Ask ISM’s Risk Manager

Business and Operations // May 1, 2015

Q: Our School Head received your recent flyer about student accident coverage and asked me to look into this insurance for our school. She believes by covering our students we’re meeting our due diligence as a school. I’m sorry, but I’m struggling with this rationale. Our students should be covered under their parent’s policies, right?

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Returning To School Life After Substance Abuse Treatment

Business and Operations // May 1, 2015

For HR Managers, only part of their job is complete once employees enter substance rehabilitation treatment. You may have had to encourage a faculty or staff member to enter treatment—this could have even been a last chance at saving the person’s life and career. But, after treatment, there is still a great deal of HR effort that must go into helping that person transition back into the daily flow of your school.

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Our Favorite New Health Apps: Some Old, Some New

Business and Operations // May 1, 2015

Last year, we published an article highlighting a few of our favorite health apps. This year, we’re taking another look at some of the hottest health apps to hit the app store. Instead of sorting through 97,000, this time around we’re weeding through more than 100,000! A lot has happened—and been developed— these past 12 months. But, with summer right around the corner, the time for flash fitness is upon us. No more excuses—find an app that’s right for you and set yourself up for a 30-day challenge.

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?To Permit or to Ban: Revisiting Cellphone Policies, Part One

School Heads // April 23, 2015

Cellphones have evolved in the past decade from comparatively crude communication devices little better than walkie-talkies to miniature computers more powerful than the machines that put two men on the moon in 1969. With great power, however, comes great responsibility. While schools that historically banned the devices experiment with classroom use, certain critics claim that the disadvantages outweigh the benefits. This month, we’ll take a look at some of the arguments in favor of allowing students to use their personal cellphones during school hours.

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Atrocious Tattoos and “Unnatural” Hair Colors: Dress Code Policy Particulars

School Heads // April 23, 2015

Can dress codes go too far? Recent viral stories of ridiculous-looking tattoos and one UK student’s banishment from school grounds over an “unnatural” hair color have revived conversations about how much influence dress codes can have on a community. Today, we’ll take a look at the potential impact that detailed dress codes can have in a private-independent school.

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Reaching Realistic Deadlines

Business and Operations // April 22, 2015

Deadlines are to your school what cogs are to a watch: both keep the overall machine ticking and running regularly. They’re necessary for everything to work seamlessly. Many thrive in an environment that sets clear, constant expectations through deadlines, but some may feel like they can’t keep up as due dates whiz by. If you or your office has trouble reaching its deadlines, try these steps.

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Write Job Descriptions by Answering Questions

Business and Operations // April 22, 2015

Finding new talent to add to your school’s faculty and staff can invigorate programs and inject new ideas to counter old problems. But how do you attract the best candidates to your open positions? Why, with your job posting, of course! Your listing is your first chance to attract and impress the sort of teachers and administrators your school desires. But the first step in writing a job description isn’t writing at all. First, you must collect all the important information job seekers care about, and present it in a way that’s easily understandable and attractive to the best candidates. So, before you set your fingers to the keyboard to craft your job description, make sure you can answer these crucial questions.

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Ask ISM's Health Care Reform Specialist

Business and Operations // April 22, 2015

Q: We are changing our eligibility for our health insurance from 20 hours per week to 30 hours per week. We were told that we must change our Flexible Spending Account (FSA) definition of eligibility, as well. We still want to let our part-time employees pretax their out-of-pocket expenses, but we’re told that this is not allowed. Can only our full-time employees participate in our FSA plan?

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Assets and Liabilities of the Advisory Board

Board of Trustees // April 15, 2015

Community and business leaders, revered alumni, and distinguished individuals are often asked to serve on Advisory Boards. Most such Boards are essentially honorific—established by schools to keep in contact with people whose names, experience, and funds can be of assistance on occasion. Members might include Trustees who have served your school long and faithfully, major donors of the past, and people of outstanding talent who may refuse full Board membership. Despite the form and membership of the Advisory Board, the potential for good or bad is about the same. Members of such groups must be constantly cultivated and their ideas solicited. If this does not happen, the Advisory Board becomes meaningless, the “honor” nonexistent, and feelings turn negative. In fact, this is the prevailing pattern at many schools. Use the following strategies to avoid this pitfall.

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Cheating On the Rise, At Home and Abroad

Academic Leadership // April 14, 2015

Cheating on tests has reached new heights over the years. Or, at least, it has for parents in Bihar, India, who actually scaled the walls of the local test centers while their children toiled over notoriously difficult standardized board examinations. But cheating isn’t confined to Bihar. One online conversation led to hundreds of people admitting to creative and (occasionally) effective ways to cheat on exams, as observed by students and teachers. So sit back, grab a cup of joe, and enjoy the stories of oddball cheaters shared by your compatriots.

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