Board-level strategic support of a healthy, growth-oriented faculty culture is critical for your school to sustain long-term programmatic excellence. The outcome of a healthy faculty culture is sustained/enhanced student performance, enthusiasm, and satisfaction. The faculty is, however, an operational responsibility and you, as a Trustee, should not interfere in teachers’ daily work. So, what are the strategic ways in which you can aid the School Head and Management Team in ensuring a healthy culture? What resources can you, as a Trustee, provide? Here are four key variables for your consideration.

With winter weather quickly approaching—and Buffalo, New York, covered in several feet of snow—Cathedral High School in St. Cloud, Minnesota, decided to test its emergency weather protocols before it’s a real issue. A “practice snow day” was scheduled for November 21 using technologies and lessons designed specifically for at-home learning.

Sex scandals shake the foundations of the private schools at which they occur, but sexual misconduct can happen at any sort of school at any time—private, public, and charter alike, from K-12 schools to higher education. In fact, one Associated Press investigation found that more than 2,500 educators over five years were punished for sexual misconduct, and that's just those who were caught. As School Head, it’s your job to make student safety a priority for every school employee through policies, staff training, and security procedures.

Think back to your earliest school memories. Chances are, instead of a classroom of desks, you remember swing sets, impromptu races, and squabbles over who gets that color of chalk next for the hopscotch grid. However, recess is more than a mere repository of happy memories. Time and time again, research has shown that regular, active playtime is a crucial part of a student's education. Despite this, many public school districts are slashing their recess periods with no replacements—and many parents across the country are transferring to private schools to keep their children on the playground.

In the last edition of Private School News, we featured St. Margaret’s Episcopal School and its work using massive open online courses (MOOCs) to bring its mission to students around the world. As it turns out, St. Margaret’s took advantage of advancements in learning tools long before edX reached out to secure their expertise for their high school courses. Lynn Ozonian, the school’s Director of Innovation and Technology, spared a moment to talk with us about some of the clever ways St. Margaret’s uses technology in their classrooms.

Generosity and community are central tenets of the winter holiday season—both can translate nicely to your school’s fundraising efforts. Capitalize on the sentiment of the season by incorporating some of these ideas into your fundraising lineup.

“100% faculty participation.” That phrase has a nice ring to it, especially when you’re trying to encourage donations from parents, alumni, and other philanthropic folks. It shows that your school’s employees feel so strongly in the school’s mission and what it’s accomplishing for its students that they’re willing to give back part of their own paycheck to support the institution. Achieving full participation can be difficult. Sometimes life costs more than people anticipate, making spare funds scarce. Perhaps your teachers already feel like they give enough of their time and resources to their school, and so you encounter some friction when asking again. These obstacles can be overcome with hard work, however. Here are some ideas for encouraging all of your faculty to give to the annual fund or capital campaign this year.

You’ve begged. You’ve pleaded. You’ve called and emailed and sent letters. You’ve done everything but hire a plane to write messages in the sky. But you can’t get your current parents to re-enroll on time! Knowing many of you struggle with this issue, we asked one of our ISM Consultants to provide some insight into the annoying—and costly—problem of perpetually late re-enrollment.

Many schools consider hosting a “Bring a Friend/Sibling to School Day” around this time of year. After all, friends and family have already been told about all of the wonderful opportunities your program and faculty provide. It makes sense to let prospective families get a taste of life at your school to encourage those who would otherwise not apply to do so. However, events that sound good on paper can have unforeseen land mines—if not adequately anticipated. This month, let’s take a look at some of the advantages and obstacles that a “bring a friend to school” program might encounter.

The mission of St. Margaret’s Episcopal School in San Juan Capistrano, California, is to “educate the hearts and minds of young people for lives of learning, leadership, and service.” This spring, select St. Margaret’s faculty will have an opportunity to demonstrate all three qualities for their students as they team up with massive open online course (MOOC) provider edX. Their new online courses will provide students around the world of all ages and backgrounds access to truly world-class education.