In ISM’s Advancement Model, we advocate strategically integrating admission, marketing communications, and development at the service of your school’s mission. This model facilitates a united function that inspires and manages the flow of resources into the school—recruiting and re-recruiting students and their families and inviting philanthropic investment.

1. Already a member? Click here to login.

2. Not a member? Click here to become a member.

3. Not sure? We'll help you figure it out.

For you as a School Head, Human Resources Director, or an academic administrator, toxic teachers can be a puzzling phenomenon. Teachers, at the beginning of their careers, are typically: full of hope; excited about changing the world one child at a time; interested in—or even obsessive about—their subject material; and prone to moving every conversation (even those outside the school) to “what happened at school today.”

1. Already a member? Click here to login.

2. Not a member? Click here to become a member.

3. Not sure? We'll help you figure it out.

The ISM Stability Markers® comprise outcomes of ISM Consultants’ internal studies that periodically address the question: What variables are associated most strongly, according to ISM data, with a private-independent school’s ability to sustain excellence? This article—a snapshot of the larger array—provides readers with a self-scored estimate of the more comprehensive, 18-item set of ISM Stability Markers. This is designed to be used by the School Head, Business Manager, or other senior administrators in developing a preliminary, yet thoroughly data-driven, portrait of your school’s organizational and financial positioning for the long run.

1. Already a member? Click here to login.

2. Not a member? Click here to become a member.

3. Not sure? We'll help you figure it out.

The competition for philanthropic gifts, and a donor’s reason for giving, require a more complex and multifaceted balance. Advancement professionals need deeper insights into what motivates donors and prospects to give. Develop effective strategies to engage and bring them closer to your institution. Donors are vital for securing your school’s stability and success, and your relationships with them must be conducted with care and understanding. The Donor Cycle is a strategic approach to moving the donor into a closer relationship to the school. It is a sequence of processes and practices involved in establishing and renewing the connection of donors and their values with the school and its mission.

1. Already a member? Click here to login.

2. Not a member? Click here to become a member.

3. Not sure? We'll help you figure it out.

Private-independent school Admission Directors are finding recruiting prospective new families more and more challenging in an era in which new sources of educational competition (e.g., charter schools, magnet schools, and micro-schools) pour into the marketplace. To enhance referral enthusiasm among current families and, on occasion, outside third parties, some Admission Directors feel drawn to explore referral incentive programs. Others see the practice to be one that borders on being unethical.

1. Already a member? Click here to login.

2. Not a member? Click here to become a member.

3. Not sure? We'll help you figure it out.

Independent School Management (ISM), the National Business Officers Association (NBOA), and Measuring Success have collaborated to update a study and methodology originated in 2006 by Measuring Success and repeated in 2011 by Measuring Success with ISM. These original studies suggested no statistical relationship between tuition increase and enrollment outcome.

1. Already a member? Click here to login.

2. Not a member? Click here to become a member.

3. Not sure? We'll help you figure it out.

In the first article in this two-part series, we provided a review of the Student Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) and Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). In Part Two, we take a look at the enrollment process, admission, on-boarding, and other important areas of potential risk attendant to your International Program. International enrollment application processes can be more time-consuming than domestic applications. Increase your application fee, if needed, to cover the human resource hours and the postage costs of managing your international pool.1 Many reputable third-party brokers or commissioned based recruiters (as SEVIS classifies them) are available to assist with identifying mission-appropriate international enrollments, the cost of which is typically passed on to either the school or applying family, or both.

1. Already a member? Click here to login.

2. Not a member? Click here to become a member.

3. Not sure? We'll help you figure it out.

In the previous three issues of I&P, we introduced the three spheres of influence, then focused on the Market Position and School Culture spheres. This article focuses on the sphere dedicated to Constituent Relations. “Constituent relations” refers to the manner in which you, as Admission Director, Development Director, or Marketing Communications Director, take care of your key constituents: parents, students, alumni, alumni parents, faculty, volunteers, members of the operational and academic leadership teams, and others. This sphere of influence focuses largely on developing a client-centered orientation. A robust and concerted culture of client service is an expectation of, and a real difference-maker for, private-independent school families.

1. Already a member? Click here to login.

2. Not a member? Click here to become a member.

3. Not sure? We'll help you figure it out.

In an increasingly competitive market of innovative public school programs, charter schools, online programs, and home schooling, private-independent schools are under more pressure than ever to prove their value and relevance to their constituents. ISM continually urges Boards and school leaders to critically evaluate their Purpose and Outcome Statements to ensure that they clearly communicate what sets the school apart. Being “college preparatory” is no longer enough, if it is even worth mentioning at all. Almost all independent schools are college preparatory, as are most public schools, so preparation for the next education level is a basic expectation, not a difference-maker. Also, parents and students are beginning to question the value of college because of the enormous burden of student loans in an economy where there are no guarantees the investment will result in gainful employment. There is an increased sense that the traditional college education is failing to prepare students for life, and so just preparing students for college is an increasingly underwhelming proposition.

1. Already a member? Click here to login.

2. Not a member? Click here to become a member.

3. Not sure? We'll help you figure it out.

In two previous issues of I&P, we introduced the spheres of influence, then focused on the Market Position sphere. This article focuses on the sphere dedicated to School Culture. The second sphere of influence, School Culture, reflects your school’s enrollment outcomes and refers to the realm of students and faculty. When the school culture is healthy, the result is enrollment demand in excess of supply and a perception of return on investment for your parent constituency. Strength in the school culture sphere depends on the extent to which faculty are clear about the school’s marketplace stance and mission, are committed to it, and play an active role in ensuring it. You, as the School Head, Admission Director, or Marketing Communications Director know that, while parents are not directly part of the school culture, they do have expectations of it. When their children have consistently positive experiences, they perceive value and feel validated in having made the investment.

1. Already a member? Click here to login.

2. Not a member? Click here to become a member.

3. Not sure? We'll help you figure it out.