Jacaranda trees and continuous learning
As I write, I’m looking at the large Jacaranda tree in my backyard. It’s just beginning a flush of growth, preparing for it’s late-October bloom of vibrant purple flowers. Spring is near.
Last week my niece surprised me when she counted to thirty during hide and seek. That’s ten whole new numbers she’s discovered since our last game.
New life. Regeneration. Freshness. Iteration. Rhythm. Progression.
These are ancient, living systems at work. Trees cycle through rest, bud, flower, and seed. Children rehearse sounds and establish patterns until numbers become language.
Pattern, feedback, adjustment. Repeat.
Educators will know this term well: continuous learning. You teach, observe, assess, refine, then teach again. Systems Scientist Peter Senge calls this the discipline of a learning organisation, where people and processes adapt in cycles rather than push ahead in straight lines.
Unfortunately, many enrolment journeys look a lot like a straight line.
The problem with a straight-line enrolment journey
An enquiry arrives. You send information. You answer questions. You hurriedly move to the next enquiry. You have a million things to do today, and the enquiries don’t stop rolling in. Eventually, you end up ignoring enquiries altogether – you focus instead on high-intent applications only.
It feels efficient… But in a straight-line process, there is no space for reflection. You never see the small frictions that push a family away. You never learn which moments make them feel genuinely welcomed. You keep delivering the same experience, whether it’s working or not.
By the time you notice the problems of the straight-line-approach-gone-wrong, it’s too late.
And I should make clear: the risk is bigger than missing enrolment targets. A purely transactional, straight line process erodes the very thing parents are desperately looking for: a sense that their child will be known, cared for, and welcomed.
Why feedback loops matter in your school’s enrolment journey
Experience design starts from lived experience. In enrolment, that means your system has to listen. It means taking what you learn from one family and using it to improve the experience for the next.
A feedback loop is simple: information that comes out of your process returns to shape what happens next. Without it, you are flying blind. With it, you can make small, timely adjustments that keep families feeling cared for and confident.
You watch what people actually do, you learn from it, and you tune the journey accordingly. In enrolment, that means your system has to listen, not just measure.
This is experience design at its best. As Don Norman, author of The Design of Everyday Things, says: well-designed experiences reduce cognitive load, provide clear feedback, and make the next step obvious.
How to build feedback loops in an enrolment journey
So, is it time to bring regenerative feedback loops into your enrolment journey?
Do this with three simple moves:
1. Pick one or two key moments to ask
After a tour, after a declined offer (choose the moments most likely to reveal friction or delight).
2. Ask one or two questions
Keep it short. “What almost stopped you from coming today?” “What tipped your decision?” Make it easy to answer on the spot or from a phone.
3. Review and adjust termly
Set aside 30 minutes with your team. Read the real words from families. Agree on one small change to trial next term.
Over time, this rhythm shifts your process from straight lines to loops. You become a school that learns from every family, not just the ones who enrol or who you’ve built a great relationship with.
Don’t be a loopless system. Be a regenerative one.
By the way… your proverbial Jacaranda will bloom in October whether you watch it or not. Your enrolment journey will not improve on its own. It needs rhythm. It needs loops. If you let real experiences come back into the system, your next action will be wiser than your last. That’s how living systems thrive. That’s how your school thrives, too.
Start improving your school’s enrolment ecosystem today
Shifting from a linear enrolment process to one rich in feedback loops positions your school to learn, adapt, and continually enhance the experience you offer families.
So ask yourself: What might change if your enrolment journey could systematically learn from every family’s experience?
Begin by clearly understanding the health of your current enrolment journey. Tools like the Enrolment Ecosystem Pulse can help you quickly pinpoint blind spots, measure your current effectiveness, and gain immediate insights to improve.
About the author
Jacob Shultz
Founder, Bolsta Education
Jacob is a specialist in experience strategy for schools. His focus is on improving the lived experience of schools — through story, systems and the small moments that shape how families feel.
