Known for sprawling urban parks, a Victorian tea house, and extravagant Christmas lights, the Ravenna residential neighborhood in Seattle, Washington embodies community and spirit.
Hoping to channel this energy, a group of local private schools together combined resources to form Ravenna Solutions® in 2012. Aimed to create an easier admissions experience for schools and families alike, Ravenna today provides strategic admissions and enrollment management to thousands of school communities nationwide.
This year’s NAIS Thrive from February 25-27 provided an opportunity to celebrate Ravenna’s 15th year of impact on private K-12 schools — in the city where it all began. As a Diamond Sponsor, the Ravenna (and VenturEd Solutions®) team went to Seattle in celebration of the private school community we’re proud to serve.
RELATED: Ravenna: A Journey to Modern Admissions
Ravenna: Celebrating the Impact
The night of check-in, VenturEd hosted an exclusive VIP event, “Fireside at the Waterfront,” an invite-only soirée hosted at The Hart and The Hunter. Serving elevated diner classics and cocktails, this restaurant within the Palihotel Seattle sits in the historic Belltown neighborhood just a block away from the Elliott Bay coast.
The following evening, the team hosted a special “Ravenna in Ravenna” event, hosted at Ravenna Brewing in the Ravenna neighborhood (try saying that five times fast). The party featured local bluegrass group The Shed Boys while everyone mingled, ate, and had some great local beers.
“Returning to where Ravenna was created and speaking directly with customers who are so deeply committed to serving their communities was truly energizing,” said Mandy Groen, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Ventured Solutions. “It’s their feedback that enables Ravenna to continue to be the leading independent K-12 admissions solution.”
VenturEd at NAIS Thrive: The Latest in Independent School Trends
Back at the convention center, VenturEd’s Sam Rosenfeld, Senior Director of Solution Strategy & Partnerships and Callee Grisham, Senior Account Executive, hosted a live session, “Reimagining Enrollment: Data-Driven Strategies for Sustainable Growth.”
Covering nationwide shifts in demographics, family attitudes, and interschool competition, the presenters delved into how independent schools can implement data-informed enrollment strategies that strengthen admissions and retention. Participants examined how to identify enrollment friction points, measure what matters most, and turn insights into action.
“This was the first time Callee and I have shared enrollment strategy with dozens of heads of school while a student band rocked a rendition of ‘Don’t Stop Believing,’ and it was everything we could have hoped it would be!” said Rosenfeld. “NAIS put on a fabulous conference, and VenturEd’s mission feels truly aligned with those of the school leaders in the NAIS community.”
The Rest of NAIS Thrive: The Future of Enrollment Strategies
The 2026 rendition of NAIS Thrive commenced with a keynote presentation from the “happiness expert” Cassie Holmes, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. Having conducted extensive research on personal fulfillment, Holmes spoke with great authority on how educators can create schools and selves full of happiness.
Additional sessions throughout the week focused on topics including school governance, operations, and culture building. One session, focused on AI for admissions, featured a speaker who happened to be a Ravenna customer. While the content wasn’t about our solution, a direct quote of, “God forbid if I had to switch from Ravenna to another solution,” made our day.
But it wasn’t just speakers we heard from. Our team talked to the hundreds of school administrators to better understand what we can do to meet customer, market, and ultimately student needs.
Thrive with Ravenna
NAIS Thrive was a fun week, but don’t underestimate strategic enrollment management decisions your school can make now to thrive year-round.
From tracking and nurturing prospective families to publishing final admissions decisions, Ravenna empowers teams to increase applications, create best-fit classes, and deliver on school missions.
