Students at Anacapa School in California have proven that conquering the final frontier is not reserved for the big space agencies like NASA or multimillionaire Richard Branson. On May 5, members of the Anacapa Near Space Exploration Club launched two payload capsules tethered to a weather balloon—and the on-board camera broadcast its path into near space.

Just because school is about to wrap up for the year doesn't mean admission work goes dormant. You most likely have some spaces to fill—or even a waiting pool to build. Potential families will be visiting your campus, so your challenge is to make your campus as attractive and lively as possible during the summer months. What will be lacking is the usual hustle and bustle of students and teachers, the living atmosphere that gives your campus its “vibe.” Here are a couple of tips to help put personality into your summer tours.

A critical element in your Board’s due diligence is keeping abreast of tax law as they relate to your school’s tax-exempt status. Most of the compliance requirements (e.g., record keeping, accounting functions financial statements) are handled at the school level, primarily in the Business Office and Development Office. However, the Board must also be acquainted with the rules concerning disclosure, conflict of interest, and other areas where your school may be at risk of losing its tax-exempt status.

For the last few years, sticky ads have been popping up … and standing out … on newspaper front pages. It's the best, most cost-effective way to get your message on the front page, in color, above the fold. Sanford School, DE, has been using this technique since 2009. The school has used sticky notes to get the word out about big open houses as well as its drop-in series. Last year’s spring open house brought in 19 prospects.

One of the most important groups you should focus on building relationships with is grandparents. They love to support their grandchildren’s endeavors, including their schools—by paying tuition, volunteering, and providing financial support.

As Development Director, you are constantly striving to establish and nurture relationships with your families. Your school wants their support whether it is through the annual fund, a capital campaign, or annual auction. But you also want to keep them a part of your school family after their children leave—much like colleges and universities do. A great way to do that is to learn as much as you can about the family as early as possible. And you can start with the admission process.

As School Head, it’s a good bet that you are not an accountant. Yet, you need to have a handle on what financially is happening with your school. While you have a Business Manager (as most of you do) to handle financial operations, you are still responsible for accurately reporting information to the Board. How comfortable are you with those reports?

ISM believes that the primary job of academic administrators (e.g., Division Heads and Department Chairs) is to coach and mentor faculty toward outstanding performance. The question that this begs is: Who is supposed to coach and mentor the coaches?

Bullying is nothing new to kids, but it has come into sharp focus, with stories of cyberbullying, text threats, and what seems to be the growing number of victim suicides. Schools and school districts are beginning to deal seriously with bullying, and are putting anti-bullying policies into place.

As Division Head, you have Department Heads reporting to you—and their duties could range from selecting text books and doing paperwork to hiring, coaching, and mentoring faculty members. Indeed, the potential responsibilities of a Department Head can range far and wide, and vary by school.