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.
3 Ways to Use Tech to Empower Gen Z for Success
Academic Leadership // June 21, 2017
The World Economic Forum estimates that 65% of children entering primary school today will ultimately end up working in completely new job types that don’t yet exist. There’s no doubt that technology is driving this staggering evolution and it will continue to play an integral role in the lives of future generations. It’s our job as educators and administrators to best prepare students for a quickly changing job market, starting with the intersection of technology and education.
Read MoreThe Importance of Creating a “Portrait of the Graduate” Statement for Your School
Advancement // June 21, 2017
Many private-independent schools take the mission statement one step further and set themselves apart by creating a “Portrait of the Graduate”: a series of five descriptors that define a school’s mission in terms of student outcomes.
Read More2017 Summer Reading Recommendations for Admission and Development Directors
Advancement // June 21, 2017
Summer is finally here and it’s the perfect time to catch up on tasks that might have fallen to the wayside during the school year. It’s also a great opportunity to expand your mind with reads that may inspire you to think differently about how you work within your private-independent school.
Read More2017 Summer Reading Recommendations for Business Managers
Business and Operations // June 20, 2017
It’s summertime again—students take off for break and we look forward to a slower pace, if just for a few months. This reprieve from the hectic school year means it’s also a great time to focus on professional development in the form of summer reading.
Read MoreBuilding an International Student Program Team
Business and Operations // June 20, 2017
International student programs have grown tremendously over the past decade in private-independent schools. In response to this growth, more schools have applied for and received SEVP certification in the past few years than ever before. However, in a hasty scramble to meet compliance, some schools are finding themselves with access to a portal they don’t fully understand, responsible for policies they’re vaguely familiar with, and misaligned with other key administrators. If this sounds like your school, don’t worry, we can help.
Read MoreHow School Heads Can Improve Meeting Efficiency
School Heads // June 14, 2017
Most School Heads attend or lead four to five meetings every week. Meetings take valuable time and should be optimized for maximum efficiency to best serve your needs as well as those of your faculty, staff, administration, and ultimately, students.
Read MoreWhy We Need to Change From Diversity to Inclusiveness
School Heads // June 14, 2017
The subject of diversity and how it’s approached in private-independent schools continues to be at the forefront of our conversations. Many educators are interested in acknowledging and accepting what makes us different from each other but aren’t sure how to approach the subject with their students and peers.
Read MoreHow Do You Know If Your Schedule Is Toxic?
Academic Leadership // June 8, 2017
Your mission describes the rich program your school offers, as well as the outcome you intend for every student. It is why parents chose to enroll their children in your school. You deliver that mission through your schedule. As an academic leader in your school, you understand the importance of having a schedule that “works.” But what if it doesn’t?
Read MoreStudent Mental Health and Your Advisory Program
Academic Leadership // June 8, 2017
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, one in five children has or has had a diagnosable mental health disorder. This may include not only autism, bipolar disorder, and ADHD, but also anxiety, social phobia, depression, and other less-apparent conditions. Unfortunately, many students have not been diagnosed and suffer in silence.
Read MoreAn Audit Checklist Keeps Your Parent Association on Track!
Advancement // June 7, 2017
When the Parent Association is clear about the role it plays, this organization constitutes one of your school’s strongest assets. Its mission is to support the school’s strategic and operational goals. An annual audit of the association’s functions and responsibilities keeps it on track and avoids potential problems.
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