As the national debate has hit a penultimate moment this
week with two cases regarding gay marriage being argued in front of the United
States Supreme Court, it seemed an opportune moment for me to write about the
LGBT community, my experience, and independent school admissions.
When I worked in a day school in Philadelphia, we had great
success in this market, after a lot of work and a bit of stumbling about. But, as soon as one LGBT family arrived and
was willing to be the pioneer, many more followed. From these dad/dad and mom/mom families, I
learned a number of things, a few of which I’ll share here:
1.
This is a close-knit community. Initial success will quickly lead to greater
success. If a family is happy at your
school, they will tell everyone in their circle about it. The LGBT community is very steadfast and when
they feel valued and safe, they will reward you with their support and
business.
2.
These parents are happy to educate and help,
especially the early arrivers, and are not there to judge. When we asked them to let us know how they
can be made more comfortable or to tell us where we were being ignorant in a
practice, they welcomed the request to provide feedback and offered it kindly
and without criticism. (Does your
application still ask for mother and father or does it ask for Parent 1 and
Parent 2?)
3.
Parents are seeking a safe, welcoming community
not only for their child but for themselves.
It’s important their child feel safe and not be the subject of bullying
but the parents are also seeking a place where they feel safe and where they
can comfortably be themselves and take part in all aspects of what it means to
be an independent school parent.
Together.
4.
LGBT parents are proudly LGBT and welcome
marketing and communication targeted to their particular profile. They want to see their community and causes
supported and they want to find you where they are, not have to migrate over to
where you can usually be found with your marketing. While the rest of us are exhausted over being
targeted and identified in some way, this community welcomes it. (Must Google slam with me travel ads because
I visited Kayak.com?)
So, why am I telling you this? Why should this be a target market worth your
effort and consideration? I’ll give you
some information I have learned over time although a quick search on Google and
you will find more quantifiable statistics for yourself.
1.
This community is wealthy. The vast majority (more than 75%) earn above
the national average.
2.
Similarly, this community has above the national
average for college graduates.
3.
This community has a higher percentage of
homeowners.
4.
This community is highly employed, and well employed
(see #1).
5.
This community is very philanthropic and supportive, and
give willingly of their time, talent and treasure.
Finally, this community is fiercely loyal. They are loyal to each other and they are
loyal to institutions that support them and where they feel not just welcomed
in but feel they are on the inside. In referring to
my school, one set of moms exclaimed to me, “We found it!” And then they told everyone and they became
champions on our parent volunteer admission committee.
Who wouldn’t want more parents who fit this profile?
