Q: Are there ways to reduce the chance of an "Employment Practice" claim?

The ACT annual report is out. The Condition of College and Career Readiness 2013, shows only 26% of ACT-tested students met the standards for English, reading, mathematics, and science. ACT also reports a U.S. trend of unprepared ACT-tested students enrolling in four-year and two-year colleges. As you know, your school’s goal is to develop students into your Portrait of the Graduate. Then, your portrait-driven curriculum can ideally prepare students for college. As Division Head, you must recognize program weaknesses to then alter curriculum and meet student expectations.

“There is no system in the world or any school in the country that is better than its teachers. Teachers are the lifeblood of the success of schools.” -Sir Ken Robinson

After the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy last year (and because of other horrific events of school violence in recent years), many schools are concerned about heightened school security and risk management today.

When you update your Board profile, consdier the benefits of bringing representatives from the nonprofit world on your Board. The benefits will usually outweigh the risks by a wide margin. (In next month's e-letter, we'll discuss the risks and strategies for reducing them.)

Chances are, at least one student in your school has a food allergy. Cases of foodallergic children have been rising since medical researchers first started following patient reports several decades ago. A recent study reported 5.9 million U.S. kids suffer from life-threatening food allergies. The good news is, food allergies (most common are nuts, wheat, soy, fish, shellfish, and dairy) are manageable if proper policies and protocols are in place.

School is back in session across the nation (for year-rounders, the fall session is in gear), and another summer program is in the bag. Now is the time to revisit and reassess what you offered, who attended, and the strength of your bottom line. By setting goals now for summer 2014, you can take your summer program to the next level to recruit and re-recruit students and enhance your hard income.

With all the changes affecting health care and premiums, you, along with your Head and Board, might be looking for additional benefits to offer your faculty and staff. Not necessarily medical or life insurance benefits, but instead, small changes or alterations to your school-wide policies that can be perceived as beneficial, helping lift some of the frustrating focus off increasing premiums and diminishing coverages.

Q: Since the Obama administration has postponed the employer “pay or play” until 2015, are there health care reform changes I need to worry about, or is there nothing I need to focus on until next year?

Families are your school’s strongest advocates for your education program. They play an important role in your social media strategy to promote viral marketing. According to Marketing to Moms Coalition’s 2012 State of the American Mom report, only 4% of moms and 7% of dads are willing to post offers from companies on their page. This means that “fan pages” struggle to gain shares from parents, which is the ultimate necessity for increasing positive brand awareness.