A private school in Melbourne, Australia, took a hit last week as reports emerge of student gambling within a local gaming store. According to The New Daily, a group of young men—still dressed in their private school’s uniform—frequently visit the local TAB outlet and bet large sums of money that one local bystander described as “staggering.” The outlets didn’t notify the school that students in their uniform were placing bets, and the headmaster has found himself unable to address the problem without knowing who the gambling students are. But Australia isn’t the only country that’s been affected by student gambling. Advances in technology and lack of oversight have resulted in a new wave of addictive gaming behaviors that have been ridiculed by media and leave administrators floundering to regain control.

Q: Our school recently received an application for financial aid that listed only one income. After we asked for clarification, we learned that one of the student’s parents has chosen not to work. We’re at a loss on how to evaluate this particular situation—do you have any advice?

Imagine this scenario: your school’s online donation page is hopelessly outdated and requires upgrading, both for aesthetic and security reasons. The price for an experienced web designer in your area is more than your school expected to pay for the work. However, hope appears in the form of a PTA parent who says he'd be willing to tackle the project for free. You’d jump for joy at the serendipitous solution to your problem, right? Not so fast. Before the project is done, you might end up paying more for your “free” work than if you’d hired a professional in the first place.

We’re approaching the peak of holiday season, which often means a flood of last-minute donations as donors scramble to make their tax-deductible gifts before the new year. The season of giving thanks for friends and family often extends to generous donations, but not all increased generosity counts as a “major gift.” As you establish your protocols for the coming deluge of donations, we have some guidelines for you to consider when defining what a major gift means to your school.

Q: We’re in the middle of updating our school’s risk plans. While we’ve polished most of it, our teams are struggling somewhat with lockdown procedures. Does ISM have any lockdown guidelines we can consider as we continue revising?

Attracting the brightest faculty and staff has been a conversation point with schools for as long as school doors have been open. Your families want the best for their children—you want the best for your students. However, including, “Now hiring the best and brightest” in your job descriptions simply isn’t enough.

It’s the holiday season. Although schools have liberal holiday vacation time, it's also a time of year where stress, overwhelming to-do lists, and an avalanche of other reasons trigger employees’ cashing in some of their sick time. Surveys show that December is the most popular month for calling out of work. While nine in ten employees say they have never faked being sick during the holidays, there’s still that one in ten employees who will cash in some unused time to catch up with the bustle of the season and their own mental health.

Volunteers are vital to your school, but especially to the Development Office. These people represent those who believe so much in your school’s mission and what it’s accomplishing in your community that they’ll freely offer their time, talents, and dedication to further your school’s goals. While you need volunteers to help your school function, your volunteers also need certain things from you to ensure their success and to keep them coming back to help in the future.

Storytelling lies at the heart of every successful annual fund or capital campaign. Everyone wants to hear how the school changed the lives of its students and their families, coupled with an inspirational call-to-action to help the school continue to bring its mission to more people. Getting those stories, though, can sometimes feel like panning for gold—Lots of work for a single nugget you can use—but it doesn’t have to be that way. This month, we’ve got three questions to ask your school’s key stakeholders to find those shining stories.

Any place that parents gather is a place where gossip and information spreads like wildfire—like your school’s parking lot during drop-off and pick-up periods. While waiting for their children, parents like to talk about what’s going on in their lives, which often includes their perspectives on school life. Such conversations should be expected, monitored, and maintained as a microcosm of your school’s broader marketing effort. As School Head, you’re in a unique position to discover which way the wind blows early—and to communicate in ways to change the direction of the conversation.