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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?
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.
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See articles for School Heads, Business & Operations, Advancement, Academic Leadership, and Trustees, in addition to Private School News.
Swine Flu Info For Welcome Packages
Advancement // December 10, 2009
Are you looking for the perfect welcome-package stuffers for parent night? You might want to take the lead from some north Atlantic colleges and include sanitizers, pain relievers, hot water bottles, and thermal pjs along with your informational pieces. The swine flu is predicted to make another appearance this fall as temperatures cool down. If it's anything like last spring's occurrence, you'll want to have your students prepared.
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Drug Abuse
School Heads // December 10, 2009
Unfortunately, many students today are tempted by the excitement or escape that illicit drugs, alcohol, and tobacco seem to offer—61% of U.S. high-school students say that drugs are a problem in the schools, up from 44% in 2002, according to a survey from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University.
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Union Contract Forces Charter School to Make Cuts
Business and Operations // December 10, 2009
Some of you may be experiencing more than the recession's decreased enrollment effects squeezing your budget—some of our charter school colleagues are unionized and with that comes union contracts demanding increased benefits and pay. Such stories are starting to make headlines; these stories could affect not just charter schools, but also private-independent schools.
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NK, Texting Has a Positive Influence on Education!
Advancement // December 10, 2009
According to the market research firm Nielsen, the average 13-to-17-year-old sends 2,900 texts a month. Most schools are opposed to allowing students to text. However, some studies are proving that texting has a positive impact on a student's writing abilities. A new study from California State University (CSU) claims the general consensus that the more a student texts, the more likely abbreviations such as nk (no kidding) and btw (by the way) are to seep into schoolwork, are concerns without merit. Their study found that texting could improve teens' writing in informal essays and other assignments.
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Is the FAFSA Form Too Complex?
School Heads // December 10, 2009
For many families that are seeking help defraying college costs, a challenging obstacle looms large in their future: the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA.
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Personality Clashes on Campus
Business and Operations // December 10, 2009
Your school's campus would be a rare find if everyone had the same personality type. So rare, in fact, every paper and news station would probably love to know about it. With a variety of teachers, staff, and faculty, it's just not possible that everyone will work well together without conflicts in opinions—but as long as they share your school's mission, difference is ok. More than ok, it might just be the diversity of personalities that keeps your campus thriving.
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H1N1 Influenza (Swine Flu)
School Heads // December 10, 2009
H1N1 influenza (or swine flu) is a hot topic right now, and it has a lot of school administrators and staff concerned about the ramifications if it were to begin popping up in their schools or towns. Since ISM is your teammate through both the good times and the bad, we wanted to keep you informed of what exactly swine flu is, and what you can do to protect yourself and your school.
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More Parents Asking Schools for Aid
Academic Leadership // December 10, 2009
Parents across the country are moving their children from private to public schools as the effects of the troubled economy are hitting families harder and harder. "We just couldn't keep writing the check," says Cindy Hogan, a San Francisco resident who recently pulled her daughter and son out of a Catholic school. "It was killing us."
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Educational Quality and Access Denied to Disadvantaged Students
School Heads // December 10, 2009
Of the 50 states in the U.S., 84% fail to provide students with access to a moderately proficient public education system. Only eight states provide both a moderate-proficiency and high-access education for all students. Compared to their white, non-Latino peers, minority and low-income students have only half the opportunity to learn in public schools.
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School IT Departments Lack Manpower
Academic Leadership // December 10, 2009
A recent study conducted by eschoolnews.com suggests that a shortage of staffing in IT departments continues to be a serious problem for schools. Said shortages are keeping many schools from realizing technology's full potential as a learning tool, since IT workers are forced to spend the majority of their time reacting to technology problems and not enough time on training teachers and staff on the best ways to integrate technologies into the curriculum.
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