Virtual & Onsite Consulting Services
Ensure that your school’s governance and operations support your mission.
We work together with your leaders, teachers, staff members, and students to understand your school’s unique needs, strengths, and challenges. We help you create a plan to help you meet your goals.
Your team can then put these mission-appropriate recommendations into action to achieve increased cash reserves, higher enrollment levels, and long-term stability. At the end of the day, we all have a singular purpose—advance school leadership to enrich the student experience.
We offer personalized consultations for many leadership divisions of a private school—the Board of Trustees, School Heads, the Business Office, the Development Office, Enrollment Management professionals, Marketing professionals, and Academic leaders. Select the area of school leadership you’d like to further explore.
ISM’s Consulting Services can be conducted virtually, ensuring you get the support you need, no matter the circumstances. Learn more by contacting our School Success team.
Our Consulting Services
School Head
Whether you want to ensure that all school functions run at peak efficiency or are considering implementing new strategies and initiatives, lean on a trusted source of knowledge to increase the likelihood of long-term success.
Business & Operations
Take advantage of a full range of planning, facilities, and operations consulting services that give your school a solid footing for the future. Examine where your key operations work well, and where they can use improvement.
Academic Leadership
Your programs set your school apart. Explore how to create and build programs that pull families in and give them an experience they couldn’t have at another private-independent school.
Admission & Enrollment Management
ISM’s data-informed approach pinpoints what attracts families to your school and inspires them to stay. Receive customized solutions based on your school’s unique marketplace stance, challenges, and opportunities.
Fundraising & Development
Learn how to develop successful strategies to engage and bring donors closer to your institution. No matter your school size, history, or pedagogy, explore how to plan, implement, and evaluate your fundraising strategies to realize your full potential.
Marketing Communications
Explore how to share exceptional stories of student learning, engagement, and outcomes, and illustrate how these can become differentiators that distinguish your school from your competitors.
Board of Trustees
The Board must focus its efforts on governing, planning, and financing your school's future, while leaving everyday decisions to competent administrators. To do that successfully, your Board must think, plan, and act strategically.
Questions? Let's Talk!
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One-on-One Coaching for New Heads
Work with an ISM Consultant in your first years of Headship to set you on a path to success.
•Data-Driven Diagnostics •
• Coaching •
• Customized Support •
Help Your School Thrive
ISM members receive access to exclusive, research-based strategies for every leadership division of your school. Take advantage of guidance, savings, and much more.
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See articles for School Heads, Business & Operations, Advancement, Academic Leadership, and Trustees, in addition to Private School News.
Ask ISM's Health Care Reform Specialist
Business and Operations // March 4, 2015
Q. I had an employee come to me today and ask for “Form 1095” so she could complete her taxes. I had never heard of this form! What is it, and how do I get it for the employee?
Read More4 Reasons Why You Should Be on LinkedIn
Business and Operations // March 3, 2015
LinkedIn, calling itself “the world’s largest professional network,” may have once been only for recruiters and the unemployed, but no longer. Since the inauguration of its long-form article platform and news aggregate service, LinkedIn has become the place for professionals from every career and company to gather, learn, and network—including you, Business Officers. We can list four reasons why you should spruce up your profile (or create one!).
Read MorePractical Points of a BYOD Program
Business and Operations // March 3, 2015
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) programs might seem like the perfect solution to your school’s desire to stay up-to-date with the latest educational tools with little added cost to your technology budget—but beware! Don’t view BYOD through rose-colored glasses. Without proper planning, such programs can be riddled with hidden obstacles. Consider these three stumbling blocks while your school ponders implementing a BYOD program.
Read MoreFive Key Reasons to Develop a Head Evaluation Process
Board of Trustees // February 25, 2015
When it comes to evaluating the School Head, many Boards simply avoid the process. Their rationale is, “Everything’s fine! Why take on another time-consuming, bureaucratic task?” In other schools, the Board President distributes an all-purpose leadership ratings form of some sort, tallies the results, and sets up a meeting with the Head to make a few suggestions. Neither tactic proves helpful for the School Head looking for direction and support. So, why go to all the trouble of setting up a true evaluation process—forming a Head Support and Evaluation Committee (HSEC), determining criteria and method, putting it into practice, and fine-tuning it yearly as ISM suggests? Here are five key reasons.
Read MoreYou're Brilliant! You Will Get Through These Winter Doldrums
Business and Operations // February 25, 2015
Finding motivation midwinter can be a struggle. Less sunlight, post holiday cheer, and colder temperatures have been linked to seasonal depression (SADD), known to affect thousands of people each season. It’s a very real concern for organizations and individuals alike, as both struggle to keep motivation high and sanity balanced.
Read MoreWhen the School Head Leaves "Under a Cloud"
Board of Trustees // February 25, 2015
Sometimes a change in school leadership is the result of an abrupt rupture in the relationship between the Board and the School Head. In such a situation, the Board must act quickly to reassure all constituencies there will be a graceful transition.
Read MoreWhat’s On Your Printer?
Business and Operations // February 25, 2015
Data security risks are typically thought of as unsecure Web-based software, outdated servers, viruses, and poor password maintenance. Yet, data risks extend beyond your computer files and cloud storage. All the things you copy in the office—tax returns, medical records, financial information, student records, and more—could end up in someone else's hands. If your Data Security Plan (Risk Communication Plan) doesn’t incorporate printers and multifunctional devices, consider them for your next revision—or emergency amendment.
Read MoreAsk ISM's Risk Manager
Business and Operations // February 25, 2015
Q: We have had several instances of what can be considered unacceptable student behavior reported to us by parents. However, these events have taken place in the evening or over the weekend—outside of school hours. What are our rights, and duties, for monitoring student (and staff) behavior after hours?
Read MoreSchools Crack Down on E-Cigarettes
Private School News // February 24, 2015
Billed as a safe alternative to traditional cigarettes and tobacco products, electronic cigarettes or “e-cigarettes” have exploded in popularity with young adults and minors. One national survey from the University of Michigan shows that in 2014, 16.2% of 16-year-olds and 17.1% of 18-year-olds had smoked an e-cigarette in the last month. In contrast, only 7% and 14% of those respective groups had recently smoked a tobacco cigarette. But as a relatively new product—the e-cigarette was introduced to U.S. markets in 2007—and with the potential for misuse, public and private schools across the country have stepped up to prohibit use.
Read MoreSchool Spotlight: An English Teacher’s Odyssey
Private School News // February 24, 2015
In October 2014, we published an article about private school learning coach Alexis Wiggins, who wanted to experience a day in the lives of her students to see her school from a different perspective. This month, we’d like to introduce you to Beth Wilson, the English Department Chair at Darlington School in Rome, Georgia, and another intrepid explorer into the lives of her students. We met Beth on Twitter, after she responded to our post about Wiggins's experiences as a "student." As it turns out, she and 17 other teachers and administrators follow in Wiggins's footsteps to demonstrate Darlington School's mission of empowering students with a passion for learning through a personal dedication to education and renewed discovery
Read More