Gay Marriage

 

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?