If you’re in the northern part of the country, you’ve been bombarded with snowfall after snowfall this year. Even some of the Southern states have seen icy, slippery conditions this season. And, what does snow bring with it besides snow days? Increased recess safety risks.

(Picture credit to Whos.gr) Advertising goes beyond a branded color scheme and happy pictures. All pieces of your school’s marketing should be a part of a single cohesive vision, and as the School Head, part of your responsibility is to steer that overall strategy. Let's take a close look at two advertising campaigns for computers and associated programs that have run in the last few years by two different companies. Each told a similar story with its advertising, but one succeeded while another failed. Though not school examples, there are lessons we can take away for your own marketing campaign.

Winter weather has caused tricky situations for many schools this season. There certainly has been no shortage of snow days taken—meaning lots of opportunities to test your school’s notification process to families of closings and late openings. If you’re located in the Northeast, you may have ironed all of the wrinkles out of your process already. However, if you’ve had more than one confused communication with your families, faculty, and staff regarding changing operation hours, these tips will help you adjust your policies for future winters.

Q: I’ve heard the term “Reverse Evacuation.” What exactly does that mean?

There can be little doubt that most—if not all—schools east of the Mississippi River have lost required class time, thanks to a spate of winter storms and arctic vortexes determined to keep everyone at home and off the roads and playgrounds. Schools across the country are scrambling to compensate for the lost class time, but how they do it varies from place to place.

Private-independent school students are blessed in many ways. One of their advantages is the lack of state-mandated standardized tests that plague the public school sphere. Still, your students will serve their time filling in bubble sheets with #2 pencils when they take the SSAT or the ISEE for future private schooling, or even the SAT I & II and ACT tests for their college applications. (Side note: More students have taken the ACT than the SAT since 2012!)

As more states move to legalize marijuana, it's surprising not to find more chatter about how schools are affected. In fact, until Education Week published an article about it in its January 8, 2014, issue, we hadn’t found much at all outside the norm of statistics and headlined, random stories.

Financial aid season is upon us. Applications are pouring in, taxes are being verified, acceptance and rejection letters are being sent, and your school’s future classes are being determined. Your Admission Office is in high gear, and your Financial Aid Committee is running in overdrive. All of this is happening as most of us are trying to recover from the holiday excitement and fight off those wintertime blues that tend to creep in from fewer daylight hours. There’s a lot of energy on campus this time of year, and as Head, you’re right in the midst of it all.

It might be spring-like temperatures in Sochi where the winter Olympics are being held, but for most of us in the States, it’s a snowy, blustery cold winter. Much of the country has faced one snowstorm after an other, causing not just an overabundance of missed school days but also a great deal of shoveling back pain.

Q: We have a medical insurance plan that renews July 1. Is it true that I don’t have to worry about the employer penalty until July, 2015?