job with the understanding that growing enrollment is crucial. Mercy enrolls just under 300 girls; their goal is 400.
"100 in each class is definitely where we need to be, we can easily fit them into this building," said Mary Gibb, president of Mercy High School.
The importance of marketing is increasingly important.
Marian uses social media tactics like geo-fencing to reach a targeted audience.
"We are trying to, you know, meet those people where they are,” said Michele Ernst, president at Marian High School.
The schools are also finding creative ways to keep students enrolled, each one tells me they offer financial aid options to help families pay tuition.
"So as tuition increases, we always increase our financial aid pool to meet a family's need," Mueller said.
