One Person, 27 Hats Why Your School's Expectations Are Likely Unrealistic
Somewhere in your school, a lone marketer is juggling emails, TikToks, emergency texts, and brand audits, all before their second cup of coffee. They’re expected to be a writer, designer, strategist, analyst, and sometimes magician. And yet, in many independent schools, this person is a department of one.
In schools across the country, there’s an unspoken truth, the marketing and communications (Marcom) office is expected to do everything, with very limited resources. The to-do list grows by the hour, while the support often amounts to "Can you make this look pretty?". On paper, they may have one title. In reality, they’re doing the work of six departments. It’s not just multitasking, it’s survival mode dressed in business casual.
The expectations are sky-high. The support? Often minimal. It’s a quiet crisis, one that’s taking a toll on both the people behind the work and the schools that depend on them.
Then vs. Now: How School Marketing Has Evolved
Twenty or thirty years ago, school marketing was a much simpler endeavor. A viewbook, a few print ads in local magazines, a quarterly newsletter, maybe a new website every five years. The communications role was often part of advancement, and the demands were largely seasonal.
Fast forward to today, and school marketing is a high-stakes, always-on, multi-platform operation. It includes:
Social media management (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn)
Paid digital advertising (Google Ads, Meta, programmatic display)
Email marketing and automation
Website UX, SEO, and landing page optimization
Crisis communications and real-time messaging
Video storytelling and content strategy
Internal branding and communications alignment
Enrollment marketing strategy and funnel conversion
Data analysis and reporting
Parents are digitally savvy. Prospective families research schools like they shop for luxury vacations or high-end electronics. The average household expects instant information, personalized content, and an experience that feels cohesive and compelling, online and off.
In short, the job has changed. But in many schools, the staffing model hasn’t.
The Role Is Broken by Design
Too often, schools are still hiring a "Director of Communications" with the implicit expectation that one person can manage a department’s worth of output, especially in small to mid-sized day schools. Sometimes there’s a designer or content creator to help, but just as often, it’s a one-person show.
According to InspirED’s 2024 MarCom Survey, just 9% of schools have six or more full-time employees in their MarCom office, while the majority operate with only one to three. Even more concerning, nearly 1 in 5 schools report having no official MarCom office at all.
Just pause and think about that. Can you imagine a business bringing in millions, or tens of millions, in revenue and not even having one person formally responsible for marketing? It would be laughable in any other industry. Yet, for nearly 20% of independent schools, that’s the current reality. No marketing department, no dedicated staff, and often, no plan beyond "enrollment is steady”, or worse, "we’ve always done it this way.".
This role has become a catch-all for anything that touches messaging, visuals, or outreach. From enrollment to alumni relations, from athletics to the Head of School’s newsletter, if it involves communication, it lands on Marcom’s desk.
And it’s not just the volume, it’s the velocity. Many marketers feel like they’re on a treadmill that never stops, trying to meet the demands of multiple departments while staying current on best practices in a landscape that evolves faster than a TikTok trend.
The Human Cost
The consequences of this overload are becoming clear.
Burnout is common. Strategic thinking is replaced by reactive task-juggling. Talented professionals either leave the sector or cycle through jobs too quickly to make meaningful progress. Creativity suffers, not because marketers lack ideas, but because they lack time, support, and resources.
Meanwhile, enrollment goals are missed. Branding becomes inconsistent. The school’s digital presence falls behind peer institutions. And when that happens, it’s not just a marketing problem, it’s a sustainability problem.
Why Leadership Should Care
This isn’t about protecting marketers’ feelings, it’s about protecting a school’s future.
Marketing is the front door to your school. Before a parent ever schedules a tour, they’ve already judged your value proposition based on your website, your ads, your social content, and your reviews. If your digital presence doesn’t match the excellence of your in-person experience, you may never get the chance to make your pitch.
Strong marketing also helps attract top faculty, drive fundraising success, and build long-term affinity with alumni and the community. It's not just an accessory, it’s foundational.
So if your school’s strategic goals hinge on growing enrollment, increasing retention, or elevating reputation, Marcom should be resourced accordingly.
According to the 2024 InspirED Survey, only a third of Directors of Marketing are invited to present at board meetings, and just over half report directly to the Head of School. That reflects a troubling disconnect. Marketing is central to school growth, yet often sidelined in strategic decision-making conversations.
Staff for Reality: You Have Two Paths
Multi-channel marketing requires multi-skill execution. And realistically, no single person can master every channel, tool, and tactic. That leaves school leadership with a choice:
Option 1: Hire a Marketing QB + Partner with an Agency
The more cost-effective and scalable solution for most schools is to hire a strategic lead, a Director or Associate Director of Marketing, who can serve as your internal quarterback. Their job isn’t to do everything, but to set priorities, guide messaging, coordinate stakeholders, and work alongside an external agency to implement campaigns, content, digital ads, SEO, and more.
This model gives schools access to a full team of experts without having to hire and manage multiple full-time staff internally. At Schoolcraft Digital, we’ve seen this model work time and again, especially for schools that are serious about growth but have limited internal bandwidth.
Option 2: Build an In-House Team
For larger or well-resourced schools, building a full in-house team is viable, but expensive. A well-rounded department might include:
A digital strategist
A graphic designer
A social media/content manager
A photographer/videographer
A copywriter or content specialist
A data/analytics lead
This approach offers maximum control and alignment but requires a significant investment in salaries, training, and management. For schools with the budget and long-term enrollment goals to support it, this can be a game-changer, but it’s not realistic for everyone.
What Needs to Change
If schools want to thrive in the current environment, they need to evolve how they view and support marketing. That starts with:
Reframing the Role – Treat marketing as a strategic function, not just a service department.
Resourcing Realistically – Either build a team or staff to manage a trusted partner.
Prioritizing – Every project can’t be urgent. Set clear goals and align requests accordingly.
Supporting Growth – Give Marcom professionals access to professional development, tools, and platforms that make their work better and more efficient.
It’s Time to Rethink the Model
Independent schools are competing for attention, families, and faculty in a digital-first world, but many are still staffing like it’s 1995. That disconnect is holding schools back, frustrating professionals, and undermining results.
It’s not enough to say marketing matters, you have to structure for success. That means asking better questions, setting clearer priorities, and investing in the right people and partners to do the work well.
Because no one wins when your marketing team is set up to fail.
Chris Mitchell is the Co-Founder of Schoolcraft Digital and a former Director of Development, where he oversaw a team of fundraisers, marketers, and designers. He brings a unique perspective to the intersection of communications, enrollment, and advancement in K–12 independent schools.
