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.
Your School’s Newsletter: Is It Informational or Considered Junk Mail?
Advancement // March 31, 2017
Regardless of whether your school sends out an electronic or printed newsletter, if it’s not perceived as informational and relevant, it may be seen as just another piece of junk mail. And, if your families, faculty, and staff aren’t reading it, then they’re missing what you’re trying to share with them.
Read MoreFacebook Ads Strengthen Your School’s Story
Advancement // March 31, 2017
Facebook is the go-to social media outlet for sharing your messages, offers, and events with your community. The once free social giant has changed its algorithm several times over the years, making communications more challenging for companies and losing some of it’s support along the way. However, it remains at the top of the pyramid for social advertising strategies, so we are forced to reignite our love for its capabilities.
Read MoreThe True Benefits of Preschool
Academic Leadership // March 29, 2017
Perhaps your school has a preschool, or is thinking about adding one. Perhaps you see preschool as a doorway into full enrollment at your school. But is it worth it? In short, does it meet the needs of your families, your students, and your school’s mission? Academic leaders, parents, and researchers believe a quality preschool program improves skills like simple math and phonics, and prepares children for the social and emotional behaviors as they enter kindergarten and elementary school. For example, a study in Virginia last year, including more than 20,000 students in a government-funded preschool program, indicated that children in the system showed great improvements in alphabet recognition. But do the benefits of preschool extend into student experience in later schooling?
Read MoreHow Parents of Disabled Children Can Maximize IEP Meetings
Academic Leadership // March 29, 2017
Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings are the most important conversations parents can have with faculty and staff. These mandatory meetings for families with disabled children outline their child’s educational future in regard to how your curriculum impacts their growth.
Read MorePrint Books Are Not Dinosaurs … Yet
Private School News // March 27, 2017
For the past few years, digital devices and e-books have gained great popularity in schools and homes—and most school-age children have access to the technology. Smartphones and iPads proliferate in many of our schools. Many educators believe that print books will soon become obsolete—or at least decrease in use—as children mature in a world ruled by technology.
Read MoreReligious Exemptions for Mandatory Vaccines
Private School News // March 27, 2017
Thankfully flu season is behind us for the 2017 season. However, a new ruling from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) concerning mandatory vaccinations is keeping vaccines in our risk-planning minds. In fact, this ruling might justify an early update to your employee handbooks.
Read MoreGreening Your Space Has Benefits
Private School News // March 27, 2017
Long winters can impact our physical and mental health in numerous ways. Colder weather keeps most of us indoors more often, limiting our exercise and activity. Less sunlight affects our Vitamin D and mood stability. Seasonal affective disorder impacts an estimated 10%–20% of the population each year to varying degrees. Six percent of the population is in fact hospitalized each year with severe symptoms. However, there are ways to combat the season’s disruptions, with one of the simplest solutions being greening your workspace.
Read MoreAsk ISM's Health Care Reform Specialist
Business and Operations // March 7, 2017
Q: How and when will the new Executive Order administered by the Trump administration affect us?
Read MoreWhat Your Policy Says About “Ubering” to School
Business and Operations // March 7, 2017
When it comes to managing school risk, there is never a dull moment. Your policy handbook is in constant flux and often needs updating because of today’s rapid changes in lifestyle trends, technology, and compliance standards. Adding to the mix is the transportation trend of Uber, Lyft, and other ride shares.
Read MoreNew Year, New You
Private School News // January 24, 2017
A new year is upon us, and with it comes the promise of fresh starts and pattern adjustments. Whether you’re focusing on making improvements in your personal life, your career, or both, the following tips will help you stay on pace for your best version of you.
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