A New Website To Grow Admissions: Chesterbrook Montessori School

Key Insights

• School Website Transformation
• Modern website elements
• Automations & Montessori CRM
• Lead Intake
• Website accessibility (ADA Compliance)
• Montessori content
  

In an era where digital presence plays a pivotal role in the success of educational institutions, Nido Marketing prides itself in working with some incredible Montessori schools to transform their websites. 

In this case study, we'll explore how a new website with automations, lead generators, modern design features, and purposeful Montessori content was able to help Chesterbrook Montessori school achieve their marketing goals. 

About Chesterbrook Montessori School

Chesterbrook Montessori School offers an authentic Montessori experience for children ages 16 months through 6 years of age. They support families in Arlington, Virginia and its surrounding communities. With over 50 years of service, Chesterbrook has a strong commitment to its families and to following Maria Montessori's philosophy. They offer their community high quality and authentic Montessori programs as well as a wide array of enrichment activities such as yoga, Spanish, music and gardening. 

They reached out to Nido Marketing for help on their school website. Their aim was to increase tours and admissions and to provide prospective families with more information and content that outlined the unique benefits of Montessori education. After a consultation, we were able to identify some areas of opportunity that would help them achieve these goals. 

School Website Transformation

After meeting with Chesterbrook Montessori's team, we set a few goals for creating a website that would help them grow their admissions: 

A school website is critically important to a Montessori school's marketing strategy for several reasons, and we wanted to implement these strategies on Chesterbrook's new website. 

After meeting with Chesterbrook Montessori's team, we set a few goals for creating a website that would help them grow their admissions: 

1. A Great First Impression: A school's website is often the first point of contact for prospective parents and students. It serves as a digital front door, and a well-designed website can make an excellent first impression. In the competitive landscape of education, a visually appealing and user-friendly website immediately conveys professionalism and quality. It's important to have a website that looks modern, is easy to use, and will impress prospective families. 

2. Information Hub: Montessori schools have unique educational philosophies, curriculum approaches, and programs. A website provides a platform to showcase these distinctive features, offering detailed information about the Montessori method, faculty, facilities, and extracurricular activities. Great content can set a school apart, so we wanted to provide content that would highlight the unique benefits of a Montessori education.

3. Lead Generation: An optimized website is a powerful tool for lead generation. It allows schools to capture inquiries and contact information from prospective parents interested in learning more about the school. This information is captured by including calls-to-action as forms and downloads throughout a website.

4. Engagement and Communication: Websites facilitate ongoing communication with current parents, staff, and the wider school community. Features like newsletters, event calendars, and teacher profiles help engage parents and keep them informed about school activities and updates.

5. Storytelling and Branding: Websites provide a platform for storytelling and branding. Montessori schools can showcase their history, values, success stories, and community involvement, creating a compelling narrative that resonates with parents seeking an educational environment aligned with their values. Through great imagery and design, we knew that we could tell Chesterbrook's story.

6. Accessibility: In today's digital age, people expect information to be readily accessible online. We planned to implement ADA compliance software on Chesterbrook's website so that more families would be able to access and navigate their website.

7. Device Compatibility: With the increasing use of mobile devices, having a website with responsive design is crucial. A mobile-friendly website ensures that users can access information and navigate the site comfortably on various devices, including smartphones and tablets. The website that Chesterbrook had before was not designed for ease of use on a mobile device.

The "Before" Website

Before partnering with Nido Marketing, Chesterbrook's website had several areas of opportunities. Let's take a look at the landing page:

This is what prospective parents first saw when they visited the Chesterbrook website. From a visual standpoint, the gradient background look a bit outdated and the photography and graphics were blurry and low quality. The fonts and colors used throughout the website needed some cleaning up.

There was no clear call to action on the homepage, making it difficult for parents to figure out how to engage or take the next step. On the navigation bar, visitors could explore the following categories:

• About
• Programs
• Admissions
• Our Classroom 
• Community
• Parent Hub (for current families)

When scrolling down on the homepage, visitors would see a video of a Montessori classroom in action along with a Montessori quote. While these elements may have given prospective families some insights about Chesterbrook and the Montessori approach, it did not invite much engagement, lead generation, or invite them to take the next step in the admission process such as scheduling a tour or filling out an inquiry form. 

When website visitors clicked the "about" page, they would be re-directed to a page containing extensive information about Montessori philosophy and Chesterbrook's history. There was a wealth of information on this page, but the formatting needed some work in order to be easily consumed in this format. There are large walls of text, and no imagery apart from a school logo. This makes the content appear overwhelming to visitors. 

When families clicked on the admissions page, they would be able to find some information that outlines the admissions process. The information was not really straightforward and there was no way for a website visitor to be able to engage with the admissions process directly from the website. This page needed to be simplified and invite families to automatically be able to take the next step in the admissions journey. This was a missed opportunity that could be corrected by some simple design changes and the implementation of automations on the admissions page. 

Finally, when visitors clicked on the "program" page, they would be led to an outline of the day-to-day schedule of each program. There was no imagery on this page, colors that did not connect to the Chesterbrook brand, and a lack of information about the unique benefits a child would receive in each program. If a parent who did not know much about Montessori education visited this page, they would not be able to learn a lot about how Chesterbrook's programs offered a uniquely special approach to education for their child. 

The "After" Website

Nido Marketing met with the Chesterbrook team to discuss these observations and areas for improvement. The Chesterbrook team was able to select a new website design with customizations that they were happy with. 

The Nido Marketing web team then got to work and within a couple of months was able to launch a new and improved website that would help Chesterbrook Montessori school grow their admissions. Here's a look at the updated website:

Chesterbrook's New Landing page includes a variety of features that invites families to take the next step in the admissions journey! Let's break them down:

Clean graphics and imagery: Throughout the new Chesterbrook website, visitors will be greeted with a beautiful and simple design, high quality photography and imagery that is relevant to Montessori, and an easy to use layout. 

Calls To Action: Front and center on the homepage, and on the navigation bar, visitors will find a "schedule a tour" button. This call to action invites families to automatically schedule a tour directly from the school website at any time. We have made this clear and easily accessible so that families can begin engaging with the admissions process from their very first website visit. 

Why Montessori: We included a short summary of why families should choose Montessori education on the new Chesterbook homepage. This informs families on the benefits of their programs in a quick and easily consumable way. 

Programs: We summarized each program on the homepage along with image. This helps families see if Chesterbrook's services will be relevant to them and gives them a little insight as to what they do. 

Testimonials: Social proof is crucial when it comes to Montessori Marketing. Parents want to see how other people have experienced a school community. We made sure to include testimonials right on Chesterbrook's homepage. 

Admissions Breakdown: We outlined a simple "how to apply" step by step list on the homepage so families could see exactly how the application process works. This way, families can see just what they need to do in order to move forward with their application without feeling overwhelmed or intimidated. 

Blog: As Chesterbrook Montessori school is a content client of Nido Marketing, we have built a blog section on their website so that families will learn more about the unique benefits of Montessori directly from their website. This will help them build trust and thought leadership with website visitors. 

Lead Generators: We have included a white paper on the homepage that parents can receive in exchange for their email address. This will help Chesterbrook generate leads and offer value directly from their website. Once they have a new contact, they'll be able to send a personalized email campaign to encourage families to come in for an info session and tour. 

Automations & Montessori CRM

Chesterbrook's new school website is powered by our Montessori CRM (Client Relationship Manager). This allows them to run a variety of customized automations to collect leads and interact with prospective families throughout the admissions process. Our CRM has helped to improve Chesterbrook's overall communication throughout the admissions process by allowing them to: 

• Respond via email or text thanking a visitor for their interest and letting them know that you’ll be in touch soon.
• Organize the visitor’s contact information and any other information captured on the form for their future reference.
• Tag them as a “lead” or a “prospect” - or a variety of personalized tags in their new admissions tracking system.
• Automatically remind them to follow up with prospective families before a tour or info session. 
• Track all their leads through their admissions pipeline. 

Nido Marketing's CRM makes admissions tracking easier. Everything is in one place, all leads can be funneled through forms on the school website, and email campaigns can be managed through the admissions software. It's through the Montessori CRM that Chesterbrook can run automatic tour scheduling on their school website. Every time they get a new appointment, the team will be alerted and can send our a tour confirmation email and SMS message as a reminder. 

Website Accessibility: ADA Compliance 

Ensuring that a school website is ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant is important for several reasons, all of which revolve around promoting inclusivity, accessibility, and equal educational opportunities for all individuals, regardless of their abilities or disabilities. When building our Montessori school websites, we make sure to include ADA compliance software at no additional charge so that more prospective families can engage with Montessori websites. Here's why: 

1. Legal Requirement: ADA compliance is not just a best practice; it's a legal requirement in the United States. 

2. Inclusivity: ADA compliance ensures that individuals with disabilities, including those with visual, auditory, motor, or cognitive impairments, can access and navigate the school's website. This promotes inclusivity and helps create an equitable learning environment.

3. Equal Access to Information: A school's website contains essential information for students, parents, and the community. ADA compliance ensures that all members of the school community, regardless of their abilities, can access this information. This includes academic resources, schedules, announcements, and more.
   

4. Parental Engagement: Parents and guardians play a significant role in a student's education. ADA compliance ensures that parents with disabilities can access and engage with the school website to stay informed about their child's progress, school events, and other important information.

5. Avoidance of Discrimination: Failing to provide an accessible website may be seen as discriminatory and can lead to complaints and legal action. Being proactive about ADA compliance helps schools avoid these issues.
   

Montessori Content

High quality content is essential to a Montessori website. Families should be able to learn about the benefits of a Montessori education directly from your school website. Chesterbrook understood the importance of this and decided to partner with us for website content as well. We have helped them build and maintain a Montessori blog with weekly blog articles written by our experienced Montessori Writer. 

Through an updated blog, website visitors can take some time to explore and learn more about Montessori principles directly from Chesterbrook. This will give them an advantage and help them become thought leaders in the Montessori space. 

With Montessori content, Nido Marketing also offers access to a Montessori stock photo library full of Montessori imagery that schools can use for their websites and blog posts. This helps families see beautiful Montessori environments, children at work, and guides interacting with students. Our content resources have helped to elevate Chesterbrook's website and offer educational content to prospective families. 

Everything has really come together wonderfully for Chesterbrook Montessori. They are happy with their new school website, the extensive amount of Montessori content available to them, and the Montessori CRM. They value the help and support the Nido Marketing team has been able to offer them throughout the build out and onboarding process. Most importantly, they are able to not only reach more prospective families, but communicate with them effectively and form a great first impression. 

We hope to have a continued partnership with Chesterbrook Montessori in the future and continue to help them grow their school and reach more prospective families. Thank you to Chesterbrook Montessori for all that you do for Montessori and for future generations!

Want to be our next success story? Schedule a FREE marketing consultation today & start your Montessori marketing journey!