The content of this article is based on research conducted in June 2021.

The team at Outschool seeks feedback so that we can improve the platform’s experience for educators, learners, and parents. Most recently, we wanted to learn more about the strategies that some educators have found to be effective in serving their families and receiving re-enrollments from consistent learners. To achieve this, we conducted some quantitative analysis as well as in-depth interviews with high-volume educators (educators who currently have the highest number of enrollments).

A few things to keep in mind:

• Educators (and parents/guardians) can pick from many different class formats, and some class formats may work better than others for certain age ranges, topic areas, and type of instructions.
• Ongoing classes are becoming more popular on Outschool. We’ve noticed that families are signing up for this format more frequently than before. Our assumption is that these classes offer more continuity, consistency, and ease for families. If ongoing classes work with your schedule, you may consider adding some to your listings.

Top takeaways from our research:

📅 Ongoing classes allow educators to build long-term relationships with their families

If a family has a positive interaction with an educator on Outschool, ongoing classes are a great place for that relationship to grow and develop over time. Ongoing classes also encourage learners to build connections with the same peer learner group over time, which many families find to be beneficial to their overall learning experience on Outschool. Because of the recurring nature of these classes, educators can spend more time developing the content for a class session as opposed to thinking about how they’ll fill up their classes with enough learners. This can result in a more robust curriculum and better learner experience.

Some educators also offer ongoing 1:1 classes for families who are interested in more in-depth learning around a particular topic. This strategy can work especially well for skills that could flourish through individualized instruction, like learning an instrument or math practice.

We recognize that ongoing classes might not work for every educator. But if you’re not familiar with the format, you might want to think about how it may work for you.

💙 Families re-enroll with educators based on initial positive interactions

This one might seem obvious – but it’s important! We continually hear from families that educators are the most important ingredient in their learner’s experience on Outschool.

This was also reaffirmed in our conversations with educators. Several of them shared that families who enjoy their classes organically re-enroll in others that they teach. While offering discounts or mass messaging families about a new class offering may help, families ultimately care about learner/educator interactions and will re-enroll with educators that they believe are likely to provide high-quality experiences for their child.

We know that there are many variables that contribute to creating a positive experience with a family, but here are some themes that emerged from our conversations with educators:

• Personalizing the experience for a learner and meeting them where they are
• Following up with a family to let them know how their learner is doing
• Writing personalized feedback to a learner after a class is over
• Responding to parent/guardian messages in a timely manner

It’s possible that you’re already doing these things, and if that’s the case, keep up the good work! These are all optional strategies that we believe high-volume educators are employing that may help you with your re-enrollments as well. We wanted to share these insights with you in case they might be helpful as you’re considering how to build rapport with your families and increase your volume of returning learners.