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.
Five Ways to Make a Big Deal About Student Acceptances at Your School
Enrollment Management // April 18, 2021
Your congratulatory letter to students who have been accepted to attend your school probably sounds similar. A letter is an excellent way to document acceptance. But what happens after students take you up on your offer? Sometimes, nothing. And it's a missed opportunity to do so many things that can benefit your organization.
Read MoreTen Ways to Reduce the Risk of a Cyberattack on Your School
Business and Operations // April 18, 2021
Cyberattacks are expected to occur every 11 seconds in 2021—and unfortunately, K–12 schools are increasingly at risk, thanks to distance learning Some of the biggest threats are ransomware and funds transfer fraud. Threats commonly occur via the entry point of email, also known as "business email compromise."
Read MoreUnderstanding Gen Z and How to Help Them Succeed
Academic Leadership // April 18, 2021
Gaining a better understanding of the way your students have been raised and the world they live in is critical to connecting with them and educating effectively. With a grasp on their background and perspective, you can improve their engagement and academic success—not to mention generating accolades for your school.
Read MoreEight Steps to Transforming School Culture: Real Talk on Race and Diversity
School Leadership // April 11, 2021
For some schools, 2020 was the year that leaders got honest about diversity in their schools. Whether it was the first time your team dealt with challenging conversations, or another year of continuing progress, use these concrete steps to transform your school’s culture.
Read MoreSchool Spotlight: How Serviam Girls Academy Supports Its Students With Strategies From ISM
School Spotlight // April 11, 2021
Serviam Girls Academy is rooted in the rich tradition of the Ursuline Education Network. Their mission is to cultivate the potential of young women through a challenging, holistic education. This is a tuition-free private middle school in Wilmington, Delaware, providing an exceptional, holistic education to under-served students.
Read MoreQuestions About Your Enrollment, Marketing, and Advancement for Next Year? Help Is on the Way!
Enrollment Management // March 30, 2021
The impact of COVID-19 has irrevocably changed how schools interact with constituents, recruit and retain families, and fundraise. Now is the time to learn the latest methods to help you meet your goals. Each year’s curriculum offers new learning opportunities and is refined to deliver a uniquely individualized experience, allowing for maximum team collaboration and deep engagement.
Read MoreHow to Find (and Manage) Agents for Your International Student Program
International Student Programs // March 28, 2021
With normal travel impeded and educators feeling challenged around the globe, International Student Programs have faced a unique set of struggles and trials over the past year. Looking forward, these programs not only have the ability to survive—they can flourish and grow. Whether a school is loo...
Read MoreYou Are NOT Your Target Market: Three Steps to More Effective Communications
Advancement // March 28, 2021
When working on advertising materials and donor stories, sometimes a specific headline or case study piques your interest more than the others. However, when you show it to a parent representative you trust, they don’t react to it as strongly as you had hoped or anticipated—thus changing the course of your prospective marketing or advertising campaign. This example illustrates the need to have quantitative data to back up your marketing decisions. You, as the administrator of a private school, are not (necessarily) your target audience; neither is every family with a school-aged student or every philanthropic business person in the neighborhood. To ensure the solicitation of mission-appropriate donors and prospective families, you must put yourself in your audience’s place while identifying (and acknowledging) personal bias.
Read MoreForget Morning Coffee—Growth Coaching Is Your New Perfect Blend
School Leadership // March 21, 2021
Academic success is not measured solely by test scores and report cards. To get the full picture of a child’s development, you take into account the entire student experience. Teachers go through a similar assessment. Quantitative data is measured via an evaluation process, while qualitative information is revealed—and nurtured—through a comprehensive growth plan.
Read MoreThree Cyberthreats to Your School and Smart Solutions
Business and Operations // March 21, 2021
Schools have faced cybersecurity risks for some time now, and cyberattacks have increased significantly during the pandemic. Even long after COVID-19 is behind us, educational institutions will remain vulnerable because they are online—as schools expand their online presence, criminal activity will become more threatening. Avoiding cyberthreats is essential.
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