Mike Connor Visits New Client Oakbrook Preparatory School (SC)
Michael Connor (middle) with Amanda Ledbetter, Joint Interim Head of School (right), and Oakbrook Preparatory School students.
President Mike Connor spent three enjoyable days in Spartanburg, South Carolina, visiting Oakbrook Preparatory School’s trustees, leaders, faculty, staff, and its Founder and Director Emeritus Rosemary Moore.
Oakbrook Preparatory School is a private Christian-based 3K–12 school, open to all denominations. It consists of a Lower School for 3K-4th graders, a Middle School for 5th–8th graders, and an Upper School for 9th–12th graders.
The School was founded in 1992. In the words of Founder and Director Emeritus Rosemary Moore, “We wanted to create a cross-cultural school where children from various denominations were united by their willingness to work and to learn.”
Of particular interest to Connor was how this Christian School welcomed students of all faiths and integrated their own faith, Biblical scripture, and Christian values into the academic classroom and throughout the curriculum and life of the School.
Director of Faith Kelly Byrd explained, “Most importantly, the teachers share their own personal spiritual growth. Math, for example, is about order and design. Everything always goes back to God's plan, God’s order. In the humanities, students consider the moral values of Jesus in the context of literature, history, and even conflict resolution.
“The goal is to form a strong academic and spiritual foundation and inspire them to grow their faith to handle a crazy world – and find their identity. We want to put the building blocks in place so they can make a lasting impact on the world.”
Oakbrook’s ongoing goal for Connor Associates’ engagement is to help inform a plan for the next five years to ensure its strategic positioning. We would call this period the School is deliberately undertaking a “strategic pause” to consult with various education experts in enrollment forecasting, digital and social marketing, financial modeling, curriculum development, leadership, and more prior to laying out a strategic plan.
Connor Associates is proud to be working with Oakbrook Preparatory to help ensure it makes a lasting impact on the world.
Connor Associates stakes its value on its experience with providing comprehensive services, including ensuring proof of ROI through Image Audits (reputational asset and risk management), Alumni and Alumni Parent Surveys, Enrollment Feasibility Studies which identify qualified appropriate prospects at rooftop level, Five-Year Enrollment Forecasts, Location Studies, Business Office Evaluations and Plans (pricing sensitivity, tuition elasticity and analysis, benchmarking, reliable revenue streams, and capital management), Strategic Marketing Plans based on research, and onsite training and coaching to get everyone in your school and your trustees supporting enrollment, retention, and philanthropy.
Our recent offering, Administrative Leadership Search, is a very creative, fast, and effective approach to finding, training, and keeping the best people on your leadership team — and it’s a surprisingly different approach and a better value than you may get from job boards or other search firms. Find out more about Leadership Search and other new services such as Compensation and Benefits Studies, Strategic Financial Planning, and Ten-Year Financial Modeling here.
Is Your Team Pulling In The Same Direction?