It's time to start planning for the Summer Season! Offering programs during the summer helps to keep revenue flowing year-round, provides a much-needed service for families when kids are out of school, and it's a great opportunity to market to new families.
A few things to keep in mind:
Check out this On-Demand Webinar: Summer Programs with Jackrabbit! |
Classes or Events? What Works Best?
How to set up your summer programming is the key to making things go smoothly for both your business and the families participating in your programs.
Q. Should I set up my summer programs or camps as Classes or Events? A. Jackrabbit recommends setting up your summer programs as Classes for the following reasons:
Learn more about why to Set Up Camps as Classes. | |
Q. What about Events? I use Events during the year for my Holiday Camps. A. Events are a great option for separating your summer programs from your regular class schedule.
Check out Compare Events & Classes in Jackrabbit for a summary of similarities and differences between classes and events. |
Things to Consider
We know you are busy this time of year so we put together a few additional questions to help plan your upcoming summer programs.
Do you need to create custom policies for your summer camps? There are many reasons why you may need to create summer policies, here are a few to think about:
| |
Do you need a new Category 1? Create a new Category 1 to track revenue for your summer programs. If your summer programs vary greatly from your regular programs, creating a new Category 1 will make revenue tracking easier. | |
Did you offer summer camps last year? When summer camps are set up as classes, you can use the Enrollment Detail report to help you determine any adjustments for this year’s summer camps. | |
Can you afford to offer multi-student/multi-class discounts? Set up your summer programs as Classes and consider offering only multi-student discounts as demand for quality summer programs may be high. Always keep your bottom line in mind when discounting! | |
What's the best way to market your summer programs so you stand out from the competition? Think outside the box from your normal yearly programming and plan some fun, creative activities for maximum student engagement. |
Set Up & Manage Summer Programs as Classes
If you decide to use Classes for summer programming, it's time to start setting them up and managing registrations and enrollments.
Add Classes | Review your class schedule and Add Classes. The class start and end dates may only be for a one-week duration.
|
Tuition Settings | Check to see if you need to update your Tuition Settings.
|
Edit Classes | Make changes to your classes as needed.
|
Registration & Enrollment | We recommend the following:
|
Set Up & Manage Summer Programs as Events
If Events work best for your summer programming, start by reviewing your schedule of events and adding additional events as needed.
Create an Event | Adding an event is a two-step process. An Event Type acts as an "umbrella" for all the specific dates and times of that type of event. For example, an Event Type of Summer Camp Weeks could have dates of 6/20/22, 6/27/22, 7/11/22, etc. Step 1 - Create an Event Type - All the Summer Programs can fall into this event type.
|
Create Event Dates & Times | Step 2 - Create Event Dates/Times - If you would like summer camps to run for one or two weeks in duration you only have to select the start date for this step. For a camp event that runs for a duration of one week, we recommend you set it up as follows:
Very Important! On the Description tab, indicate it's a week-long class in the Registration Form Description. Your Event calendar will display the start date of the event only, however, in both the Parent Portal and the Online Registration form the description information will display. |
Registration & Enrollment | Families can enroll in events in the Parent Portal (existing families), on your website using the Events Calendar, or your staff can enroll them directly in Jackrabbit.
|
Next Steps
Plan to use these Jackrabbit features to help you make your summer a successful one!
Summer Enrollment Payments | When you use ePayments it's much easier than collecting checks and making deposits, etc.
Learn how to Automate ePayments - Schedule ePayments to Process Later. |
Staff Availability | Make use of the Staff Availability feature to determine if you will have enough staff to run your programs or if you may need to hire additional substitutes for certain days. Learn how to Manage Substitute Instructors for Classes. |
Stay in Touch with Active Families & Staff | Remember to communicate important dates, registration, and enrollment information to your existing families and staff.
|
Market Your Summer Programs
It's super important to get the word out and create a marketing strategy so families can learn about your great summer programs and what options they have for their kids! Consider all these ways you can market your business.
Your Website | For Classes - Add Class Listings Tables for the programs to your website, classes will be available for enrollment on the date you set for registration. You can also Filter (Group) Your Class Listings Tables to set the summer programs apart from other traditional classes you offer year-round. For Events Online - Use our Online Events Calendar - Checklist for a Successful Rollout. We provide you with the steps to take to make it easy for your families to enroll online.
|
Email last year's students and consider including a special offer for early registration. Learn more about Emailing an Archived Class. Email your families using one of our custom-designed templates. Go to the Gear (icon) > Settings > Email Templates and search for camp in the Name column search field. Or create your own email template, learn more on how to Customize/Edit a Jackrabbit Email Template. Reach out to inactive families in the Lead File to return to your facility and any additional leads you've added. Learn how to Email Families in the Lead File. | |
Newsletters / Flyers / Postcards | Drop newsletters, flyers, or postcards in the mail, or leave them off at local schools or businesses to promote your program. Learn how to create Family Mailing Labels or Print Mailing Labels for your Leads. |
Social Media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.) | Create your online presence using social media. A simple Facebook page with information and links to your website can help get the word out about your summer programs. Post photos from past programs that look colorful, fun, and appealing. |
Need some help? Schedule a Checkup Call and speak to one of our outstanding Support Representatives. They can walk you through setting up your summer programming.