For over 70 years Crystal Springs Uplands School has offered students and their families an open-minded and collaborative school community. At the school’s two campuses, dividing the middle and upper schools, Crystal encourages its students to explore their interests across academics, athletics, and the arts, with the goal of graduating well-rounded and curious students. 

To continue nurturing this inclusive learning environment, Crystal needed to ensure that they were bringing in families who aligned with their school’s mission and values. 

“We always had a touchpoint with prospective families through our open houses and fairs but there was no way for us to have time with every parent and guardian,” shared Director of Enrollment Management, Oriana Isaacson. “Not everyone knows or feels comfortable seeking out the enrollment team at those larger events to shake your hand and talk to you about their student.” 

“We started thinking about how we could get to know every parent and guardian in an equitable and streamlined way,” she continued. “And that's where Kira came in for us.”

Reimagining an admissions assessment that fell flat

“Before Kira, the only way that we got to know our parents and guardians within the enrollment process was through a written essay component in our application,” shared Isaacson. “Over time we found that the exercise created all kinds of pressure for families as they tried to squeeze everything about them and their child into 250 words. The result was that the essays often felt inauthentic and didn’t give us real insight into their family values and dynamics.”   

“The parent-guardian statement was the one application component that we just glossed over more and more because they all sounded very similar.”

“With the parent-guardian assessment in Kira, we started from scratch, working with our Client Success Manager to create questions that reflect our core values” Isaacson continued. “Right away we realized that this was so much better than what we had before.”

“The Kira interviews feel comfortable and free-flowing. Even though it's not a real-time conversation, it really does come across like one."

"There's laughter, lightheartedness, and a lot of hand gestures," she added. "The parents and guardians really do come to life and when we see them later on campus, they’re the same person.”

“For our staff who review the files, Kira is a bright spot in the process,” shared Isaacson. “You can take a break from reading text to watch the Kira videos and it helps you feel  re-energized and re-engaged with the file and the applicant.”

Learn more about Kira Talent for K-12 private and independent schools

Prioritizing connection and convenience

“With Kira, parents and guardians can complete the assessment when and where is most convenient for them,” she continued. “Families have told us how much they appreciate not having to dress up and make their way to campus for an in-person interview. They can do Kira in the morning before the kids wake up, late at night when they're in bed, or during a lunch break.” 

“Families can easily slot Kira into their busy schedules and as a result, we're seeing more of our parents and guardians than ever before.”

“They’re also seeing more of our team,” Isaacson continued. “Parents and guardians may only meet a couple teachers during a campus visit, but through the recorded videos built into the Kira experience, they get to know the whole staff.”

Learn how Kira helped Greenhills School achieve an application conversion rate of 84%

An easy transition to a powerful new platform

“Getting everything set up in Kira was seamless,” shared Isaacson. “Kira provided us with detailed instructions on how to use the platform but I don't think I ever needed to open them, everything was so intuitive.”

“Within an hour we had the new assessment built and ready to send to prospective families.”

“There are companies who build products to sell them, and then there are companies, like Kira, who really care about solving problems and create products to help people achieve their goals,” Isaacson continued. “They’ve made our lives at Crystal so much easier.”