Checkmate … Teaching Chess to Developing Critical Thinking Skills

School Heads // February 9, 2011

It’s a game that seems too stodgy, stiff, and complicated. Dare we say geeky? In this age, when kids are tuned into electronics and love zapping aliens in fast-action video games, can chess, an old-world strategy game that requires measured, thoughtful action for success, resonate in schools? Does it help the game’s image that Harry Potter and Ron Weasley had to make all the right moves on a magical chessboard to get out of the Chamber of Secrets in one piece?

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When Disaster Relocates Your Campus

Private School News // February 7, 2011

Would you know where your classes would be conducted if a disaster struck your school? Having a risk management plan that incorporates a business continuation protocol addressing this question is critical to your school’s present and future. However, many schools (especially smaller campuses), are operating with expired or untested emergency manuals.

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Teachers Use Twitter, Where Are All The Administrators?

Private School News // February 7, 2011

Teachers are all over Twitter. They’re tweeting to their students articles of interest, to friends notes about their favorite sports team, and to the Twitter world in large anything and everything. So, where are all the school administrators? If you’re already out there, follow us. We’re looking for private-independent school administrators tweeting the latest and greatest about their schools, their goals, and their articles of interest. If you’re not on Twitter yet, read on for how to get to started.

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Teens Need More Sleep

Private School News // February 7, 2011

Experts say that the average teenager needs nine hours of sleep a night. However, only a small percentage of today’s teens actually get the full nightly recommended dose of ZZZs. Why? Without going into what is prohibiting teens (and adults as well) from sleeping at night, instead, here are some checkpoints that teens should answer to see if they’re suffering from poor sleep habits.

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Use Rally Points to Turn Winter Doldrums Into Morale Boosters

Academic Leadership // February 2, 2011

It’s January going into February, and everyone feels the winter slump—the big crash after the holidays when the weather is bleak in a lot of places, and it’s a long haul to spring. Moods and morale are probably looking as bleak as the landscape. Even if you are fortunate to be in a temperate climate, you probably are still experiencing some doldrums as the humdrum routine has settled in.

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Into the Deep End Without a Life Preserver—Better Ways to Train New Administrators

Business and Operations // January 26, 2011

In many schools, the following scene repeats itself time and again: A talented teacher is promoted to management (say, to a Department Chair or Division Head role). Everyone is very happy for his/her success. The leader (Head of School) smiles broadly, congratulates he/she on his/hers new role, and says, "Welcome to the leadership team." Perhaps someone eventually gives the new administrator a copy of the school's employee handbook. But that's about where it ends. No management induction program. No supervisory training. No professional growth plan. Nothing but, "Good luck—and we have a budget meeting on Wednesday."

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Ask Michael

Business and Operations // January 26, 2011

Q: We have a poorly performing teacher whose contract we’re not planning to renew. However, we’ve never given him any written warnings in the past. Are we at risk for a lawsuit?

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New Year: A Time to Think About Performance Evaluations

Business and Operations // January 26, 2011

With two faces (to look forward and backward), Janus was the Roman god of beginnings and endings – and the root of the word “January.” It is appropriate, then, that the new year often gives us pause to reflect on the events of the year passed and to look forward to the needs and plans of the year ahead. There is no better time to think about … performance evaluations. We realize that planning for, conducting, or even thinking about performance evaluations is no one’s favorite activity. Yet, it is a necessary and important activity for all administrators.

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Managing Risk With Basic Drills

Business and Operations // January 21, 2011

Basic drills (evacuation, reverse evacuation, shelter-in-place, and lockdown) are a critical aspect of your crisis plan. Well thought out and practiced drills are key in helping you to protect your students and school community at large.

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Managing Athletic Risk

Business and Operations // January 21, 2011

Nearly everything your school does, day in and day out, can present risk. Transportation, field trips, hiring (and firing), use of volunteers and vendors, facility safety issues, etc., all create risk or exposure to a varying degree. So do, of course, athletics. Managing risk in school athletics is really no different than managing school risk in general, only more focused. An effective plan needs three critical elements: 1) a review of what has or can go wrong; 2) a discussion of how to prevent those things from happening (or reduce their impact); and 3) how to respond to a given incident should, all planning aside, it still happen.

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