For the 2023–2024 academic year, 86 new students enrolled — making our start-of-the-year enrollment 387 students. Interest in EMS from prospective families has been strong, and since the start of school, nine new students have enrolled. Our current enrollment is 396.
The following graphic shows our opening day enrollment numbers in each division for this academic year.
WHERE OUR STUDENTS RESIDE
Our families currently reside in 54 different towns in New Jersey and New York. The top 10 towns include Tenafly, Cresskill, Englewood Cliffs, Fort Lee, Edgewater, Englewood, Palisades Park, Weehawken, New York, and Alpine.
SHOWCASING OUR SCHOOL COMMUNITY
Admissions Open Houses are hosted in conjunction with PA-sponsored events such as our Fall Festival, The EMS Book Fair & Storytelling Festival, and our International Food Festival. This collaboration allows prospective families to get to know the EMS community in an authentic way and ensures that mission-appropriate families are motivated to apply for admission. This year, our communications team effectively worked with Bergen Mama to promote these events with articles on the EMS difference and the science of reading.
DYNAMIC LEARNING IN ACTION
The admissions team offers child-centered activities for prospective and current students featuring academic strengths, such as gardening activities, design-thinking projects, and art through our El Estudio class. Our current EMS students engage with prospective students to showcase aspects of our intentional curriculum from early childhood through middle school.
ATTRACTING NEW FAMILIES
In an effort to attract additional applicants, several initiatives were offered last spring and this academic year, including virtual parent and alum panel discussions for prospective families, expert talks given by EMS community members in West New York, parent conversations on campus positioning EMS as an expert in N-8 education, and continuation of our Seedlings Program, a weekly hour of immersive, enriching learning experience for toddlers and their grownups.
WORD OF MOUTH
Did you know that 35% of our inquiries first learn about EMS from a community member; 66% of our applicants first learn about EMS from a member of the EMS community, and non-specific word-of-mouth accounts for another 14% of our applicant pool? The admissions team is most grateful to our current families, alumni families, and faculty members as they speak highly about EMS in their local communities and encourage friends, neighbors, and colleagues to visit our campus.
Applicants to the 2024–25 school year heard about EMS through:
Retention
The vibrancy and connectedness of The Elisabeth Morrow School community, educational excellence, and a strong sense of community remain essential factors in families’ choosing to re-enroll each year.
Close communication between the enrollment team, all members of the leadership team, and the parents’ association is a priority as we plan for the upcoming school year and support students’ journeys through each division.
Today’s families rely upon extended hours at school to make their daily schedules work. The admissions team is grateful to our Auxiliary Programs team for the wide range of after-school activities offered each day and to the transportation team as they work tirelessly to refine current routes and explore new opportunities.
LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR VISION AND GOALS FOR THE FUTURE OF EMS
Important 2023–2024 State of the School topics include updates from Chilton House, Little School, and Morrow House, as well as Advancement, Auxiliary Programs, Communications and Marketing, Facilities and Operations, Finances, and Community Life, Equity, and Belonging.
