The Role of a Private School Chief Experience Officer [Podcast]

Mishel Gantz

This podcast was many months in the making. Close to a year ago, I tried to get Mishel to talk with me about the role of Chief Experience Officer, but as much as we tried, it didn’t happen… until now. I think it was worth the wait and hope that you do, too.

Mishel Gantz is the Director of Enrollment at Synapse School in Menlo Park, California, a small independent school that fully integrates an emotional intelligence program and a robust constructivist curriculum. Prior to that Mishel was the Chief Experience Officer at Watershed School, a grade 6-12 forward-thinking, intentionally small, independent school in Boulder, Colorado. There she was responsible for driving Watershed’s enrollment and bringing their student body to full capacity. She developed this through a deliberate, relational strategy with a plan to differentiate the school’s unique style and mission.

Mishel Quoted

“I wanted to engage with students, parents, teachers, visitors, board…everybody. I wanted to know what they felt when they experienced Watershed School.”

“Teaching is a lot of giving. We wanted to make sure teachers were getting fed back.”

“The magic of the school is the teachers.”

“I wanted to be sure the teachers were having the best experience that they could have. Because it makes a huge difference in how they go out into the world and talk about the school.”

“Every school, every business, every organization could use somebody who’s looking at the experience of their people.”

“There’s a lot of choice out there now. If you don’t like something, you can just go to the next one.”

“Retention starts with the first engagement with your school. It could be your form. It could be the website.”

“Stop and listen.”

“I can’t wait to get there. School or work.”

“Don’t treat others the way you would like to be treated. Treat others the way they would like to be treated.”

What You’ll Learn

• How Mishel’s title moved from Director of Admission at Watershed School to Chief Experience Officer.

• How to look at admissions from a higher altitude, not just the gatekeeper to entry.

• What The Gratitude Project is.

• How Mishel participated in unexpected areas of the school.

• How Mishel worked out ways for the human-to-human connection happen and make contact more personal.

• How the Watershed’s brand informed the role of the Chief Experience Officer.

• Why the focus on customer service is happening now.

• Parents need to feel a part of the community. Otherwise, they may leave.

• What kind of personality makes a good Chief Experience Officer and what Mishel gets out of it.

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