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.

During our 2017 Summer Institute, private-independent school administrators from around the world gathered in Wilmington, DE to develop effective strategies, create action plans, and network with their peers and colleagues. It was an extremely successful event with administrators participating in 26 different workshops throughout the four-week conference.

It’s time to start thinking about preparing for the fall semester. And whether you’ve spent the summer relaxing or hard at work, there is still time to get through a good book or two before the school year begins.

August is rapidly approaching and you know what that means—it’s time to put your school year planning into high gear. Starting the school year with a clean slate is an opportunity to set new goals and take on fresh challenges. Whether this is your first year in your position or you’re a seasoned pro with decades of experience, everyone can use these strategies to begin the year on the right foot.

In a recent survey of more than 1,000 education technology vendors, only 56% encrypt login and personal information—such as usernames, passwords, and other personally identifiable information—on their websites. This is a stunning statistic. As schools embrace new technology, it’s clear that the burden to ensure data privacy and mitigate risk falls at the school level.

ISM believes that private-independent schools must practice distributed leadership. By this we mean all professionals in your school—school administrators, faculty, and staff—are leaders in their own right. Every individual in your school is responsible for strategic leadership in his or her respective role, contributing to the overall well-being of your school’s direction.

The Internet has democratized how we share information unlike anything before it. Educators and administrators can share ideas, best practices, and advice with their global peers from the comfort of their school, leaning on each other to refine their strategies and techniques.

When asked if increasing tuition would scare away current and prospective families, many school administrators might be tempted to respond with a resounding “Yes!” But our latest findings show that’s not necessarily the case. ISM, Measuring Success, and the National Business Officers Association (NBOA) recently collaborated on the third iteration of a study originally deployed in 2006 to study the impact of tuition increases on private-independent school enrollment.