It’s an age-old tradition for students and families to offer gifts to their teachers, particularly at the holidays. Many a teacher has a heart-warming story about kindnesses received at the holidays. (One of our colleagues, a former school administrator, recounts the tale of a bright red scarf he received from his students on Christmas, which we wore with pride while directing carpool traffic for many cold winters thereafter). When does a gift become more than a token of appreciation?

The Board of Trustees is responsible for the management of a school’s financial resources. As schools continue to work though these difficult economic times, many are deciding that cutting costs is necessary.

In July 2011, we sent our e-Letter subscribers a short survey asking about their concerns regarding their position and what obstacles they felt their school faced. This was the third consecutive year ISM asked its e-Letter subscribers to participate, and we were impressed with the response.

The annual school auction—silent, live, or both—is de rigueur for private-independent schools. And every school wants to offer those very special items that generate excitement and bring in the big bucks!

As December 31 and the deadline for charitable deductions for the 2011 tax year approaches, will your school be available to accept these last-minute donations?

It’s that time of year again. You know what we’re about to say—the holiday gifting season. For millions of children that means only one thing—new toys! And perhaps it even means a few new gizmos for your classrooms.

With any new year comes resolutions. One that is recommended for 2012 is to review your school’s group Long Term Disability insurance plan.

British chef and natural foods activist Jamie Oliver, in his crusade against fatty, processed foods in schools, is having a hard time getting his food in a few school districts. According to a report in the New York Times, investigative reporter Lucy Komisar contends that children’s school meals are being driven away from anything healthier by the food supply and processing companies in the name of profit.

This month, we surfed the Web to give you a short list of cool resources on a variety of useful—and hot—topics. Here are a few things we found.

For some time now, ISM has been writing and speaking about the need for the “department chair” role to change from an “honorary” or “figurehead” role to that of an active manager, coach, and mentor. (For lower schools, this includes “coordinators” or similarly named quasi-administrator roles). This perspective will take on more relevance as we introduce our new evaluation and growth cycle model in the coming months. If you agree with this assertion, the question becomes, “Are your current department chairs well-equipped for taking on new “management” duties?