Teachers are teachers. That’s what most would see themselves as. Yet I see them as the main marketers of a school.

A school’s marketing all depends on teachers. After all they are the deliverers of the product. In many ways they ARE the product. The school website, the prospectus, the uniforms, grounds and Principal’s speeches all fade in importance compared to what happens in the classroom.

When my kids come home and talk about their day it may centre on what happened at lunchtime, or on the bus, or in an assembly. Usually though it is something from the classroom.

Depending on what my child tells me I create a daily impression of the school and their teachers. I am not in the classroom. I didn’t see or hear what really happened. The stories my children ‘feed’ me either encourage, or discourage, me about the choice of school we have made.

So let me tell you a story…
My child came home from school. It was first week of the new year. They were excited – which isn’t always the case. Why? They had a new teacher. He was fun. He was organised. He asked questions. He answered questions. My child understood what he was talking about. He used technology well. He had the student’s attention.

So how does this make me as a parent feel?

I made a good choice. This school is good. They have good teachers. My child is happy.

Not all the teachers will be like that. Yet when I talk with other parents, grandparents, friends and neighbours I can repeat my child’s story. My child isn’t being paid to say good things about the school so it is more real, more believable.

Schools live or die on word of mouth marketing. Parents believe parents. Parents are more likely to believe the experience of another parent in a school community than a brochure. Re-telling my child’s positive experience is far more powerful.

What are parents talking about in a school carpark, or over a weekend BBQ? It pays to have people who can listen and report back. Negative gossip needs to be addressed.

So what are students telling their parents about your teachers?