Virtual & 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.
ISM’s Consulting Services can be conducted virtually, ensuring you get the support you need, no matter the circumstances. Learn more by contacting our School Success team.
Our Consulting Services
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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One-on-One Coaching for New Heads
Work with an ISM Consultant in your first years of Headship to set you on a path to success.
•Data-Driven Diagnostics •
• Coaching •
• Customized Support •
Help Your School Thrive
ISM members receive access to exclusive, research-based strategies for every leadership division of your school. Take advantage of guidance, savings, and much more.
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See articles for School Heads, Business & Operations, Advancement, Academic Leadership, and Trustees, in addition to Private School News.
Recession Squeezes Family Pockets
Private School News // December 9, 2009
2009 is starting off on a rocky foot, and many private schools across the country are concerned about attracting new families in the current economic crisis. Unemployment rates soared in every state in December, forcing some states, California and New York for example, to tap the federal government for money to help pay unemployment benefits. As of January 27, 2009, the number of newly laid-off Americans filing claims for benefits was 589,000, while the number of people continuing to draw financial help from state funds rose to 4.6 million.
Read MorePrivate School SAT Facts
Private School News // December 9, 2009
CAPE (Council for the Advancement of Private Education) recently published some private-independent school facts we found rather interesting. Since we liked them, we thought you might as well. (And, if you're looking for some hard-sell information for parents, these just might come in handy.)
Read MoreHR and Legal Advice: Increased Costs, or Cost Savings?
Business and Operations // December 9, 2009
While it may seem costly to consult an employment attorney or HR expert, preventing a lawsuit can save your school literally hundreds of thousands of dollars (in litigation fees, punitive damages, settlement costs, etc.). This is to say nothing of the value of preserving and protecting the school’s reputation in your community.
Read MoreChildhood Back Pain Leads to Adult Back Pain
Private School News // December 9, 2009
Back pain has no preference to gender, age, race, religion—it can affect anyone. And it does.
Read MoreThe New Generation of Teachers and Personnel
Business and Operations // December 9, 2009
As the hiring season continues to gain steam, perhaps you've noticed a younger, more eager pool of potential teachers bouncing through the door. Just as Generation X-ers and the Boomers were tagged and filed into a category, this new generation has been given a name—Millennials. (Millennials are also referred to as Generation Y-ers.)
Read More10 Reasons to Join a Community Garden
Private School News // December 9, 2009
Since we've written a few articles in our Monthly Update for Facilities Managers' e-letters about the benefits of community gardens, we thought we would share with our readers some supporting information from the American Community Gardening Association (ACGA). Summer is the perfect time to transform your school's open campus into a garden haven. It's an easy way to involve your whole community in your school's culture, not to mention broaden your students hands-on learning. But, if you don't believe us, here's what ACGA had to say.
Read MoreNew COBRA Provisions
Business and Operations // December 9, 2009
On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed the economic stimulus bill—known as The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). The law contains specific provisions that impact continuation of benefits (COBRA) coverage for all employers (including schools) currently offering COBRA coverage to employees. (As a general statement, COBRA is required for all employers with 20+ employees that offer health benefits coverage.)
Read MoreHonoring 40 Years of Space Travel
Private School News // December 9, 2009
On July 20, 2009, we celebrated the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11's moon landing. Students and adults alike flooded Web sites and micro-blogging engines for information about that famous afternoon 40 years ago, and to watch virtual re-creations. In case you missed it (or would like to share it again with your students), here is a link to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum for a minute-by-minute recreation of the historic event.
Read MoreKids Summer Safety Tips
Private School News // December 9, 2009
Kids look forward to summer. Whether they're off to camp, summer programs, or spending two months in their own backyards, they love the free time to play, explore, and dream. Summertime freedom can lead to more than creative exploration, however, it can also lead to accidents. Here are some safety reminders we found on the American Academy of Pediatrics Web site, that will hopefully help to keep all the little people in your life accident-free.
Read MoreDo You Need a 504 Plan for a Food Allergy?
Private School News // December 9, 2009
Chances are, as a private-independent school, no you don't. Unless you receive federal funds or services to support your programs, you may not be required to comply. (Your Admission Office should have the details on whether or not your school needs to develop a 504 Plan.) However, a major provision of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 requires public schools (libraries, Universities, and the like) to provide all students, regardless of disability, with a free appropriate public education. Hence, anything interfering with a student's ability to learn, physical, mental, or emotional, is subject to review.
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