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Must Have Job Skills 2013
Private School News // November 29, 2012
The faculty hiring season will soon be upon us once again. In preparation, we want to share a few tips from HR and recruiting experts as quoted in a recent Wall Street Journal article by Ruth Mantell, "Must Have Job Skills in 2013". While these experts spoke from the candidate’s perspective, we’ve turned around each point to consider the key skills that employers (schools) need to identify in interviews.
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New Violence in the Workplace Fact Sheet Emphasizes Prevention
Business and Operations // November 28, 2012
The National Institute for Prevention of Workplace Violence, Inc. has released its 2013 Workplace Violence Fact Sheet, a repository of information, statistics and charts on workplace violence presented to give Human Resources, Threat Management, Security, Risk Management and Operational Managers current information on workplace violence.
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Four-Team Approach for Creating and Maintaining a Crisis Plan
Business and Operations // November 28, 2012
In a recent e-Letter, we discussed the importance of developing a robust crisis plan. We suggested you begin by selecting your Crisis/Risk Management Team (CRM). The focus of this team would be to perform an initial risk assessment to identify concerns and determine which risks present the greatest exposure to the school—that is, which risks should be addressed first (triaging). This team should also be responsible for developing general, overarching goals for your school’s crisis plan.
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Turn Assessments Into Welcome Processes
Academic Leadership // November 27, 2012
Let’s think about one idea that might be helpful: process versus event. Where do we see this in practice? A standard question we ask students when face to face is “What is the most difficult time of year?” Typically, at least one student will talk about the end of each quarter, semester, or marking period. When asked why that is so hard, the answer is always “The faculty are rushing to get work done so they can have ‘marks’ to report on."
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Speaking of Scheduling …
Academic Leadership // November 27, 2012
While we are conducting on-site consultations, one of the things we hear is that schedules do not allow enough time for faculty collaboration. Faculty collaboration breaks down the learning silos of the 20th-century model, which in turn helps slow the frenetic pace many students deal with. In other words, faculty collaboration time will help balance demands on students while allowing to have a richer, more productive experience.
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Green Corner: Green Your School Challenge
Business and Operations // November 20, 2012
Dosomething.org hosted a Green Your School Challenge last year. 5,404 schools and 141,000 students from all over the country participated. Areas of competition included recycling, energy saving, and green agriculture.
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Should You Implement Diversity Training?
Business and Operations // November 20, 2012
There has been renewed conversation in the private school community recently about diversity training. Wikipedia defines diversity training as: Training for the purpose of increasing participants' cultural awareness, knowledge, and skills, which is based on the assumption that the training will benefit an organization by protecting against civil rights violations, increasing the inclusion of different identity groups, and promoting better teamwork. As with any training initiative, schools should reflect on their needs and objectives before launching this training.
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Fighting Obesity: Wellness Programs That May Alleviate Health Care Costs
Business and Operations // November 20, 2012
On April 4, 2012, Chronicle Online published an article stating that obesity now accounts for almost 21% of all U.S. health care costs. A study from Cornell confirms this is more than twice the previous estimate.
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Ask Michael
Business and Operations // November 19, 2012
Q: A Board member has been encouraging us to provide diversity training to all faculty and staff. I’m not sure how to approach this. What do you suggest?
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Lighthouse Leadership
Business and Operations // November 19, 2012
Editorial by Michael Brisciana Hurricane Sandy recently left millions on the East Coast seeking a light in the darkness. News stories of devastated communities longing for relief brought to mind the image of a lighthouse—a beacon of light, hope, and safety. A lighthouse is also a powerful visual of the role leaders can play in both good times and bad—pointing the way forward, toward light and safety.
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