Alexandra Pratt ’10, Director of Admission
To kick off the 2024-2025 admission season, Alexandra Pratt ‘10, Director of Admission, welcomed forty admission professionals, heads of schools, and independent school educational consultants from twenty-seven organizations spanning five states for a networking event at Derryfield on September 16. The event was the product of a brainstorm between Pratt and educational consultant Elizabeth Hall, after a campus visit this past spring. They identified a need for professional networking amongst peers in this upper New England region, and enlisted the help of Margaret Martin, the Independent Education Consultant Association Schools Committee chair, to begin planning.
The goal of the event was to bring together educational consultants and admission professionals to share and connect on the challenges and opportunities within their professions. Pratt noted, “It is critical for school admission professionals to collaborate on experiences and trends, and educational consultants should be considered a key ally in this work, too. Any opportunity for consultants to learn more about our schools, and for us to better understand trends around what families are seeking in today’s educational market is time well-spent!”
The three-hour gathering began with a networking breakfast in The Matarese Commons, followed by a presentation from Janice Crampton, Executive Director of the Association of Independent School Admission Professionals (AISAP). Aligned with AISAP’s vision to be a “global leader and primary resource in cultivating world class admission and enrollment professionals, advancing the profession as the foundation of institutional success, and creating the conditions for each practitioner’s continuous growth and development,” Crampton challenged attendees to consider their professional development in enrollment, questioning, “Are you equipped and trained up to do this work?”
In an effort to support a path toward readiness, the attendees were split into breakout groups and tasked with tackling questions around enrollment trends, the future of independent schools, and missed opportunities to learn from as we head into this next season. To wrap up the morning, attendees were invited to tour Derryfield’s campus with student ambassadors.
Of the event, Pratt said, “As a convenor, it was a no-brainer for Derryfield to host this event. It provided a fantastic opportunity for fostering collegial connections, while also elevating Derryfield’s reputation in the region. That’s a win-win in my book!”
