Stay current with the latest private-independent school news.
What are the latest trends impacting private-independent school enrollment? How can you be the most effective in your role as an administrator? How can you help your school meet its mission and best serve your students?
Check out Community Corner, a free blog from ISM.
We cover such topics as how to communicate with your constituencies, work with your fellow school leaders, leverage new technology trends, utilize recommended reading and resources, implement new strategies—all to better serve your school's mission.
Search
See articles for School Heads, Business & Operations, Advancement, Academic Leadership, and Trustees, in addition to Private School News.
The Pros and Cons of Payment Methods
Advancement // October 13, 2014
There are dozens of ways for donors to make their financial contributions to your capital campaign or annual fund, and each has advantages and disadvantages. With your time at a premium, you can’t evaluate them all. To help you decide what method works and which wastes your resources, we've compiled this pro-con list of three common methods of payment.
Read More
Advertising Your Local Business Supporters
Advancement // October 13, 2014
Does telling people which vendors or donors have contributed to your school—financially or otherwise—constitute advertising? To answer that question, let’s play a game of “What If” this month. “What if” your private school has a spectacular after-school athletics program, made possible through community partnerships with local gyms and other vendors. Let's also pretend that your private school has a policy that forbids advertising of parent (read: local) businesses in its various publications and newsletters. Would partnering with these vendors break that policy?
Read More
Stories, Not Statistics: Lessons From the “I Am a Warrior” Campaign
Advancement // October 9, 2014
We recently featured Valley Christian School’s “I Am a Warrior” campaign in our Private School News e-Letter. The school's campaign garnered several national awards and received great community response, with a 20% jump in enrollment over the two years since the campaign began. Marketing Director Kim Ellefsen attributes much of the campaign’s success to her fantastic school and the support of her school’s program leaders, but the campaign itself is quite remarkable. So let’s take a look at how Valley Christian’s campaign succeeded—and apply the lessons at your school.
Read More
Open House Tips and Tricks
Advancement // October 9, 2014
October heralds open house season. Just as every school is different, no two schools run open houses in exactly the same way. Here are some insights gleaned from the open house veterans on our Admission Director e-List!
Read More
An App a Day Keeps the Doctor Away
Business and Operations // October 3, 2014
OK, OK, of course we know technology has yet to hand us an app that is as resourceful or as accurate as our doctors are. Regardless of the reports that tie health benefits to apps, online trends, and social media usage, the original cliché we stole our title from is still by far your healthiest choice—the classic apple. It’s no secret, the key to good health is in the fuel you feed your body. So, keep those apples in your lunch pails! However, technology has handed us some crafty gadgets—97,000 at last count—that not only complement our healthy diets, but also work to keep us in line when we try to wander past the gym and into the local bakery. Here are a few suggestion-worthy apps to pass along to your health-committed faculty and staff as part of your Wellness Initiative.
Read More
Ask ISM’s Risk Management Expert
Business and Operations // October 3, 2014
Q: Do you have any suggestions for a process for student and employees to report concerns or misdeeds?
Read More
Managing Risk Beyond Gun Threats
Business and Operations // October 3, 2014
When you hear there have been 74 school shootings since the Sandy Hook tragedy in 2012, it’s hard to believe that gun violence is declining. However, the statistics are showing that our campuses and communities are safer now than they were two decades ago. While 74 is not a number worthy of a long exhale of relief, news of declining gun violence does allow a certain level of comfort—and it allows us to focus some of our risk management planning regarding other threats that can affect your school beyond gun control.
Read More
School Spotlight: Valley Christian’s “I Am a Warrior” Campaign
Private School News // October 2, 2014
With two beautiful campuses and a wide array of exceptional programs for scholars, athletes, and artists alike, Valley Christian boasted some impressive stats that should've made any advertising campaign easy to pull off. But marketing a school requires more than just numbers and bulleted lists of accomplishments, as the newly minted Director of Marketing Kim Ellefsen discovered. In the end, her original “I Am a Warrior” campaign both inspired the on-campus community of teachers and students, and attracted outside acclaim.
Read More
“Show Me the Money”—What Impacts Students’ Future Earning Potential?
Private School News // October 2, 2014
How much money can today's students—tomorrow's work force—expect to make over their lifetimes? As it turns out, private-independent schools control several factors that may impact a student’s lifetime earning potential.
Read More
Written by the Victors: AP History Exam Overhaul and Curriculum Responses
Private School News // October 2, 2014
Independent schools are blessed with their autonomy. No outside regulatory board can tell them what, when, or how to teach their students. But, what happens when qualifying exams run by external companies and boards decide to adjust the tested information? Do private schools stick with their curricula, or change them to ensure high test performance and better college admission for students? Welcome to the chaotic world of AP US History.
Read More