When blended learning, gamification, makerspaces, and other technology-heavy buzzwords make their way through educational journals and forums, it can be hard to see whether these tools and techniques are something to invest in. Are many of the digital learning trends just fun ideas for those bored with tried-and-true techniques, or do they truly mark a fundamental shift in how students need to learn? Here, we break down four studies that offer a deeper context to show how technology-assisted tools have previously helped—or hindered!—learning in other schools.

Social media can be a quick, easy way to distribute news that impacts your school’s families, adding a resource to your school’s communication tools. However, in the event of a crisis, social media can work against your school’s efforts to secure your campus and reduce panic.

Risk management is more than simply having any property and casualty insurance. Protecting your school and its students starts with your general knowledge of what’s protected and what’s vulnerable for when—not if—loss occurs when considering policies. However, insurance policies are not easy reading for the less experienced. To help you manage your school’s risks, here are some points you should review in your school’s policies.

Springtime is scheduling time for many Division Heads, adding a new bundle of stressors on top of an already hectic work schedule. To support you, our stressed-out readers, we gathered quick and easy ways to help you de-stress at work and achieve the necessary zen to complete those vital tasks.

College prep assessment company College Board recently released details on the latest iteration of its Scholastic Aptitude Test (the SAT). The new exam has several new features, but the renewed focus on reading comprehension has most educators’ attention. As the new format becomes more widely know, nervous students may need reassurance—and maybe reading glasses.

An incumbent Board President often steps down as a new Head takes over. It is seen as a logical time for the transfer of power—allowing a long-term relationship to develop between the new Head and a new President. The next President is selected by the Trustees without the Head-elect’s input. (What input could be knowledgeably given?) However, the new Head may well have been influenced to accept the job based on the “chemistry” demonstrated with the existing President and key Trustees on the Search Committee. A new President changes all of this. Moreover, if other leading Trustees move on at the same time, the team envisioned by the new Head is greatly altered.

You, a new Trustee, walk across the school parking lot for a meeting with the School Head. You’re approached by a mother who immediately launches into a tirade about the fourth-grade teacher. “Tom, my child isn’t being treated fairly, and I expect you to do something about it!” Sound familiar? In some schools, parents often contact Trustees with their complaints. They see Board members as the top of the power structure and, therefore, the best path to results. In turn, Trustees—out of an understandable desire to be cooperative and helpful, or an inability to say “no” to a concerned and demanding parent, or a basic misunderstanding of their role in the life of the school—often leap into the fray.

While students and faculty can relax during serendipitous snow days, the Business Office’s work never rests. Deadlines and requirements remain, even when the wind howls and ice beads on sidewalks. So this month, we’d like to talk about four things the Business Office must keep in mind to continue working—despite the season’s foulest weather.

Q: As we finish up Form 1095-C and turn to the transmittal of 1094-C, I keep receiving questions on Line 22: Certifications of Eligibility. What are these, and do we need to complete them?

Your school thrives on engaged parents. However, some families can request information from your office that exceeds your expected level of engagement. Recently on the Business Manager e-list, one school asked how to handle an uncommon financial request from one of its parents: five years’ worth of “financial records.” While transparency with the community is to be encouraged, as a way for the school to demonstrate responsible stewardship of resources, vague requests that come from parents seemingly out-of-the-blue prompt some second-guessing of assumed policy.