Cross-channel marketing (or integrated marketing) is a core principle in today's marketing. There are simply more ways to reach your target audience than there were a decade ago. However, more channels of communication doesn't necessarily mean more reach to potential students. With more ways to communicate with families, it's essential that your school's message stays consistent across mediums. Seems like it would be easy enough to post the same message in the same tone on different platforms, but even large marketing firms struggle with cross-channel marketing.

It's true: the economy is making a slow recovery—a very slow recovery. Analysts' predictions are all over the place, but if you take everything they're saying and find a happy medium, it's safe to say the U.S. is on a track to recovery—it is just going to take longer than some of us (most of us) had hoped. As the economy takes its' time recovering, international students trying to cover new university costs are struggling to find work opportunities.

Here we are at the end of the school year, and for those who conduct an end-of-year fund-raising phonathon, the question is: Do you call parents who may have had a less-than-perfect experience with your school this year? One answer is no. After all, you will have a volunteer calling the disgruntled parent who will probably be more than willing to "dish the dirt." And the volunteer will have no knowledge of the issue at hand, and will be unable to help. Your volunteers are people who are dedicated to the school and you want them to have a pleasant experience interacting with the people they are calling.

Q: I am looking at taking an intro to grant writing Webinar. Are there any Webinars on the topic that you can recommend?

If part of your job includes the duties of a Facilities Manager, then you're probably aware of the challenges of space. You need fields for your sports teams, labs for your science students, updated math facilities to meet the technological advances, and perhaps even space for a community garden. Yet, your geography could have your plans for progress at a stand-still. You can't move the whole school!

Now that the season is finally in transition, images of grilled organic vegetables might be dancing in your head. Of course, what goes better with spring and summer than backyard grilling and picnics? Barbecue grills can even be an ecofriendly option for you and your family, so if the mere thought of grilled food makes your mouth water, it's time to treat yourself to delicious and healthy meals.

Hot off the presses on May 19 was the news that enrollment in health saving accounts linked to high-deductible insurance plans (they must be linked by law) had grown to 10 million people. Since 2004, when a law added Medicare's prescription drug benefits to health saving accounts (HSA), enrollment has been steadily increasing. (It's almost a new trend in the insurance world!) And, there are no signs that enrollments will slow down or start to plateau looking ahead.

Kidsgardening.org has a great resource for teachers that not only contains sample lesson plans for educating students about bees, butterflies, and how to have a bee-free barbecue, but that also connects their classrooms to others that are experiencing the marvels of gardening.

Classes nationwide are discussing the oil catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico, listening to news updates, and getting a crash course in environmental science. Teachers are changing lesson plans to incorporate current disaster facts, and students, even as some prepare for graduation, are making the time to leave their thoughts and opinions tagged to comment boxes and blog walls.

Disability can happen to anyone—at any time. In fact, an employee under the age of 65 is more likely to become disabled than to die. May is National Disability Insurance Awareness Month, and there is no better time for employees to learn about their risks and how to protect their incomes, families, and selves from an unfortunate injury that prevents them from returning to work.