Eighth Grade Recruitment

Over the past few years, PV High has put a strong emphasis on its Open House for incoming Freshman. Last year, however, PVHS tried something new: Sunset Tours. “Sunset tours were a variation of the Open House,” explains PVHS Principal, Dr. Park. These tours took place during the school day as opposed to at night and gave eighth graders the opportunity to experience student life on campus. While the sunset tours provided a positive Sea King atmosphere, PV High did not receive as much enrollment as it was hoping for. “The change to the sunset tours allowed us to focus on our school activities and helped us see different options of Open House,” reflected Dr. Park.
With lower enrollment numbers than expected, Dr. Park was determined to make this year’s Open House fun, educational, and insightful. His Open House goal was that future Sea Kings would want to be a part of the programs and opportunities here at PVHS. “I want eighth graders to walk away feeling like this is the place for them and that there are tangible things offered at PV High that they might be interested in,” revealed Dr. Park. It is important that PVHS recruit more Eighth graders this year because if there are not an abundance of new students, it is likely that there will be budget cuts.
Some of the new ways that PVHS is accentuating recruitment this year is through our very first Sea King LookBook, created by The Point Magazine and Triton Yearbook staff. The idea of having a visual recruitment packet stems from Stanford University’s very own LookBook, which they use to recruit high school students. “This is the style and template that we are going to use for many years to come,” shared Dr. Park.
During Open House, students, teachers, and parents were able to interact with future Sea Kings and promote what our campus has to offer. Many performances from our Cheer, Song, and Dance Teams as well as the premiere of the highly anticipated LipDub were also presented.
For some Sea Kings, the night of the Open House was one to remember. “I wanted to keep walking around because everything seemed so interesting; it was so awesome to see all the school spirit!” reminisced Senior, Selina Lee. For Sophomore, Katie Orr, Open House made her want to sign up to be a Sea King all over again. “It was an amazing event,” adds Orr. Something even more powerful was the positive feedback from some of the eighth graders that attended. One of which was Audrey Trell from PVIS who enthusiastically revealed that Open House was, “a great night with a lot energy; I am excited to be coming here next year.”
Compared to the Sunset Tours last year, this year’s Open House proved to be a tremendous success. “The sunset tours were nice, however, Open House allowed us to showcase everything,” explained PV High’s Activities Director, Mrs. Maxfield. “The night was just spectacular!” PV High plans on having more eighth grade Open Houses for many years to come. Recruitment is a major source for our enrollment and it is undeniable that after this year’s Open House, we will have no problem recruiting students. “The Sea King family truly opened our home to our future family members!” declared Maxfield.