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See articles for School Heads, Business & Operations, Advancement, Academic Leadership, and Trustees, in addition to Private School News.
Your Smokers Should Pay!
Business and Operations // December 10, 2009
Or should they? You pay higher insurance premiums because they smoke, so why can't you fine them, or better yet, simply refuse to hire them? And what about obese faculty, or those who fail to control their blood pressure—shouldn't they be penalized?
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If Men Can't Wear Skirts, Women Shouldn't Wear Ties
Business and Operations // December 10, 2009
Ahhh, summertime. Nicer weather encourages us to break out our t-shirts and shorts, spend more time outside, and to let our hair down, so to speak. What this can mean for your dress code, however, is—disaster. Letting your hair down can mean different things to different people. Tattoos and piercings may be revealed, skirts can get shorter, flip-flops may start flip-flopping down the halls, and shirts can grow tighter, thinner, and less concealing. How you deal with summer's inspired wardrobe is a delicate matter.
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Swine Flu Info For Welcome Packages
Advancement // December 10, 2009
Are you looking for the perfect welcome-package stuffers for parent night? You might want to take the lead from some north Atlantic colleges and include sanitizers, pain relievers, hot water bottles, and thermal pjs along with your informational pieces. The swine flu is predicted to make another appearance this fall as temperatures cool down. If it's anything like last spring's occurrence, you'll want to have your students prepared.
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Drug Abuse
School Heads // December 10, 2009
Unfortunately, many students today are tempted by the excitement or escape that illicit drugs, alcohol, and tobacco seem to offer—61% of U.S. high-school students say that drugs are a problem in the schools, up from 44% in 2002, according to a survey from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University.
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Union Contract Forces Charter School to Make Cuts
Business and Operations // December 10, 2009
Some of you may be experiencing more than the recession's decreased enrollment effects squeezing your budget—some of our charter school colleagues are unionized and with that comes union contracts demanding increased benefits and pay. Such stories are starting to make headlines; these stories could affect not just charter schools, but also private-independent schools.
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NK, Texting Has a Positive Influence on Education!
Advancement // December 10, 2009
According to the market research firm Nielsen, the average 13-to-17-year-old sends 2,900 texts a month. Most schools are opposed to allowing students to text. However, some studies are proving that texting has a positive impact on a student's writing abilities. A new study from California State University (CSU) claims the general consensus that the more a student texts, the more likely abbreviations such as nk (no kidding) and btw (by the way) are to seep into schoolwork, are concerns without merit. Their study found that texting could improve teens' writing in informal essays and other assignments.
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Is the FAFSA Form Too Complex?
School Heads // December 10, 2009
For many families that are seeking help defraying college costs, a challenging obstacle looms large in their future: the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA.
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Personality Clashes on Campus
Business and Operations // December 10, 2009
Your school's campus would be a rare find if everyone had the same personality type. So rare, in fact, every paper and news station would probably love to know about it. With a variety of teachers, staff, and faculty, it's just not possible that everyone will work well together without conflicts in opinions—but as long as they share your school's mission, difference is ok. More than ok, it might just be the diversity of personalities that keeps your campus thriving.
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H1N1 Influenza (Swine Flu)
School Heads // December 10, 2009
H1N1 influenza (or swine flu) is a hot topic right now, and it has a lot of school administrators and staff concerned about the ramifications if it were to begin popping up in their schools or towns. Since ISM is your teammate through both the good times and the bad, we wanted to keep you informed of what exactly swine flu is, and what you can do to protect yourself and your school.
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More Parents Asking Schools for Aid
Academic Leadership // December 10, 2009
Parents across the country are moving their children from private to public schools as the effects of the troubled economy are hitting families harder and harder. "We just couldn't keep writing the check," says Cindy Hogan, a San Francisco resident who recently pulled her daughter and son out of a Catholic school. "It was killing us."
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