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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?
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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.
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National Alcohol Awareness Month
Business and Operations // April 29, 2014
April is National Alcohol Awareness Month, and although the month is nearly behind us for 2014, there’s still reason to spread awareness of how alcohol abuse affects not just the addict, but those close to the addict as well.
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Updates Concerning The Employer Shared Responsibility Penalties
Business and Operations // April 24, 2014
“Oh, Health Care Reform, how we love your ever-changing ways,” said no one ever. The laws regarding the Affordable Care Act (ACA) have been evolving since its inception. Laws, policies, and deadlines continue to change as wrinkles are ironed out and organizations—federal, private, and corporate alike—struggle to meet deadlines. It’s certainly not created an easy avenue for brokers and Business Managers trying to keep current and compliant. But, we’re reminded that nothing is ever created without hiccups along the way. Perfection takes time.
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Ask ISM's Health Care Reform Specialist
Business and Operations // April 24, 2014
Q: How will the government know that we offer our employees health insurance coverage so we’re not not assessed a penalty should they go to the exchange?
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Policy Planning for Social Media Meltdowns
Business and Operations // April 24, 2014
As more and more members of your private-independent school take their marketing and recruitment efforts into the digital world, there’s an increased risk for your school to fall prey to bad tweets or posts. We've covered numerous social media stories over the years, as well as shared a social media policy template. Today, let’s take a look at some recent social media mistakes in the Twitterverse and see how your school’s current social media policy should take these potential disasters into account.
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A Report on Why and How Parents Choose Private Schools
Board of Trustees // April 22, 2014
Private-independent schools, always aware of the need to perpetually market their programs, often wonder what draws families to private education. What are the latest trends? How can we enhance our efforts to recruit mission-appropriate students?
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Everything But the Kitchen Sink: Five Common Job Posting Mistakes
School Heads // April 17, 2014
Writing an online job posting for an open position can be a real struggle. There’s a delicate balance to strike between honeyed words to attract suitable candidates and brutal honesty about the work your school needs done. Here, then, are some common mistakes we see private-independent schools make when submitting job advertisements for various online career boards.
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The Right Tool for the Right Job: Three Times to Call Instead of Emailing
Academic Leadership // April 17, 2014
The days when people used their cellphones to call their friends and co-workers are quickly fading. These days, a quick text or email is regarded as a replacement for good ol’ fashioned conversations. For busy Division Heads, email may seem like it was invented specifically for your hectic lives, enabling the quick dissemination of information and instructions to the whole school. But email isn’t always the right communication tool to use, and it certainly shouldn’t be your only contact method. We have three instances when you should avoid using email and go for the phone instead.
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Support Your Teachers in Their Race to the Finish Line!
Academic Leadership // April 17, 2014
There are dozens of articles on how teachers inspire and motivate students, but how can we reinvigorate the teachers? As close to the end of the school year as we are, teachers may feel overwhelmed with the high-stakes final grades and exams happening over the next two months. So, here are a few ways to keep your teachers up and at ‘em through the final bell.
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The Tale of a Tooth: A Principal Plays Tooth Fairy
School Heads // April 17, 2014
Sometimes it’s the smallest things you can do that make the biggest impact on your students, and this is certainly true for a young lady at James Hill Elementary School as reported by the Huffington Post. Having lost her tooth during recess, third-grader Avery Patchett was upset that the tooth fairy wouldn’t see her baby tooth.
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Thanking Batkid: How to Acknowledge Anonymous Donors
Advancement // April 10, 2014
Photo credit to Robert Galbraith/Reuters Have you heard about Miles, the Batkid of San Francisco? Back in November, the Make-A-Wish Foundation made this five-year-old cancer survivor’s dream come true by turning the whole city into a Gotham-themed playground for a day, complete with supervillains condemned by the U.S. Department of Justice and damsels in distress. Turns out this act touched more lives than just our heroes'. Someone rented a billboard to thank Batkid for his feats of daring-do during his day fighting crime—and no one knows who funded it! It’s a complete mystery, one that not even Batman himself could solve. By keeping his or her identity masked, this anonymous donor’s indirect contribution to the Make-A-Wish foundation puts the focus on their mission—to give children hope, strength, and joy by granting wishes, extravagant or modest—rather than garnering attention for him- or herself.
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