Memphis Merit Academy: 413 Submitted Applications at $41 Each

Memphis Merit came to Taylor Wiz at a pivotal point in its enrollment journey. Leading a growing school required the superintendent's attention across many areas, and managing marketing, student recruitment, and enrollment alongside her other responsibilities had become difficult. She needed a strategic partner who could take ownership of the enrollment process, expand the school's outreach, and build a more consistent, scalable approach to student recruitment. The goal was to let Memphis Merit's team focus on leading the school and serving students and families, while Taylor Wiz helped drive enrollment growth and fill available seats.

1. 413 submitted applications over 11 months.
2. $41 in ad spend per submitted application, well below the $113 full-year figure across the 20 charter schools in the Charter Enrollment Marketing Benchmark (October 2025 to September 2026).
3. Applications grew through the school year. From January through July 2026, Memphis Merit received 36 to 63 submitted applications a month, with a high of 63 in July 2026.

Submitted applications and the public funding they represent

One year of public funding represented = submitted applications times $8,016, Tennessee's 2026-27 minimum per charter student (the TISA base plus direct charter funding, state and local combined). It is what the school would receive for one year if every applicant enrolled. Not every applicant enrolls, so this is the size of the opportunity, not money received. Memphis Merit's actual funding per student is higher, because TISA adds weights for student needs, so these totals are conservative. Life of the partnership counts every submitted application in the Taylor Wiz CRM for Memphis Merit. Records from before August 2025 were moved from an earlier system and do not carry their original dates.

$41 is about 0.5% of one year of funding. From October 2025 to August 2026, Memphis Merit's ad spend was $41 per submitted application. One enrolled student brings at least $8,016 in a year. $41 divided by $8,016 is about 0.5%. Put simply: for every $100 a student brings the school in one year, about 51 cents of ad spend produced the application. See Charter School Marketing in Tennessee for how the funding works.

What it costs to enroll one student, at different yields

How to read this table: yield is the share of submitted applications that become enrolled students. At 50%, it takes two applications to enroll one student, so the ad cost per enrolled student is $41 times 2, or $82, which is 1.0% of one year of funding. Ad spend only. Staff time and Taylor Wiz fees are not included. These are estimates at each yield, not enrollment results.

Taylor Wiz has become an invaluable partner in our recruitment efforts. From coordinating every tour and generating and nurturing leads that convert into applications, to creating our social media announcements and consistently meeting with us to maximize their impact, Taylor Wiz demonstrates initiative, consistency, and a genuine commitment to our success. We deeply appreciate their partnership and the meaningful role they play in helping us connect with prospective families and grow our school community.

Jose J. Alvarez Jr., Recruitment and Community Engagement Manager and ESL Teacher, Memphis Merit Academy

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