Virtual & Onsite Consulting Services


Ensure that your school’s governance and operations support your mission.
We work together with your leaders, teachers, staff members, and students to understand your school’s unique needs, strengths, and challenges. We help you create a plan to help you meet your goals.
Your team can then put these mission-appropriate recommendations into action to achieve increased cash reserves, higher enrollment levels, and long-term stability. At the end of the day, we all have a singular purpose—advance school leadership to enrich the student experience.
We offer personalized consultations for many leadership divisions of a private school—the Board of Trustees, School Heads, the Business Office, the Development Office, Enrollment Management professionals, Marketing professionals, and Academic leaders. Select the area of school leadership you’d like to further explore.

ISM’s Consulting Services can be conducted virtually, ensuring you get the support you need, no matter the circumstances. Learn more by contacting our School Success team.
Our Consulting Services
School Head
Whether you want to ensure that all school functions run at peak efficiency or are considering implementing new strategies and initiatives, lean on a trusted source of knowledge to increase the likelihood of long-term success.
Business & Operations
Take advantage of a full range of planning, facilities, and operations consulting services that give your school a solid footing for the future. Examine where your key operations work well, and where they can use improvement.
Academic Leadership
Your programs set your school apart. Explore how to create and build programs that pull families in and give them an experience they couldn’t have at another private-independent school.
Admission & Enrollment Management
ISM’s data-informed approach pinpoints what attracts families to your school and inspires them to stay. Receive customized solutions based on your school’s unique marketplace stance, challenges, and opportunities.
Fundraising & Development
Learn how to develop successful strategies to engage and bring donors closer to your institution. No matter your school size, history, or pedagogy, explore how to plan, implement, and evaluate your fundraising strategies to realize your full potential.
Marketing Communications
Explore how to share exceptional stories of student learning, engagement, and outcomes, and illustrate how these can become differentiators that distinguish your school from your competitors.
Board of Trustees
The Board must focus its efforts on governing, planning, and financing your school's future, while leaving everyday decisions to competent administrators. To do that successfully, your Board must think, plan, and act strategically.
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One-on-One Coaching for New Heads
Work with an ISM Consultant in your first years of Headship to set you on a path to success.
•Data-Driven Diagnostics •
• Coaching •
• Customized Support •
Help Your School Thrive
ISM members receive access to exclusive, research-based strategies for every leadership division of your school. Take advantage of guidance, savings, and much more.
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See articles for School Heads, Business & Operations, Advancement, Academic Leadership, and Trustees, in addition to Private School News.
Parents May Be Held Liable for Students’ Social Media Activity
Academic Leadership // January 6, 2015
A Georgia appellate court has ruled that parents may be held liable for what their children post on social media accounts. During the year-long debacle, a school became involved—but by following the school’s policies, the principal kept her school’s community out of the lawsuit, mentioned only as a byline.
Read MoreAsk ISM's Health Care Reform Specialist
Business and Operations // January 6, 2015
Q: I heard that the deadline to pay for a policy purchased on the exchange was December 15. With the holidays, I missed my first payment, so what can I do now?
Read MorePrivate Schools Participate in “Hour of Coding”
Academic Leadership // January 6, 2015
Only one in 10 schools teaches students how to code—at least, according to Code.org, a nonprofit dedicated to expanding computer science’s prominence in the classroom until it’s as fundamental a subject as math or reading. In celebration of Computer Science Education Week, Code.org introduced the basics of JavaScript, a common programming language, to millions of students around the world with their “Hour of Code” tutorials for “ages 4 to 104”—and private schools got in on the action.
Read More3 Resolutions for the New Year
Business and Operations // January 6, 2015
January 1st has come and gone, but it’s never too late to turn over a new leaf! We’ve developed this list of resolutions for you to commit to over the coming year.
Read MoreWinter Storm Survival Checklist
Business and Operations // December 19, 2014
The holiday season is also the start of nasty winter weather warnings. Fifty percent of the country has already seen its first taste of snow, ice, and flooding, and predictions are calling for another active season. Here are some tips and guidelines for preparing your school for the months ahead.
Read MoreOperation Keep Your School Safe—Stereotyping School Shooters
Business and Operations // December 19, 2014
Just as we posted an article claiming gun violence was on a decline, another school shooting rattled news media and saddened viewers' hearts around the nation. On October 24, 2014, Jaylen Fryberg sent text messages to friends (including two cousins who were also students) inviting them to join him for lunch in the Marysville–Pilchunck High School cafeteria in Washington State. Sitting together, Fryberg opened fire on his friends with a .40-caliber Beretta handgun that belonged to a family member before turning the gun on himself.
Read MoreAsk ISM's Risk Manager
Business and Operations // December 19, 2014
Q: We’re preparing an updated Risk Management plan for 2015. Our committee has really done some great work thus far, seemingly engaged with the task. However, they’ve reached a tricky segment defining and revising the Vendor section. They reached out to me for insight as I’m the Business Manager and can at least provide them with a list of different vendors we have relationships with. But, I’m curious, what should be in a contract when using vendors? What should I be looking for when they propose it for approval?
Read MoreA Different View on Head Lice Policies
School Heads // December 18, 2014
We guarantee that you’ll start scratching your head at some point during this article. Why? Because we're talking about head lice.
Read MoreComprehensive Interviewing: In-Person Interviews
School Heads // December 18, 2014
Every employer wants to hire the best candidate for an open position, but private-independent schools must be even more discriminating than just aiming for the best. After all, hiring for mission-appropriateness requires more careful scrutiny of a person’s character and bearing than simply checking off requirements from a resume. So the in-person interview is an essential part of every hiring process. But, if the importance of this interview has you working yourself into a tizzy trying to craft the best interview question or considering how your body posture could intimidate candidates, take a deep breath. In a previous article, we gave you some advice on handling phone interviews. This month, we’ve compiled some quick in-person interviewing tips to make your interviews successful and as stress-free as possible.
Read MoreRe-recruiting Experienced Trustees
Board of Trustees // December 16, 2014
The Board has completed the Board’s profile, identifying the skills and experience needed to bring the next stage of the school’s strategic plan to fruition. Now it’s time to determine who can best fill those roles.
Read More