Community Corner

Community Corner
Community Corner

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?

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See articles for School Heads, Business & Operations, Advancement, Academic Leadership, and Trustees, in addition to Private School News.

Pesticides on Your Floors?

Private School News // December 9, 2009

Recently, scientists at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development conducted a study, the first of its kind, to generate national data on pesticide residue in homes. They collected their data by observing residents' pesticide use along with other housing factors. They concluded that "measurable" levels of contamination were found in residential homes.

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A Google Technology Update

Private School News // December 9, 2009

Google is about to do it again—introduce another product that changes our perception of e-mail and online networking—Google Wave. People are already talking about what it could mean for the education world—and they're talking good stuff. Google Wave, if it functions as Google intends, will unveil a new way people communicate and work together. By combining e-mail and instant messaging, it will allow people to include richly formatted text, photos, and videos into both forms of messaging, having broad implications for how students develop and use collaborative skills.

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Ten Recession-Approved Vacations

Private School News // December 9, 2009

Summer is right around the corner and the warmer days have everyone thinking about BBQs, longer days, and where to escape too for a bit of peace. Of course the idea of escaping anywhere may lead you to guilty feelings and thoughts—"how can I even think about traveling this summer with the economy so unstable?"

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It's a Small World After All (Editorial)

Private School News // December 9, 2009

And it's getting smaller and smaller by the day. Over the last four decades we've seen an explosion of technology. I can't speak for everyone, but as for myself, I didn't even hear the word "Internet" until the 1990s. I had no idea this monstrous thing which I would later become completely reliant upon had been birthed in 1969, a vision since 1962. Where had I been hiding?

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Long Term Disability, Part Two

Private School News // December 9, 2009

Basic LTD Benefits Maximum monthly benefits should be negotiable. A maximum monthly benefit of $5,000 provides full-policy coverage (at 60% of salary) for any employee making $100,000 or less. To provide benefit coverage for administrators on earnings of more than $100,000 per year, consider raising the maximum monthly benefit to $6,000, $7,500, or even $10,000. Many policies have guaranteed minimum benefits as well. Look for a minimum benefit that is the greater of a specific dollar figure ($50 or $100 is common) or a specified percentage of the normal gross monthly benefit. This will give higher-salaried employees a significantly greater minimum monthly benefit.

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Teachers and Students Love to Loop

Private School News // December 9, 2009

It almost sounds like an exercise or classroom activity, but in fact, it's a growing trend in lower schools that's as old as the concept of one-room schoolhouses.

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We Weren't Designed To Sit All Day

Private School News // December 9, 2009

But all so many of us working in an office do sit all day. It's our jobs! And now they're saying sitting is bad for our health? Oh no! What can we do?

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