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See articles for School Heads, Business & Operations, Advancement, Academic Leadership, and Trustees, in addition to Private School News.
Keeping Former Trustees in the "Loop"
Board of Trustees // January 16, 2014
Your Board bylaws should place a limit on the number of consecutive terms that a Trustee may serve. Unfortunately, Trustees who leave the Board often immediately lose touch with their school. As a consequence, some of the most committed and able people may well lose interest and never consider renomination to the Board. Take steps to keep Trustees who are in their “off” years involved—perhaps to serve again in the future.
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Must-Reads for the Admission Office in 2014
Advancement // January 9, 2014
New Year’s Day has come and gone, but that doesn’t mean you can’t add a resolution to your list! We’ve spoken with admission professionals across the country and our ISM Consultants, and here are books Admission Officers have recommended to their peers.
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Tour Dos and Don'ts
Advancement // January 9, 2014
The winter season has definitely arrived and so has tour season! Soon, you will play host to prospective parents and their children. Keep reading to find some dos—and don’ts!—for your visitor programs to guarantee a successful season.
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Whose Responsibility is Health Care?
Business and Operations // January 6, 2014
Before 2009, the majority of Americans polled said the Federal Government should take responsibility for ensuring that all citizens have health care. Now, as the January deadline for all persons to be enrolled in a health plan rings past, 56% of polled Americans say it’s not the government’s duty to get involved with health care.
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Ask ISM’s Health Care Reform Specialist
Business and Operations // January 6, 2014
Q: I am a small employer with less than 25 employees. Part of our employee contract says that we will provide health insurance. However, since only two people are participating in this plan, the insurance company will not renew our policy. What are my school’s options for these two individuals?
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Making Room for Facebook
Business and Operations // January 6, 2014
In your tight budget, finding money for Facebook advertisements that your Admission and Development Office request might be one of your creative (and financial) challenges. In fact, you might even doubt the need to pay for Facebook ads when the real power behind social media is found in the organic results generated by your followers seeing your messages and notices in their feeds.
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Racial Diversity at Sundance Film Festival
Private School News // January 3, 2014
There’s a noteworthy new documentary on the block, American Promise, that premiered at Sundance Film Festival 2013 and went on to air on PBS. The film follows Idris Brewster and Seun Summers, two African-American boys, when they begin their first year of kindergarten at Dalton, a prestigious private-independent school in New York City. Both boys struggle with learning disabilities, disciplinary problems, and failing grades, despite early indicators of high academic potential.
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Forget Diamonds—Social Media Mistakes Are Forever
Private School News // January 3, 2014
It was all over the news the last week of December, but just in case you missed it: Justine Sacco, now ex-communications director for huge parent company InterActive Corp (IAC), made an ill-advised racist tweet directly before her twelve-hour international flight to Africa. Sacco had to turn her phone off for the duration of the flight, so she was blissfully unaware of the social media maelstrom her 140-character message had generated: “Going to Africa. Hope I don't get Aids. Just kidding. I'm white!”
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Must-Reads for Aspiring Leaders in 2014
Private School News // January 3, 2014
It’s New Year’s resolution time again, and since you finished the books from last year, we’d like to take the opportunity to compile some of the recommendations from educational professionals and leaders from all disciplines. These books should help all leaders in your school, from high-achieving faculty to the School Head.
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Don't Be Afraid to Jump on the Bandwagon
Academic Leadership // December 26, 2013
The media and companies tout new and improved teaching strategies every year. Remember when everyone thought that MOOCs—Massive Open Online Courses—were the solution to slashed budgets? Now it seems that low completion rates and limited interaction have crippled the online course movement’s momentum, with only a 4% completion rate in some college courses. However, just because one new idea wasn’t fully vetted or properly implemented doesn’t mean that you should avoid trying novel programs.
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