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.
Questions? Let's Talk!
Your message has been sent.
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.
Search
See articles for School Heads, Business & Operations, Advancement, Academic Leadership, and Trustees, in addition to Private School News.
Greening Your Space Has Benefits
Private School News // March 27, 2017
Long winters can impact our physical and mental health in numerous ways. Colder weather keeps most of us indoors more often, limiting our exercise and activity. Less sunlight affects our Vitamin D and mood stability. Seasonal affective disorder impacts an estimated 10%–20% of the population each year to varying degrees. Six percent of the population is in fact hospitalized each year with severe symptoms. However, there are ways to combat the season’s disruptions, with one of the simplest solutions being greening your workspace.
Read MoreAsk ISM's Health Care Reform Specialist
Business and Operations // March 7, 2017
Q: How and when will the new Executive Order administered by the Trump administration affect us?
Read MoreWhat Your Policy Says About “Ubering” to School
Business and Operations // March 7, 2017
When it comes to managing school risk, there is never a dull moment. Your policy handbook is in constant flux and often needs updating because of today’s rapid changes in lifestyle trends, technology, and compliance standards. Adding to the mix is the transportation trend of Uber, Lyft, and other ride shares.
Read MoreNew Year, New You
Private School News // January 24, 2017
A new year is upon us, and with it comes the promise of fresh starts and pattern adjustments. Whether you’re focusing on making improvements in your personal life, your career, or both, the following tips will help you stay on pace for your best version of you.
Read MoreHow Biased Are Your Interviews?
Private School News // January 24, 2017
Choosing mission-appropriate candidates for your school today is much different than it was even a decade ago. From where you post the job listing to how you review resumes and check references, it’s a whole new process. Hiring managers know discrimination is illegal. Really, everyone knows discrimination is illegal. However, knowing the federal and state laws defining discrimination are not something all managers understand. Those tasked with hiring (or firing) should take a crash course in compliance—and best practices—before starting on a search. Knowledge is the first step in protecting your school. However, there is another element to consider when making final hiring decisions—your subconscious.
Read MoreTechnology and Teen Sleep Deprivation
Private School News // January 24, 2017
For the past few years, there has been notable research on how technology (e.g., digital devices, laptops, television) disrupts student sleep patterns—and student success (or not) in school. A recent meta-analysis of 20 studies, Association Between Portable Screen-Based Media Device Access or Use and Sleep Outcomes, published by JAMA Pediatrics, sheds more light on this “major public-health concern” for students. Attention-stealing devices like televisions, computers, MP3 players, and cell phones are largely to blame.
Read MorePreserve Your Board’s Strategic ‘Memory’
Board of Trustees // January 12, 2017
One way to ensure strategic continuity at your school is to preserve Board memory—to learn and grow from your history. Your school’s strategic “history” provides both constraints and opportunities for its strategic future. As Board President, you should consider a formal review of the quality of your existing historical portrait, take steps to reorganize that portrait if needed, and elevate the quality of your school’s organizational “Board memory.” Consider the following four key steps.
Read MoreThe Influx of New Teachers
Board of Trustees // January 12, 2017
Public schools around the nation are experiencing a higher percentage of new teachers. According to data from the Department of Education, 12% of all public school teachers are in their first or second year of teaching—in some states, more than 15%. This “greening trend” in teaching has been noticeable and well-researched over the past two decades.
Read MoreStrategies for Strengthening Ties With Feeder Schools
Advancement // January 4, 2017
As the Admission Director, you know that your faculty members have experience teaching feeder school graduates who now attend your school. So they know what types of background knowledge, skills, and experiences these newcomers bring. It’s likely that these students are a good “match” for your program and will have positive experiences on your campus. Also, when several students come from the same feeder school, they already have friends in their class at your school. Each of these factors eases the transition from the former school to the new, and reduces the adjustment time for students, teachers, and parents as they acclimate to your school’s culture.
Read MoreStrengthen Your Outdoor Education Program
Academic Leadership // December 30, 2016
Outdoor education has a long and distinguished history in private-independent schools. Whether it involves an annual trip or is a yearlong component of the curriculum, administrators cite various benefits to these programs: personal growth, development of social skills and self-confidence, health and fitness, teamwork, whole student education, fun and recreation, and enhancement of a positive school culture. As you develop, expand, or assess your school’s own outdoor education program, determine how effectively you address these fundamental areas.
Read More