Having a crisis plan (part of your comprehensive risk management plan) complete with disaster recovery is critical for all businesses—and certainly private schools—coastal or not.

Once you’ve successfully kicked off the school year, it’s time to turn your attention to the next big task. Believe it or not, that should be preparing for the following year’s summer program. The fall season is the perfect time to review your past year’s summer program, assess what’s working, and determine where you need to improve your offerings for next year. Prepare now for next summer’s program, even though it seems far off.

Your school newsletter, whether electronic or print, is more than a series of reminders and notices. When crafted strategically, it is a shining example of your school’s mission at work. Your school newsletter should illustrate the exemplary quality of the school’s education, the student body, and the people who deliver the program. It’s one of your strongest tools to influence recruitment and re-recruitment by showing the strength of your community, the value of programs offered, and the caliber of students and graduates produced.

Looking for a way to bring your community together? Empower your families and friends to advocate for your school? Consider an ambassador program. Parent and student ambassador programs are a great way to expand your reach and share authentic success stories with prospective families.

An important function of every school’s Business Office is helping create and maintain the crisis management plan. Many schools have created a Risk Management Team to oversee this function. If you’re a member of the committee, don’t forget to create your response and recovery action plans.

The following scenario was recently shared in our Business Manager e-list, a free, email-based, position-specific resource for private-independent school community members. “A student is enrolled for the 2017–18 school year but has a small outstanding balance on their 2016–17 tuition account. The parents promised to pay it over the summer but, before making the payment, filed for bankruptcy and named the school as a creditor. What do we do?”

ISM believes that one of the core tenets of school stability is a high-performing faculty, leading to strong student satisfaction and enthusiasm. But how does one determine whether a faculty member is “high-performing?” For many years, schools have primarily used teacher evaluations—usually classroom observations—to make this distinction. However, there’s evidence to show that traditional classroom evaluations aren’t always the best indication of high faculty performance.

No one said it would be easy being the School Head. Between implementing your school’s strategic plan, creating a safe and welcoming environment, and ensuring every decision falls in line with the mission, you have a lot on your plate. Therefore, it’s imperative that you’re able to rely on your direct reports—your Leadership Team—help support you on a day-to-day basis.

A new study shows that social-emotional learning (SEL) programs can have a tremendous impact on students’ overall academic performance and well-being. SEL programs focus on helping children develop positive emotional skills, and participants showed higher graduation rates, more social and emotional competencies, and were less likely to have anxiety and behavior problems.

One of the most important aspects of a strong international student program is the transition process. Many schools have strong international student programs but aren't sure how to assist with their international students’ transitions. Attending school in the United States is remarkably different from the visiting student’s life at home—and the school does play a role in helping the student become accustomed to their new surroundings.