City College Almere

Havo and vmbo in Almere. Hands-on education. When Cijs started work for the school, Stad College had been struggling with a sharp decline in freshman enrollment for six years.

To turn the tide, the school has been working hard on itself. Content improvements have been made. Qualitative ratings by students, parents, teachers, elementary schools and the inspectorate have increased dramatically. Young, ambitious teachers have joined. The atmosphere and educational climate have become excellent. But pupil numbers continue to decline.

In 2017, the board hired Victor Cijs to reverse the downward trend. Something has to be done. They choose Cijs because he has already achieved good results at several schools. Victor and his team dive deep into it. To understand the desires, hopes and expectations of Almere 11-year-olds and their parents. And the associations and perceptions. The mission succeeds.

Already in the first campaign year, the decline is halted. For the first time, board and management are becoming cautiously optimistic. In the second year, growth continues and the school dares to look ahead again. After five years of campaigning, in 2022, we find that the school is healthy again. The increase in applications and popularity is structural. City College is all the way back to its old level. And now wants to grow even further.

How did we manage that? Victor Cijs and his team focus on motivating and lowering resistances. Core pledge becomes City College >> vocational college. Brought to you with appealing and concrete videos and photos that the target audience likes to emulate. We use behavioral techniques from social psychology, including an eye-opener with anthropomorphism. The imagery pops and appeals.