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See articles for School Heads, Business & Operations, Advancement, Academic Leadership, and Trustees, in addition to Private School News.
NK, Texting Has a Positive Influence on Education!
Advancement // December 10, 2009
According to the market research firm Nielsen, the average 13-to-17-year-old sends 2,900 texts a month. Most schools are opposed to allowing students to text. However, some studies are proving that texting has a positive impact on a student's writing abilities. A new study from California State University (CSU) claims the general consensus that the more a student texts, the more likely abbreviations such as nk (no kidding) and btw (by the way) are to seep into schoolwork, are concerns without merit. Their study found that texting could improve teens' writing in informal essays and other assignments.
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Is the FAFSA Form Too Complex?
School Heads // December 10, 2009
For many families that are seeking help defraying college costs, a challenging obstacle looms large in their future: the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA.
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Personality Clashes on Campus
Business and Operations // December 10, 2009
Your school's campus would be a rare find if everyone had the same personality type. So rare, in fact, every paper and news station would probably love to know about it. With a variety of teachers, staff, and faculty, it's just not possible that everyone will work well together without conflicts in opinions—but as long as they share your school's mission, difference is ok. More than ok, it might just be the diversity of personalities that keeps your campus thriving.
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H1N1 Influenza (Swine Flu)
School Heads // December 10, 2009
H1N1 influenza (or swine flu) is a hot topic right now, and it has a lot of school administrators and staff concerned about the ramifications if it were to begin popping up in their schools or towns. Since ISM is your teammate through both the good times and the bad, we wanted to keep you informed of what exactly swine flu is, and what you can do to protect yourself and your school.
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More Parents Asking Schools for Aid
Academic Leadership // December 10, 2009
Parents across the country are moving their children from private to public schools as the effects of the troubled economy are hitting families harder and harder. "We just couldn't keep writing the check," says Cindy Hogan, a San Francisco resident who recently pulled her daughter and son out of a Catholic school. "It was killing us."
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Educational Quality and Access Denied to Disadvantaged Students
School Heads // December 10, 2009
Of the 50 states in the U.S., 84% fail to provide students with access to a moderately proficient public education system. Only eight states provide both a moderate-proficiency and high-access education for all students. Compared to their white, non-Latino peers, minority and low-income students have only half the opportunity to learn in public schools.
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School IT Departments Lack Manpower
Academic Leadership // December 10, 2009
A recent study conducted by eschoolnews.com suggests that a shortage of staffing in IT departments continues to be a serious problem for schools. Said shortages are keeping many schools from realizing technology's full potential as a learning tool, since IT workers are forced to spend the majority of their time reacting to technology problems and not enough time on training teachers and staff on the best ways to integrate technologies into the curriculum.
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Baby Boomers Are Reinventing Retirement
Business and Operations // December 10, 2009
The definition of "golden years" has been revised. If 30 is the new 20, then 75 is the new 65. And the growing trend in older retirement ages proves this all too well. A new study, The New Retirement Survey, builds on the conventional wisdom that many baby boomers are not interested in a traditional retirement of leisure. People are living longer, and perhaps in response, they're working past the typical retirement age of 65. In fact, this study shows that most boomers who do retire at 64-65 launch into an entirely new job or career.
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StoryCorps Collects Latinos' Stories—and Your Students Can Get Involved
School Heads // December 10, 2009
The Latino students in your school have stories to tell. A new initiative from StoryCorps, the nonprofit oral history project, provides an opportunity for them to share their own and their families' experiences as a means of preserving and celebrating the diversity of their culture.
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The Breakdown on Break Points
Academic Leadership // December 10, 2009
You know all about "break points" and how dangerous they can be. When their children are about to make the transition from one division to the next, that's when parents tend to seriously re-examine their commitment to a private school education.
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