ISM believes that quality professional development for faculty and staff directly correlates to higher levels of student engagement, satisfaction, and performance. With summer coming and students freed from the classrooms, it’s a great time to enhance performances. But, not all private-independent schools place professional development high on their priority lists. You may need to ask directly for continuing educational opportunities. How do you, then, request for professional development from your administrators?

The SAT exam's distributor, the College Board, has (yet again) announced sweeping changes to the exam. Its president, David Coleman, fresh from his work on the new Common Core academic standards, said in March that the SAT has “become disconnected from the work of our high schools” and will change to better reflect the realities and demands of 21st Century education. So, what will the test look like in 2016?

Q: Is there a simple way to describe Business Continuity Planning?

Registrations for your school’s summer camp are streaming in! Over the next few weeks, any remaining openings should fill up. As parents apply, they’re likely to have questions—questions that not only should you be able to answer, but questions that you should have already asked yourself and your summer program personnel.

April is National Alcohol Awareness Month, and although the month is nearly behind us for 2014, there’s still reason to spread awareness of how alcohol abuse affects not just the addict, but those close to the addict as well.

“Oh, Health Care Reform, how we love your ever-changing ways,” said no one ever. The laws regarding the Affordable Care Act (ACA) have been evolving since its inception. Laws, policies, and deadlines continue to change as wrinkles are ironed out and organizations—federal, private, and corporate alike—struggle to meet deadlines. It’s certainly not created an easy avenue for brokers and Business Managers trying to keep current and compliant. But, we’re reminded that nothing is ever created without hiccups along the way. Perfection takes time.

Q: How will the government know that we offer our employees health insurance coverage so we’re not not assessed a penalty should they go to the exchange?

As more and more members of your private-independent school take their marketing and recruitment efforts into the digital world, there’s an increased risk for your school to fall prey to bad tweets or posts. We've covered numerous social media stories over the years, as well as shared a social media policy template. Today, let’s take a look at some recent social media mistakes in the Twitterverse and see how your school’s current social media policy should take these potential disasters into account.

Private-independent schools, always aware of the need to perpetually market their programs, often wonder what draws families to private education. What are the latest trends? How can we enhance our efforts to recruit mission-appropriate students?

Writing an online job posting for an open position can be a real struggle. There’s a delicate balance to strike between honeyed words to attract suitable candidates and brutal honesty about the work your school needs done. Here, then, are some common mistakes we see private-independent schools make when submitting job advertisements for various online career boards.