Virtual & Onsite Consulting Services

Onsite Consulting
Onsite Consulting

Ensure that your school’s governance and operations support your mission.

We work together with your leaders, teachers, staff members, and students to understand your school’s unique needs, strengths, and challenges. We help you create a plan to help you meet your goals.

Your team can then put these mission-appropriate recommendations into action to achieve increased cash reserves, higher enrollment levels, and long-term stability. At the end of the day, we all have a singular purpose—advance school leadership to enrich the student experience.

We offer personalized consultations for many leadership divisions of a private school—the Board of Trustees, School Heads, the Business Office, the Development Office, Enrollment Management professionals, Marketing professionals, and Academic leaders. Select the area of school leadership you’d like to further explore.

 

Our Consulting Services

School Head

Whether you want to ensure that all school functions run at peak efficiency or are considering implementing new strategies and initiatives, lean on a trusted source of knowledge to increase the likelihood of long-term success.

Business & Operations

Take advantage of a full range of planning, facilities, and operations consulting services that give your school a solid footing for the future. Examine where your key operations work well, and where they can use improvement.

Academic Leadership

Your programs set your school apart. Explore how to create and build programs that pull families in and give them an experience they couldn’t have at another private-independent school.

Admission & Enrollment Management

ISM’s data-informed approach pinpoints what attracts families to your school and inspires them to stay. Receive customized solutions based on your school’s unique marketplace stance, challenges, and opportunities.

Fundraising & Development

Learn how to develop successful strategies to engage and bring donors closer to your institution. No matter your school size, history, or pedagogy, explore how to plan, implement, and evaluate your fundraising strategies to realize your full potential.

Marketing Communications

Explore how to share exceptional stories of student learning, engagement, and outcomes, and illustrate how these can become differentiators that distinguish your school from your competitors.

Board of Trustees

The Board must focus its efforts on governing, planning, and financing your school's future, while leaving everyday decisions to competent administrators. To do that successfully, your Board must think, plan, and act strategically.

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See articles for School Heads, Business & Operations, Advancement, Academic Leadership, and Trustees, in addition to Private School News.

Marketing Tips for the 2020–21 School Year

Marketing Communications // August 16, 2020

As families face uncertainty about their child’s education and schooling options this fall, your school’s marketing messages matter more than ever before. What your school says to current and prospective families must illustrate your strengths as an institution, your confidence in the future, and your mission as central to every decision that you make.

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Creating a More Equitable and Inclusive School Environment

School Heads // August 16, 2020

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work should not be a short-term messaging change to address recent events, nor should it be limited to schools that have been asked to or seen a need to address these issues. DEI work at an institutional level is necessary for the sustainability of all independent schools in a competitive market.

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Five Barriers That Can Impact Your Decision-Making

School Health and Wellness // August 9, 2020

School Heads have found themselves grappling with making decisions in the face of unprecedented uncertainty—the biggest of which may just be whether or not to reopen your school’s physical campus. The rules of the game are changing by the hour. Alas, decision-making cannot be avoided, especially during a crisis. Heads who must make important decisions under duress need to recognize problems that can affect the quality of their decision-making.

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Board Clarity—Leading Through the COVID-19 Pandemic

Board of Trustees // August 9, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for independent schools. The urgent, overwhelming, and ever-changing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic is causing Boards to consider operational issues typically reserved for the School Head and Leadership Team. The most pressing concern, reopening the facility, is such an issue. It is vital that Boards and School Heads work together to make the right decisions.

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Scheduling Concerns for the 2020–21 School Year

Academic Leadership // July 26, 2020

Distance learning requires a modified schedule to meet the unique needs of remote education—you cannot simply mirror your on-campus schedule for distance learning at home. This article provides some insight on how to plan your schedule for the coming year.

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Building Your Annual Fund During COVID-19

Fundraising // July 26, 2020

The annual fund is the foundation of your school’s philanthropic program. Even in uncertain times, your school should continue to fundraise for the annual fund. Here's how to ensure your efforts are effective.

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What Every Private School Must Know for the 2020–21 School Year

School Heads // July 19, 2020

ISM recently conducted a survey to better understand how parents feel about their private school’s transition to distance learning this spring. One thing is clear. When it comes to distance learning and family satisfaction in the new school year, schools will be held to a much higher standard.

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