Interviews with Directors

What do you look for when hiring the Admissions Office staff?
Whenever we hire anyone in the admissions office, we look for someone who is personable, a good communicator, possibly never downcast. Our staff in the admissions office should bring in good energy and have an upbeat personality. It is very important for admissions staff to be detail oriented, deadline driven and of course customer focused. Data analysis is also extremely important as we are constantly looking to understand trends and changes in either the economic or the educational realm.

Is admissions sitting at the Leadership table in your school? Why or why not?
I have always had Admissions Officers / Managers on my Leadership Team. In Bucharest, Tashkent or Atlanta. The school’s Admissions Manager needs to know everything that is going on at the school, at the highest level, so that they can frame their parent communication as such. Admissions brings to the leadership table invaluable parent and community perspective, as well as enrolment trends, prediction and other such types of statistics without which any school would be flying blind. There is no way you can understand the bigger picture without listening to what Admissions has to say.

As the numbers of international schools and international students are on the rise, how do you see the role of the Admissions Officer / Manager in defining what is unique about your school?
Some schools now have communications departments and that is a bit different from admissions. Essentially admissions offices project the school’s mission statement. As our environment becomes more competitive, the role of Admissions becomes much more strategic—using marketing and PR to help the school’s position in the market.

About the American International School of Bucharest
AISB was founded in 1962 by the US Embassy to serve the educational needs of the American and international expatriate community. As the school has grown, many local Romanian families have become part of the school community together with expatriate families from government, business, and social welfare organizations.

AISB has a richly diversified population of approximately 830 students from 53 nationalities attending Early Childhood 2 through Grade 12. Romanians comprise approximately 30% of the student population, North Americans 14% and Israeli, Germans and Japanese 4% each. The balance are from Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Australia, and South and Central America.

What do you look for when hiring the Admissions Office staff?
As those on the admissions team are the first point of contact for prospective families, I look for admissions staff who are happy and positive, caring and helpful, enthusiastic and proud to represent who WISS is and express the multitude of unique opportunities WISS has for its students. I look for admissions staff who understand the educational choices in Shanghai and can confidently share who WISS is so families can make informed decisions of which school best aligns with the hopes they have for their children.

Is admissions sitting at the Leadership table in your school? Why or why not?
The Admissions and Marketing department is a crucial team and is led by the Director of Admissions and Marketing. I work very closely with the Director of Admissions and Marketing as they represent who we are as a school to the WISS and wider communities. It is imperative that the admissions department staff understand who WISS is, understand the latest in happenings and what we offer our students, and are aware of the exciting possibilities in the making.

As the numbers of international schools and international students are on the rise, how do you see the role of the Admissions Officer / Manager in defining what is unique about your school?
The admissions team is the first contact for prospective families and a familiar contact for new families as they settle into our WISS community. Though there are more opportunities in Shanghai for families, we continue to stay the unique, caring, international community of WISS. The Director of Admissions and Marketing continues to lead the admissions team as they share what makes WISS the school we all love.

About the Western International School of Shanghai
The Western International School of Shanghai (WISS) is a leading international school in Shanghai. WISS is an IB World School, offering the four programmes of the International Baccalaureate (IB): the Primary Years Programme (IBPYP), the Middle Years Programme (IBMYP), the Diploma Programme (IBCP). WISS cultivates healthy, balanced, confident and ethical people; striving to challenge and stimulate students to inquire, wonder, discover, and create each day.

We aim to send into the world brave, compassionate, internationally minded global citizens with the skill and intellect to help shape the future. We pride ourselves on our caring community and our ability to engage and inspire our young people. Located in the west of Shanghai, WISS has a warm and caring community with a student body made up of 48 nationalities. We have set ourselves apart with our unique programmes and initiatives that help students to explore and futher their passion. We hope our website will give you a glimpse of all we have to offer at WISS.