There are times in which curriculum offerings and student choices result in the need for additional program or course sections that cannot be taught by full-time faculty. There are five types of “part-time” faculty.

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A comprehensive campaign incorporates all of an institution’s fundraising initiatives and objectives—annual, building, and endowment—over a predetermined time period into a unified effort with a coherent theme and coordinated communications strategy. The comprehensive approach to fundraising emerged as a solution to the diverse needs and constraints that a school confronts. Individuals have long given gifts to their favorite institutions. They were inclined to direct their gifts toward building the school’s capital base, either by directly funding new construction or renovation of existing buildings or by making an endowment gift to generate continuing income to establish or sustain programs in perpetuity.

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A new study (building on previous work) throws important light on School Head longevity and attrition—perhaps something of some concern to you, the Board President. The statistics on this are extremely hard to get industrywide, and many numbers have been thrown around based on gut feeling or personal experience. A report from the National Center for Education Statistics sampled 7,400 public and 1,700 private schools to obtain the findings on school principals.* The study allows us to compare two different calendar years—2008–2009 and 2012–2013. The following table considers whether the School Head (principal in the study) remained at the school from one year to the next, left the position of Headship entirely from one year to the next, moved to take up a Headship at another school, or stayed at the school. The column marked other denotes those for whom there is no information available. The base year for 2008–09 was 2007–08; the base year for 2012–2013 was 2011–2012.

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There are two long-believed axioms about adolescent sleep: (1) as children reach adolescence, they go to bed and get up at later hours; and (2) adolescent sleep deprivation is a widespread phenomenon. The National Sleep Foundation’s survey and research, as well as that of others, has established the support for these axioms.1 Adolescent sleep patterns undergo a “phase delay;” the typical upper school student’s natural time to fall asleep is 11:00 pm or later. Despite adolescents needing 8.5–9.25 hours, the average teen gets approximately 7.5 hours of sleep a night; 62% of 9th–12th graders report insufficient amounts (i.e., less than eight hours) of sleep; and only 3% of seniors get “optimal” sleep on school nights. Adolescents do not adjust their bed times in response to changes in the time of day that school begins, so an hour later start time translates to about an hour of additional sleep.

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Debt is an important parameter to consider. Stability Marker No. 1 (in the fourth iteration of ISM Stability Markers®) recognizes that schools with debt payments up to 5% of expenses have an acceptable debt level. Conversely, debt payments above 5% increasingly stress the budget and can place the school’s existence in jeopardy. How can someone who is not finance-savvy—a Trustee, a member of the administration, or even the School Head—recognize what the school’s debt payments truly are?

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School Heads must make unavoidable decisions about the renewal of teacher contracts. Often teachers react as a “family” when one of their members is caught in the crosshairs—even if that individual has been deemed ineffective or undesirable by some colleagues. The mere threat of dismissal or nonrenewal can polarize faculty, administrators, influential parents, and Trustees.

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What is a “good” student and what is a “great” student? Most schools classify students academically, both formally and informally. Entrance tests determine eligibility to attend; faculty conversations identify issues that need to be addressed; casual encounters and classroom experiences build a picture of student competence. The deep knowledge that a school has of a student can be considered an asset, as it enables the school to provide appropriate services and interventions. However, this deep knowledge is not always benign and can mask inequities detrimental to a student’s potential and actual progress.

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The School Head is the sole employee of the Board, and management of the Head’s compensation is a high priority. Numerous entities are now asking how much compensation is too much for nonprofit CEOs. Never has it been more important that the Board be fully conversant about Head compensation. Only then can the Board determine what adjustments are needed to ensure that the school compensates competitively to retain the Head or enhance its ability to be competitive in its next Head search. Trustees must educate themselves about the marketplace and understand the complexities of the School Head’s job. ISM surveyed a random sample of I&P subscriber schools concerning compensation for faculty and administrators. This article focuses on the survey results regarding the salaries of School Heads at our participating day schools.

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Since the economic collapse of 2008, money has been cheap. This is not the first time this has been so, but it is unusual that interest rates have remained low for so long. This has led school leaders—School Heads, Business Managers, and Trustees—to consider long-term financing to move their schools ahead, typically within the context of buildings and renovations. While tempting, we urge caution around debt financing.

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The annual fund is the keystone of your entire development program. Since it is broad-based and regularly occurring, it connects your school with the widest possible group of donors and helps build a culture of philanthropy in your school community. The annual fund also helps identify individuals who might later become primary supporters of capital, endowment, or major gift campaigns. It is a vital point of contact for Development Office professional staff to engage volunteers and develop volunteer leadership.

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