As Admission Officer, your position requires you to always be thinking outside of the box. You’re constantly looking for new ways to connect with potential families, to virally spread your school’s mission, and keep your current families engaged. Perhaps your role includes managing social media, or working parallel with the Development Office on its mission, or both, plus any number of other possible work combinations.

In 5 Things That Will Change the Way Nonprofits Work in 2103, the Chronicle of Philanthropy listed “crowdfunding” first. “Tools like Catapult, Gofundme, Indiegog, and Kickstarter have made it easy to issue appeals for financial support. Increasingly, nonprofit workers may need to demonstrate savvy when it comes to using such ‘crowdfunding’ networks.”

When it comes down to it, your school depends on current families returning year after year. The first grade you offer should be the only grade where, in effect, you are recruiting an entire class. After that year, you are filling available seats. Logically, your school needs to actively re-recruit your current families to maintain full enrollment.

Light Emitting Diode (LED) light technology has been around since the 70s in most electronics such as alarm clocks, VCRs, and microwaves. Although it’s been known that LED lighting is more cost effective, low luminosity and high cost of manufacturing has kept it from becoming a main source for home lighting.

Most of us continue to attempt to “get our heads around” what happened at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT. As we grieve for the children lost, the families, the community, and for the general “innocence lost” for all, we wonder if any good can come of this.

The shootings in Newtown, CT, have certainly shaken us all. Schools are taking a step back and wondering how they would react if such a tragedy affected their campus. On the ISM e-Lists, schools are chatting about crisis and evacuation plans, and how to communicate the events with students, while sending prayers and blessings to the victims.

You’ve had a wonderful holiday break—lots of quality time with family and friends, special meals and celebrations, and even a little quiet time to reflect on the events of the year. You feel very content and relaxed—except for one thought that’s nagging at you. “I’ve really got to do something about Dolores (or Bob).” The thought makes you anxious and sad at the same time, and you push it from your mind (at least for the moment). But eventually, you know you need to deal with the issue. Here are a few thoughts to help you start down the path that you know in your heart of hearts is necessary for all concerned.

The buzz of the holiday season is concluded for yet another year. The hustle and bustle of holiday shopping, seemingly never ending merriment, and feast preparations have come to a sudden halt. It’s post-holiday crash time!

We ran across this New York Times story of a teacher, a 33-year veteran in a Massachusetts public middle school, who is a portrait of excellence in teaching. Ron Adams, teaches seventh-grade English in a school where half the children qualify for subsidized lunches and many live in housing projects. He dislikes standardized testing, and does not do very much prep for the required exams. Yet, his students fare much better than state averages. Adams teaches social consciousness—his first assignment each year is to write a letter to someone who has the power to fix a problem that upsets each child—to help them learn to take action. He also leads the school’s Save the World Club.

Q: I need to let an employee go, and I’m wondering if it is better if I fire her or let her resign. Would it help her with unemployment benefits if I do one instead of the other?