Virtual & Onsite Consulting Services
Ensure that your school’s governance and operations support your mission.
We work together with your leaders, teachers, staff members, and students to understand your school’s unique needs, strengths, and challenges. We help you create a plan to help you meet your goals.
Your team can then put these mission-appropriate recommendations into action to achieve increased cash reserves, higher enrollment levels, and long-term stability. At the end of the day, we all have a singular purpose—advance school leadership to enrich the student experience.
We offer personalized consultations for many leadership divisions of a private school—the Board of Trustees, School Heads, the Business Office, the Development Office, Enrollment Management professionals, Marketing professionals, and Academic leaders. Select the area of school leadership you’d like to further explore.
ISM’s Consulting Services can be conducted virtually, ensuring you get the support you need, no matter the circumstances. Learn more by contacting our School Success team.
Our Consulting Services
School Head
Whether you want to ensure that all school functions run at peak efficiency or are considering implementing new strategies and initiatives, lean on a trusted source of knowledge to increase the likelihood of long-term success.
Business & Operations
Take advantage of a full range of planning, facilities, and operations consulting services that give your school a solid footing for the future. Examine where your key operations work well, and where they can use improvement.
Academic Leadership
Your programs set your school apart. Explore how to create and build programs that pull families in and give them an experience they couldn’t have at another private-independent school.
Admission & Enrollment Management
ISM’s data-informed approach pinpoints what attracts families to your school and inspires them to stay. Receive customized solutions based on your school’s unique marketplace stance, challenges, and opportunities.
Fundraising & Development
Learn how to develop successful strategies to engage and bring donors closer to your institution. No matter your school size, history, or pedagogy, explore how to plan, implement, and evaluate your fundraising strategies to realize your full potential.
Marketing Communications
Explore how to share exceptional stories of student learning, engagement, and outcomes, and illustrate how these can become differentiators that distinguish your school from your competitors.
Board of Trustees
The Board must focus its efforts on governing, planning, and financing your school's future, while leaving everyday decisions to competent administrators. To do that successfully, your Board must think, plan, and act strategically.
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One-on-One Coaching for New Heads
Work with an ISM Consultant in your first years of Headship to set you on a path to success.
•Data-Driven Diagnostics •
• Coaching •
• Customized Support •
Help Your School Thrive
ISM members receive access to exclusive, research-based strategies for every leadership division of your school. Take advantage of guidance, savings, and much more.
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See articles for School Heads, Business & Operations, Advancement, Academic Leadership, and Trustees, in addition to Private School News.
Seven Benefits of the Net Promoter Score® and How to Use It to Assess Student Satisfaction
Marketing Communications // September 26, 2021
Communicating with students can be tricky, gaining insight into their satisfaction can be impossible. When communicating with students about their experiences, use an NPS survey to gather meaningful feedback.
Read MoreAsking the Right Questions Can Make a Big Difference in the Growth Coaching Experience
School Leadership // September 19, 2021
A growth coach and coachee relationship and a mentor and mentee relationship are equally valuable. Both types of relationships take place in a professional atmosphere, and both help the participants strive for career development and advancement. The primary difference between the two types comes down to one word: balance. Here’s how asking the right questions can make a big difference in the coaching experience.
Read MoreHelp Your Teachers and Students Manage the Stress Cycle
School Health and Wellness // September 12, 2021
Mental health includes emotional, psychological, and social well-being, and affects how you feel, think, and act. A wide range of external and internal factors, or often combinations of these, can cause mental health concerns.
Read MoreHow to Face Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Challenges With Commitment
Academic Leadership // September 12, 2021
Not all private schools are on the same page with the issues of diversity. Some schools have just begun the conversation about justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) initiatives, while others are amid significant shifts in both policy and practice. JEDI goals are directly connected to a school’s willingness to undergo a true transformation—if policies remain status quo, the work is performative at best. Honesty can be scary, and to some it feels threatening. Here’s how to get started.
Read MoreStudent Advisement: What Works, What Doesn’t, and How to Make It Better
Academic Leadership // August 22, 2021
The general concept of the student advisor sounds simple: Each student has one adult on campus to offer support, be a sounding board, and provide overall guidance as they navigate through school and life.
Read MoreWhy Your School Should Use Net Promoter Score (NPS®) Surveys
Marketing Communications // August 22, 2021
Most marketing results come from word-of-mouth in your community. It can be difficult to attribute success to any singular marketing effort—let alone individual initiatives or abstract marketing activities like messaging and value proposition. Implementing an NPS survey is just one tool in your marketing tool belt, but it can be extremely powerful in its ability to spotlight your biggest concerns.
Read MoreFour Steps to Support Your Teachers As COVID-19 Continues
Academic Leadership // August 16, 2021
Beginning a new school year is exciting—but this year has become increasingly uncertain with the increase in COVID-19’s Delta variant. Teachers and staff will require predictability and support as they continue to navigate the uncertainty.
Read MoreInternational Student Programs: Where Are They Now?
School Leadership // August 8, 2021
As we look to begin the new school year, international program directors are busier than ever—getting ready for fall while trying to keep pace with rapidly evolving pandemic protocol. You might be wondering if international students are returning? The answer is yes. Here are some recent statistics and information.
Read MoreISM Membership Fills the Gaps for Small Schools
School Heads // July 25, 2021
Being the Head of a small school can be a daunting task. After you’ve spent your career teaching and working your way up into administration, when you become responsible for everything, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.
Read MoreHow to Create an Intentional Technology Plan
Academic Leadership // July 25, 2021
Teaching and learning during the pandemic gave everyone a major crash course on the role of technology in education. With little notice, teachers, students, and administrators were forced to work creatively with the tools they had—while simultaneously learning the strengths and limitations of techno...
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