The education world has been transforming since the mid-1990s as technology came to play larger roles in the lives of us all. Learning happens from watching videos, reading articles, searching and sorting through results, playing games—and all of these learning activities can take place virtually any where. Mobile smart devices have helped change the way we manage and intercept information. For the better part of our days, we’re receiving and transmitting messages almost subconsciously; we’re always learning.

Letting someone go is never an easy task. Employees may become violent, defensive, or extremely emotional. If you have a strong working relationship with the person you must terminate, it can be difficult for you. As emotionally complicated as firing someone is, it can also quickly become a legal disaster if not handled properly.

Using harsh chemicals around children, especially young children, can be harmful to their health. But you don’t have to run to the local organic store or shop online for organic solutions. Your Facilities Manager can mix her own cleaning solutions with items you most likely already have stored in your school’s closets.

The mass shooting at Newtown Elementary School in Connecticut back in December, resulting in the death of 20 young children and six adults, fanned the flames of the gun control/second amendment rights debate nationwide. You more than likely took another look at your school’s safety policies and precautions—especially since ISM research has shown that keeping their children in a safe haven is the top reason parents choose private schools.

Millennials—young people born between 1979 and 1993—are likely part of your alumni base. Derrick Feldman and Kari Dunn Saratovsky, in their new book Cause for Change: The Why and How of Nonprofit Millennial Engagement, share what their research shows are the keys to attracting those young donors and volunteers. The alumni/ae of your school are often a great untapped source of support, and young alumni have the freshest memories of their experience as your students.

Recently in ISM’s e-list for Admission Directors, one director wondered if anyone had used Eventbrite.com to promote open houses. Others offered up a recommendation for Paperlesspost.com. Both of these are online-only tools for greetings, notes, and invitations—communications that traditionally involved paper and postage. On one hand, communicating in cyberspace is cheap (mostly free), instant, and can be managed 24/7. On the downside, it may seem sterile, get lost as spam, and … can be managed 24/7. (If you can do your work round the clock, will you give yourself permission not to?)

Q: “Should a Development Director’s salary be based on a percentage of funds raised?”

The design of your survey is critical. A poorly designed survey can result in ambiguous, irrelevant, or unreliable data. If your school is designing the survey in-house, make sure that someone with a solid background in survey design is involved in the project.

In his latest blog for EdWeek.com, elementary school principal Peter DeWitt poses the question “Why Would Anyone Want To Be a School Leader?” A public school leader himself, he touches on issues public school leaders face. However, some of the basic issues resonate for both public and private school educators.

With the spring holidays here, chocolate candy is everywhere! Yes, it’s a source of fat, sugar and calories. But research has shown that dark chocolate has some health benefits, too. The Philadelphia Inquirer’s philly.com Web site gives you permission to indulge in some dark chocolate.