New diocesan school department post to target enrollment

By Tanya Connor
The Catholic Free Press
WORCESTER – She’s a new person in a new position she’s excited about: one that can help students, families, schools, even the broader world.
She is Paula Kosky Hamann, director of enrollment management for Holy Name Central Catholic Junior/Senior High School and St. Peter-Marian Central Catholic Junior/Senior High School.
“It’s a brand new position for the Catholic Schools Office, which is really exciting,” said Ms. Hamann. She started July 8, after working in admissions at Worcester Academy from 2013 to June 2019.
Ms. Hamann was chosen because she has done this before and has the right personal and experiential qualities for the job, said David Perda, superintendent of schools. He said she has already improved processes that will enable schools to get more students. (Enrollment decline has meant less tuition money to pay for things that could attract more students.)
The Catholic Schools Office is trying to fine-tune the process of getting students who express interest in the schools to actually enroll, he said. He said Ms. Hamann is to manage everything that pertains to the enrollment process and set up systems within and across schools that will increase the likelihood of families choosing “our Catholic schools.”
 The admissions coordinator at each of the two schools, who handles domestic and international enrollment, will report to Ms. Hamann, said Michael J. Clark, associate superintendent of secondary schools.
“In enrollment management we focus on everything from getting our word out there so that students know that we’re here – through marketing, social media, word of mouth – ” to the admissions process of applications, transcripts and acceptance, Ms. Hamann said. “We work on the financial aid side to help families afford a Catholic education and we look at our internal policies and procedures to make sure we’re meeting our students’ needs. …
“I love it. It’s so much fun to work with schools to present their information in the best way possible.”
A member of Christ the King Parish, she said she’ll also work with Catholic elementary schools whose graduates could move on to St. Peter-Marian and Holy Name, reminding parents why staying in a Catholic school is good.
Her outreach also extends to international students, working with their agents, meeting the students through Skype or in person, she said.
“One of my goals would be to diversify our international population,” which is mostly from Asia, especially China, she said. She said about 10 percent of the students in each school are international students.
Accepting international students helps increase enrollment, giving schools a stronger financial footing, she said. But political or economic changes in home countries could prevent students from getting visas or affording tuition, thus affecting enrollment here.
Another reason to diversify is that exposure to people from other countries gives students “the ability … to function in what the society’s going to look like when they get out there in the real world,” she said.
“It’s about exposing people to our faith,” so they at least respect it, she said. And “we as people of faith” should also feel obliged to respect people of other faiths.
“We’re never going to be able to achieve … peace unless we have the opportunity to live and work together and know each other,” she said.
Ms. Hamann’s view isn’t just global; it’s local.
“I consider Worcester to be my hometown – I went to high school here,” she said. “Wouldn’t live anywhere else – I love Worcester.”
But the 46-year-old has lived elsewhere – doing a variety of things. She was born in New York but her family moved to Medway, where she grew up. For grades 7-12 she commuted from there to Worcester Academy.
“My parents made the investment and the sacrifice” for that private school education.
Ms. Hamann said she got her bachelor’s degree from Emory University in Atlanta, with a double major in biology and history. She taught science and history in middle school and high school in Virginia and Florida. She got her master’s degree in public health from Florida International University.
“Then I went to law school,” she said. “You can call me a life-long learner.” She graduated from American University Washington College of Law and practiced law in Atlanta, mostly in medical malpractice defense and products liability. Then she became a law professor at John Marshall Law School in Atlanta.
“Left there and did the stay-at-home mom gig in San Francisco area,” she said. (She and her husband, John, have two sons.)
They moved to Worcester several years ago when her husband was working in Boston. Now he works from home as an administrative patent judge for the federal government.
Their children attended Flagg Street School, then Worcester Academy, where their 13-year-old is in eighth grade. Their 14-year-old is going to boarding school at Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, Connecticut.     
“I’m a big believer in letting the children have some say if the options are equal,” Ms. Hamann said. “We have fabulous options, both Catholic” and other schools. “So much of what I do in enrollment management is helping families find the right fit for their child, and so, for my own children,” it’s about that too.
St. Peter-Marian and Holy Name offer “fabulous” access to arts, academics and athletics, and mentors to push students, Ms. Hamann said. But every school feels different.
“So the goal is to find the one that feels right for your child and your family, because that’s where your child’s going to become their best self,” she said.
She said the best way to start seeking a school is to check websites, where viewers can request more information and a shadow day (spent at the school) and register for open houses. Admissions staff can talk to anyone at any time – by telephone, email or in person – she said.
But the best way to know the schools is to visit and meet students, who are their best advertisement, she said.
“Ask them to tell you about the home that school has become for them,” she said. “You’ve got teachers that are actively engaged in your life.” That makes students want to come to school, she said; they know they’re loved and have a “whole team” that wants to see them succeed.