If you’re waiting until January 2026 to talk about January enrollment, you’re already behind. The families who will be enrolling then are deciding now. The work of filling January starts in mid-November.
Here’s what to do this month
Talk to current families about younger siblings. The cheapest, fastest January enrollment is a younger sibling of a child already in your program. Pull your roster. Identify families with younger siblings who would be age-eligible in January. Have private conversations. ‘We have toddler room availability opening in January — would your younger one be a fit?’
Reach out to your waitlist. If you have a waitlist, this is the month to contact each family. Ask whether they’re still interested, what age group, and when they’d want to start.
Contact past tours who didn’t enroll. Anyone who toured in the past six months and didn’t commit. A warm, no-pressure note: ‘We have an opening starting in January. I wanted to reach out personally in case the timing is now better.’
Update your website. Your hours, your ages served, your tuition range, your tour request form. Anything out of date should be fixed before December 1.
Refresh your tour script. Address TK directly. Lead with what makes you specific. Plan for the questions parents will ask.
Communicate with current families about referrals. A short note: ‘We have a few openings in January. If you know a family who’d be a good fit, send them our way.’ Invitational, not pushy.
Plan for the December dead zone. Most families aren’t making childcare decisions between December 15 and January 2. They’re traveling, recovering, and putting off decisions. Plan your tour and outreach activity for early December, then again in early January.
Confirm enrollments in writing. As families commit, send written confirmations with start date, tuition rate, and onboarding steps. Verbal commitments through the holidays tend to drift.
Plan a calm onboarding. Once you know your January cohort, plan their start. Welcome packets. Room assignments. First-week schedules. A smooth start protects the durability of the enrollment.
Track sources. Where did each new January enrollment come from? Family referral, neighborhood referral, online search, tour from October. Write it down. Next fall, you’ll know where to invest.
Take care of your own pacing. Open enrollment season is intense. Don’t let it eat your November. A focused 30 minutes a day, four days a week, sets up your January more effectively than panicked weekend marathons.
And don’t promise what you can’t deliver. The temptation in enrollment outreach is to overpromise. Resist. Honest tours convert better long-term than glossy ones.
Start the conversations now. The families who will be in your rooms in January are deciding while you’re reading this.