Learn practical strategies to handle emerging trends and leadership challenges in private schools.
No matter if you’re a School Head, Admission Director, Development Director, Board member, or any other private school administrator—Ideas & Perspectives, ISM’s premier private school publication, has strategic solutions for the pervasive problems you face.
- Tuition not keeping pace with your expenses? In I&P, explore how to use strategic financial planning to create your budget and appropriately adjust your tuition.
- Enrollment dropping off? Discover how to implement the right admission and enrollment management strategies that engage your community—and fill your classrooms.
- Trouble retaining teachers? Learn how you can best support your teachers using ISM’s Comprehensive Faculty Development framework. Your faculty members will become more enthusiastic about their roles—which ultimately improves student outcomes.
- Fundraising campaigns not as successful as you’d hoped? Implement ISM’s practical advice and guidance to build a thriving annual fund, construct an effective capital campaign, and secure major donors—no matter your community size or location.
- Not sure how to provide professional development—for you and your staff? Learn ways to develop and fund a successful professional development strategy. You can improve teacher-centered satisfaction and growth, which in turn strengthens student-centered learning.
- Problematic schedule? You can master the challenges of scheduling with the help of ISM’s practical advice, based on our experience with hundreds of schools and our time-tested theories.
- And so much more.
I&P has shared targeted research, up-to-date insight, and sound theory with school leaders since 1975. More than 8,500 private school decision-makers find the answers to their schools’ administrative and governance matters in our advisory letter. We give you the strategic answers you need.
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See the articles from our latest issue of Ideas & Perspectives.
A Facilities Maintenance Plan
Volume 47 No. 9 // November 1, 2022
Boards and School Heads must not overlook the maintenance of current facilities. Maintaining these major components appropriately and consistently is critical to ensuring your school’s programmatic excellence.
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Roles and Responsibilities of the Finance Committee
Volume 47 No. 9 // November 1, 2022
Every Board committee has a vital role in a school’s health, enabling the Board to effectively fulfill its fiduciary responsibilities. The Finance Committee’s role is to oversee and assure the school’s long-term fiscal success.
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Create a Stewardship Plan to Thank, Honor, and Retain Your Donors
Volume 47 No. 9 // November 1, 2022
As Development Director, you know that, when a donor gives a gift to your school, they are not merely conducting a monetary transaction. Through their contributions, they express their personal values and aspirations for the school and support each child who chooses it.
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The Importance of Implementing an Equitable Financial Aid Timeline
Volume 47 No. 8 // October 1, 2022
For many families, financial aid is one of the most critical determinants in whether they enroll or re-enroll their child in your school. While some families may find the financial aid application process stressful, waiting to learn if they will receive an award can be downright excruciating.
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Your Net Promoter Score: Turning Passives Into Promoters to Boost Word-of-Mouth Marketing
Volume 47 No. 8 // October 1, 2022
Word-of-mouth marketing has long been the primary way new families find private-independent schools. Even with the explosion of internet searches, social media, and digital advertising, this tenet continues to hold fast.
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Why Merit Pay Doesn’t Attract, Retain, or Incentivize Teachers
Volume 47 No. 8 // October 1, 2022
As School Head, one of your major responsibilities is to share the realities of school operations with your Board of Trustees, which often comprises professionals from the corporate sector.
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Why the DEIJB Director Reports to the School Head
Volume 47 No. 8 // October 1, 2022
While school leaders’ management styles differ, one major question for any School Head is how to designate their direct reports and articulate what those relationships signify in terms of their school’s mission.
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Enrollment Forecasting for the Coming School Year
Volume 47 No. 7 // September 1, 2022
You, as Business Manager of your PK–12 school, are in the initial stages of putting together the first draft of your operating budget for the coming year, which will be Year Three of your current strategic financial plan. Line 1A of your strategic financial spreadsheet (not shown in this article)&nb...
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The DEIJB Director as an Influencer Position
Volume 47 No. 7 // September 1, 2022
Strategic diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and belonging (DEIJB) objectives are as iterative as they are systemic. A school’s DEIJB initiatives evolve with the political times and with the school community ethos.
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Board Executive Sessions: A Governance Recommendation
Volume 47 No. 7 // September 1, 2022
A significant aspect of an effective Board is the ability to have robust and substantial conversations that lead to wise decisions. Many Boards use a process called Executive Session to safeguard the confidentiality of a Board discussion.
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