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.
The New Generation of Teachers and Personnel
Academic Leadership // December 10, 2009
Whether your school is at the height of hiring season or at a different point in the process, it's quite likely that you'll soon see some fresh faces in the classroom. Many of these hires may be just out of school, eager to share their new perspectives with fellow faculty members and your students. According to human resources expert Susan M. Heathfield, these "Millennials"—those teachers who were born in 1980 or thereafter—have developed a wide variety of characteristics and work habits with which you should be familiar. We've listed several of these qualities below.
Read MoreAsk Michael
Business and Operations // December 10, 2009
Q:If a teacher gives birth in June, can she take her full maternity leave starting in September even though she has already had two months off over the summer?
Read MoreWhere Do Your Teacher Salaries Fit In?
School Heads // December 10, 2009
Teachers don't go into their profession expecting to get rich. However, they do want to be paid "fairly"—by their definition. A primary measure of that "fairness" is how your school's salaries stack up against the public and private schools in your area. Do you know? Do you collect this information annually?
Read MoreForget Swine Flu—It's Senioritis!
Academic Leadership // December 10, 2009
No doubt you've noticed there's an infectious disease spreading among your upper division's graduates-to-be—the dreaded "senioritis". Characterized by high spirits, low motivation, and short attention spans, the condition has rarely proved fatal. However, the consequences this year may be more serious. In fact, students whose academic standing drops may face having a college acceptance withdrawn.
Read MoreAsk Michael
Business and Operations // December 10, 2009
Q: Sadly, we recently had to let a few employees go due to the economy (i.e, enrollment has declined for next year). This was a hard decision, and to make sure we did things the right way, we hired both an attorney and an HR consultant to guide us through the process. We don't want to have to have to pay for more legal advice, but we've just recently been alerted to several blog posts from one of former employees which slanders our mission and misrepresents the grounds for our decision. What are our options?
Read MoreSome Private-independent Schools Are Rising Above the Recession
Business and Operations // December 10, 2009
If you were to look at the recent headlines for private-independent schools across the country, you might find yourself perplexed, curious, wondering why seemingly every other article contradicts its predecessor. Nationally, cities are reporting different statistical finds—stirring up different projections. However, with report findings of an increased interest in financial aid, it seems that private-independent schools are still being heavily considered and incorporated within family budgets—rising above the recession fears in some regions of the U.S.
Read MoreThe Battle for Private-Independent Admissions
Advancement // December 10, 2009
Current data-driven findings speculate private-independent schools will rise above this recession as they have in the past. Past statistics show private school enrollment numbers don't change, and most have sustained their enrollment, tuition, and fund-raising levels despite the shaky market and families' financial conerns. Students might not be wearing new athletic uniforms, and campuses may not be expanding their facilities, but most private schools stay strong.
Read MoreAsk Michael
Business and Operations // December 10, 2009
Q: How can I encourage obese employees to lose weight, without offending anyone?
Read MoreYour School Water Fountains Could Be Affecting Student SAT Scores
Business and Operations // December 10, 2009
Over the last few months, USA Today has published several articles pertaining to pollution around American schools. The most recent study released addressed the concentration of lead in students' blood in relation to SAT scores.
Read MoreVirtual Students Speak Up
Advancement // December 10, 2009
At the North American Council for Online Learning in October, virtual school students spoke up about what they feel are the biggest rewards of learning from home. And their opinions made the news! eSchool News wrote an article on the responses from attendees. Here is what was reported:
Read More