Stay current with the latest private-independent school news.
What are the latest trends impacting private-independent school enrollment? How can you be the most effective in your role as an administrator? How can you help your school meet its mission and best serve your students?
Check out Community Corner, a free blog from ISM.
We cover such topics as how to communicate with your constituencies, work with your fellow school leaders, leverage new technology trends, utilize recommended reading and resources, implement new strategies—all to better serve your school's mission.
Search
See articles for School Heads, Business & Operations, Advancement, Academic Leadership, and Trustees, in addition to Private School News.
Bullying the Food Allergic Student
Private School News // April 2, 2012
Bullying takes on many forms. Cyberbullying, playground bullying, and yes, even food bullying are all common forms that schools need to be aware of and in control of. Although all forms are risky, perhaps the most life threatening among them is food allergen bullying because of the reactions that can be triggered even from smelling certain trigger foods.
Read More
From the HR Blogosphere
Business and Operations // March 27, 2012
Blogs, forums, chat rooms, listservs—the list goes on and on. These can be valuable resources for finding alternative opinions and information about almost anything. From HR concerns to just needing a quick laugh to fuel the rest of your day, blogs can remind you that you're not alone in the all-too often chaotic world of private-independent education.
Read More
Green Corner
Business and Operations // March 27, 2012
It’s time to start thinking about your outdoor space again. Whether you’re a home gardener or volunteer time in your school’s garden, organic gardening tips can really help boost your patch’s volume. Here are a few tips for maintaining organic beds.
Read More
Ask Michael
Business and Operations // March 27, 2012
Q: We’re preparing for our upcoming recertification visit and are trying to tidy up our personnel files. What documents should and shouldn’t be in our personnel files?
Read More
Planning for Retirement
Business and Operations // March 27, 2012
If lack of familiarity with financial plans or fear of becoming involved are among the reasons you avoid retirement planning, this article will give you some encouragement to help your employees and yourself plan for the future.
Read More
Can Evaluation Really Drive Faculty (and Student) Performance?
Business and Operations // March 27, 2012
ISM recently published a new teacher evaluation model for private-independent schools. In that same vein, today’s lead article summarizes the key elements of teacher evaluation from ISM’s view. In many schools (and most other organizations, as well), performance evaluations are considered a waste of time or a meaningless bureaucratic exercise. What if evaluations could be used to actually increase performance—to help average teachers become excellent, and excellent teachers become even more outstanding? This can be achieved if the right things are being evaluated—and if the evaluation is communicated to the teacher in a way that helps them grow and develop.
Read More
How Evaluations Can Help Prevent EPL Claims
Business and Operations // March 26, 2012
In 2011, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) received 99,947 charges of employment discrimination. In any given year, as many as 25% of schools might experience an employment-related claim against their Directors and Officers/Employment Practices Liability (D&O/EPL) insurance policy. An individual claim might result in judgments of hundreds of thousands of dollars, or more.
Read More
The Transition to Adulthood
Board of Trustees // March 22, 2012
The National Center for Education Statistics recently released its report America’s Youth: Transitions to Adulthood, which examines numerous aspects of the lives of youth and young adults, ages 14 to 24, in the United States over the last several decades. The report features status and trend data from multiple surveys on the distribution of youth and their family structure; on school-, employment-, and health-related factors; and on future plans.
Read More
Wildlife Cams Give Students a Chance to See Animals in Nature
Academic Leadership // March 21, 2012
Not often does anyone get to see an American Bald Eagle nesting in real time. After all, the nest is situated in a tree 80’ in the air. But thanks to sharp, clear cameras and the live streaming service UStream.com, you can watch a nesting pair of Bald Eagles take turns sitting on the eggs, bring food back to the nest, and ultimately, watch the eggs hatch … and the eaglets grow.
Read More
Am I In the Right Job?
Academic Leadership // March 21, 2012
ISM believes that the primary responsibility of an academic administrator is to develop the capacity of faculty to deliver the mission with excellence. Here’s the rub: Most academic leaders entered the education field because they love helping children learn, grow, and develop. At a certain point, though, you switched over from teaching to administration, whereby you traded one constituency (children) for another (faculty). In doing so, you are still responsible for helping people learn, grow, and develop—the only difference is, now the people you are directly helping to grow are adults, who in turn help develop the children. These are very different jobs. Both are very important; you just need to be sure that you’re doing the one that you really want to do.
Read More