Webinars

Thursday, July 25, 2019 — 4 PM ET

Tuition Sticker Price Discipline and Using Micro- and Macroeconomics

Since 2010, The Gunston School's enrollment has grown more than 45 percent, net tuition revenue has increased 33 percent, and the school enjoys a robust waiting list, all in spite of the difficult economic climate over the past nine years. While a combination of factors contributed to growth at Gunston, a key component has been the school's disciplined tuition constraint — increases of two percent or less for seven consecutive years — as well as a multilayered "theory of tuition" that guides the school's decisions around tuition. Hear from Head of School John Lewis, who spearheaded the growth, how the school worked to peg tuition increases at or below the rate of inflation. Learn how Gunston realigned its sticker/net price more closely to current market demand, as well as to longer-term inflation and economic, demographic and inflation trends. Understand how to leverage behavioral economics insights to avoid the "anchoring effect" and hyperbolic discounting.

Learning Objective: Participants will learn the theory of realigning sticker/net price for tuition more closely to current market demand, as well as to longer-term inflation and economic, demographic and inflation trends.

Presenter(s)

John A. Lewis IV, Head of School, The Gunston School

In 2010, John A. Lewis, IV was installed as The Gunston School's eighth headmaster. Prior to joining the team at Gunston, John spent seven years at Ranney School in Tinton Falls, New Jersey, where he served as English department chair, director of studies and head of upper school. Before his tenure at Ranney School, he spent several years as a teacher and administrator working in international schools including the United World College of Southeast Asia in Singapore, where he taught English and philosophy, and as one of the founding faculty members of the Colegio Menor San Francisco de Quito, an independent school in Ecuador. Lewis holds a B.A. in English from Georgetown University, an Ed.M. in teaching and learning from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and an M.A. in private school leadership from the Klingenstein Program at Teachers College, Columbia University. He is a member of the Centreville Rotary and is on the boards of the Mid-Shore Community Foundation, Horizons of Kent and Queen Anne's County, the YMCA of Queen Anne's County. He is currently vice president of the board for the Association of Maryland and DC Schools, where he formerly served as chair of the Accreditation Committee.