Year after year, open doors day keeps coming back at school. This is a meeting where interested families and students visit school ‘s facilities. It is a big opportunity to show how the school works, the offered services, installations, among other aspects. 

In today ‘s post we will find out the keys to succeed in an open doors day at school and to establish the main basis so that you can use the same procedure over the years.  

Why is it so important to have an open doors day at school?

Many centers are currently offering open doors days for families, but do you really know why this is so important? Here some of the main reasons:

• Get to know the school: families can get to know the school better, either the physical installations or the philosophy, methodologies, services, among others.
• Get to know other families: these meetings gather people together and this is a great opportunity to know other families interested in this school too. This contributes to consider different perspectives and experiences and establish personal connections that can last. 
• Solve doubts: families can ask questions about the school or the admission process and thus, communication is more fluid between the school and the future students and/or families. 
• Reach an informed decision: families get to know the school better due to open doors day and this is strongly helpful when reaching a decision about the educational needs the school may suit. 

Before the open doors day: steps you must take

To be sure of the success of the open doors day, you have to do some previous arrangements. These arrangements are: 

1. Define the goals of the open doors day and choose the date. It is important to set a date and hour suitable for families, as they are the main addressees. 
2. Set the planning of the day: if this event will include different parts (visit the facilities, principal’s speech, Q&A…) be sure everything is structured in a plan that you can send to the families joining the event. 
3. Promote open doors day: you can use your regular communication channels to promote this event and be sure that families are aware. You can post it on the website, social media, send a newsletter, etc. If you use Additio in your center, you can create public stories where you can inform all the users outside the center establishing a communication channel with them. The most relevant thing is that families get these communications and attend the open doors day. 

During the open doors day at school: tricks to succeed

Time has come, be sure everything flows smoothly:

1. Welcome the visitors: asegúrate de que los asistentes conocen bien dónde se tienen que dirigir para el encuentro, esto les dará confianza.
2. Guided tour around the facilities: show the centers installations (gym, classrooms, school playground, dining room, etc.). Families will be pleased to know in depth the place where their children will probably study. Even if it’s a high school you can encourage a student to do this tour and offer a personal vision of the school. 
3. Provide information: families will be curious to know the academic plan, educational philosophy, and other aspects. Be sure to give as much information as possible. You can also talk about the innovation level of the school by referring to Additio as a digital tool for assessment and communication with families, considering this is a factor that tends to worry families.
4. Room for questions: though families attend the principal’s speech they will have lots of question for sure. Provide them a room for questions to solve their doubts, either by email or phone calls. 

The future; what about an online open doors day?

Once the open doors day ends, it’s time to think about the success by counting the attendees, the implication level, or the final inscriptions. 
Another key element is to do some research on new ways to attract visitors to future open doors days. Although preparing on-site open doors day can be heavy (resources and availability), you can study the viability to prepare these events online. You can design a section in your website where visitors can access and visit the school virtually.

What do you love the most about open doors?

Everyone has their favorite part of these meetings: know the teachers, walk around the facilities, meet other families, what is yours? In our social media we’re pleased to read you: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Youtube.

Before we leave, have you considered our free plan? If you want to sniff, come on, access the following link and find out more about Additio Starter.

See you soon!