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.
Four Fundraising Trends You Should Consider Now for Your School
Fundraising // April 16, 2023
The foundation of your Development program—how you build relationships with your donors and prospects sharing their resources with your school—is strategically-focused, nimble, and focused on strategic planning.
Read MoreSchools and Cyber-Security: ChatGPT and New CISA Recommendations
Business and Operations // April 16, 2023
With every technological advancement comes a set of risks. According to Allianz’s Risk Barometer 2023, cyber-incidents rank as the most serious risk globally for the second year in a row. For K–12 schools, cyber-attacks are happening more frequently than ever, with rates continuing to increase. A...
Read MoreEffective School Leadership: Leading Your Administration 101
Academic Leadership // April 16, 2023
Leading a school requires a unique skill set and mindset. Headship provides unparalleled chances for transformational leadership and professional growth—especially for Heads of small schools, aspiring Heads, and those early in their career. As a Head of School, you play an integral role in your s...
Read MoreNew Age of Volunteerism: Alumni Outreach for Millennials and Gen Z
Fundraising // March 26, 2023
If there’s one constant in education, it’s change. Independent schools are hubs for innovation and evolution, with exciting pedagogical theory and progressive restructuring happening in institutions across the country. School leaders seize opportunities for growth, recognizing change is not only inevitable, but invigorating.
Read MoreNorovirus is Back: How Educators Should Prepare
School Health and Wellness // March 26, 2023
Every year, between February and March, noroviruses reemerge in the national news cycle. This is no coincidence—the virus’ seasonal pattern is remarkably consistent.
Read MoreThe Pregnant Workers Fairness Act: What Private Schools Must Know
School Leadership // March 26, 2023
Passed in December 2022 and effective June 27, 2023, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) is the first law in the United States that creates rights to accommodations for pregnant workers.
Read MoreDiet Culture and Children: Learn How to Make Your School a Safe Space
School Health and Wellness // March 26, 2023
Diet culture is everywhere—we are told to restrict carbohydrates, avoid sugar, follow keto. From streaming channels and social media to brick-and-mortar stores at the local mall. Filtering this information is difficult for adults. For tweens and teens, distinguishing between the truth and a marketing campaign is nearly impossible.
Read MoreFour Ways Extended Classes Help Keep Students Engaged
Academic Leadership // March 26, 2023
For several decades, there has been a healthy debate in education about the benefits of longer, extended classes—where students have fewer classes in a day, but for longer periods of time. A 10-year study of a school system in Georgia that moved to extended class schedules found an increase in stude...
Read MoreTrends in Generation Z Mental Health
School Health and Wellness // March 26, 2023
Mental health issues soared during the pandemic—led by isolation, loneliness, fear, and anxiety. Every age and socioeconomic group experienced the extreme, unavoidable stress that accompanies a once-in-a-lifetime global emergency. As life returned to normalcy, much of that receded.
Read MoreUnderstanding Substance Use and How It Impacts Student Well-Being
School Health and Wellness // March 12, 2023
Schools play a critical role in children's lives, and as children grow to pre-teens and teens, teachers and administrators worry about new risks they will experience. One such risk is the use of substances, such as alcohol, marijuana, tobacco, and other drugs. Substance use by teens can have a bi...
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