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See articles for School Heads, Business & Operations, Advancement, Academic Leadership, and Trustees, in addition to Private School News.
Three Monthly Head Talk Meeting Mishaps
School Heads // November 23, 2015
Last month, we talked about the benefits of having monthly “Head talks,” during which you’d make yourself available to chat with parents and families in an informal setting. We still believe they’re a great tool for building rapport with families and community stakeholders. There are, however, some problems that may arise in such a program, should you not take care.
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What Happens If You’re Hit by a Bus?
Business and Operations // November 20, 2015
Unexpected events come, well, unexpectedly. Caring for family members, healing from extended illness (or bus mauling), property destruction from fires, floods, and the apocalypse—life often forces professionals to take unexpected leaves of absence for numerous reasons. While you can’t know when you might have to step away from your office for a while, it’s a good idea to have what we’ll call a hit-by-a-bus plan ready for someone to take over your tasks while you’re gone.
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Ask ISM's Health Care Reform Specialist
Business and Operations // November 20, 2015
Q: I have heard that they are changing the overtime rules, and I'm getting worried. Will these changes greatly increase our budget?
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Red Flags on Résumés
Business and Operations // November 20, 2015
We’ll be coming into hiring season before too long, which means you’ll be inundated with resumes to fill vacant faculty, staff, and administrative positions. While it’s hard to gauge a candidate based on a piece of paper, a résumé can tell you a lot about a candidate. Here are some potential “red flags” on résumés so you can be aware of potential warning signs that a particular candidate might not be the best fit for your vacant position.
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Unleash Your Inner Monster: An Interview With Katie Johnson, Founder of the Monster Project
Academic Leadership // November 19, 2015
Source readers, we’d like to introduce you to Katie Johnson. By day, she’s an art director from Austin, Texas. By night, she’s the founder and CEO of the Monster Project. Her organization fosters imaginative play by sending student-created drawings of monsters to professional designers all over the world. These designers then create their own versions of the students’ prototypes and return them to the schools, so students can see how their monsters—and their own creativity—can “grow up.”
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Grading Your Report Card Communication
Academic Leadership // November 19, 2015
Report cards: One of the few things that parents are guaranteed to read. It’s a unique opportunity for your teachers to communicate—clearly and authentically—with both students and families. This semester, evaluate your students with more than a letter grade or a percentage; it’s time for teachers to tell families what they really need to know.
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The Importance of Attending Board Meetings
Board of Trustees // November 18, 2015
As a Trustee, you are expected to carry out your due diligence roles—particularly when it comes to Board meetings. In your service to the school, your participation in Board functions is imperative. The Board acts as an entity, not as a collection of individuals. Your attendance and participation are vital to the success of the Board and its actions.
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Emerging Technologies in Schools
Board of Trustees // November 18, 2015
Private-independent schools must always consider how technology can be best used in the classroom. Your Board, controlling the purse strings through the strategic financial plan, must be mindful of the school’s needs concerning emerging technologies.In a competitive landscape, parents often consider how a school integrates computers and other learning technologies for their children. You don’t want your school to be perceived as “antiquated.”
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Mailing Lists Are Money Sinks
Advancement // November 16, 2015
Electronic communications make reaching potential students and their families as simple as pressing the “send” button. To do that, however, you need email addresses, which can be time consuming to collect when you have to advertise your upcoming enrollment events next week. The temptation to purchase the emails of likely local prospects is like a siren call, luring you to trade your budget dollars for easy access to information—but they’re not worth your time or money. Why? Well, we’ve got a few reasons for you.
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Three Reasons Your Faculty and Staff Need to Be on Social Media
Advancement // November 16, 2015
If you’re a follower of social media trends, you know that the more “authentic” a post sounds, the greater a response it will generate from your audience. “Natural” voices help foster relationships and prevent readers from feeling like you're selling something instead of engaging them in conversation. One of the best ways to unleash your school’s “authentic” and “natural” voice is to encourage your faculty and staff to post about your school on their personal social media profiles.
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