Fielding Parent Complaints

Academic Leadership // October 15, 2015

It happens to every Division Head at some point. A father flags you down in the parking lot for a “quick chat,” or leaves you a voicemail on your office machine, or shoots you an email with his child’s name in the subject line. Within moments of the interaction, it becomes obvious that the parent needs to vent about his child—and he expects you to do something about it—immediately. How do you handle this?

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Teaching Your Parents: The Underlining Message in the Common Core Check Story

Academic Leadership // October 15, 2015

Have you heard about the “Common Core check”? If you missed it, here’s the summary: A father became frustrated by some new methods of teaching math which rendered him unable to help his second-grader with assigned homework. To mock the new teaching system, he wrote a check using the new teaching methods to protest what he saw as “change for the sake of change.” His photo of the check went viral, being shared across social media and news outlets, as a symbol of the new curriculum that many other parents found mysterious and confusing.

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Remedies for a ‘Fractured’ Board

Board of Trustees // October 13, 2015

When a Board’s internal problems keep it from moving forward in its responsibilities to the school, the Board President and Trustee leadership must act. The various forms of a “fractured” Board are often caused by members who bring their own agendas, have a bureaucratic mind-set, or focus on their own children’s issues rather than on the best interests of all students. As the Board President, ask yourself and your Board-leadership colleagues the following series of questions. These will help you identify the problem areas that cause a fractured Board, and offer remedies to keep your school moving forward.

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Indicators of School Crime and Safety for 2015 Boards

Board of Trustees // October 13, 2015

In July, the National Center of Education Statistics (NCES) released its annual report, "Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2014." The report includes research on bullying and cyber-bullying, weapons on school property, victimization, teacher injury, and other crime and safety-related topics—all of which should be priorities for the Board to anticipate and address.

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Getting Students Involved in Social Media Efforts

Advancement // October 6, 2015

Generating social media content that resonates with your school’s varied audiences requires time, energy, and inspiration. If you need extra hands to help create your school’s posts, updates, and graphics, involve those for whom the internet has been a second home: your students! To get your communication intern program started off on the right foot, Stacy Jagodowski—the Director of Strategic Marketing and Communications at Cheshire Academy and recent School Spotlight recipient—offers a few words of wisdom.

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Diversify Your Applicant Pool—The Right Way

Advancement // October 6, 2015

On our Admission e-List, discussion bloomed over the right way to attract more diverse applicants for various grade levels. Encouraging a diverse, accepting culture is a primary goal of many schools’ recruiting efforts, representing part of a school’s overall mission to create inclusive environments and help its students become citizens of the world. With that in mind, we’ve put together some tips for those who’d like to diversify their applicant pool while keeping their school’s mission at the heart of all recruitment efforts.

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School Spotlight: Cheshire Academy Shares Social Media Secrets

Private School News // September 24, 2015

When we first met Stacy Jagodowski, the Director of Strategic Marketing and Communications at Cheshire Academy, during our Advancement Academy, we knew we had to talk to this social media maven. Her deft, enthusiastic participation in our Twitter contest is an example every school administrator should follow when it comes to participation on social media. So, in this month’s School Spotlight, you’ll learn how she and Cody Barbierri, the Assistant Director of Social Media Marketing, use their social media savvy to spread and share Cheshire Academy’s mission as a student-centered school that—in Stacy’s own words—exists to “meet students where they are, and take them beyond where they imagined possible.”

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FAST Answers to Financial Aid Questions

Private School News // September 24, 2015

Q: I’ve often heard ISM say that financial aid awards should be “mission appropriate.” While the idea “feels” right, I’m having a hard time visualizing what it looks like in the real world. Can you explain?

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LinkedIn for Administrators, Part Two: Your Activity Wall

Private School News // September 24, 2015

In the first addition of our LinkedIn article series, we discussed how to make the most out of your profile by sprucing up your Summary and Experience sections. This month, we’re going to walk you through one of the most intimidating-yet-enriching parts of this professional media behemoth: The Activity Wall.

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Sexual Misconduct on Campus Part III: Best Practices, Professional Development and Policy

Business and Operations // September 23, 2015

As an organization dedicated to enriching student lives, it’s essential that protection be at the forefront of all school decisions. Updating your school’s policies and procedures to ensure your risks are minimal is vital to the future of your institution. In our final part of our series on addressing sexual misconduct, we'll walk you through the steps for clarifying and communicating your school’s sexual misconduct process.

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