ISM’s long-standing contention has been that schools have two primary markets: parents and students. Over time, we have seen an increase in the influence students have on enrollment decisions. From ISM surveys representing nearly 1,000 parents, 11% of respondents indicated that their children had significant to total influence, and 28% said that their children had equal influence. As one would expect, the level of influence increases with each grade, particularly beginning in the sixth grade. But even kindergartners are reported to have significant influence for some parents. To remain sustainable, a school must appeal to both parents and students from the admission process through graduation.

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Once the Board passes the annual budget, in conformity with the strategic financial plan numbers on Line 6 (hard income profit and loss)and Line 7 (the percent of operating expense covered by total hard income), the Head controls Line 5 (operating expense). He or she determines the best ways to spend those funds. Typical Line 5 headings include compensation, instructional expenses, advancement, technology, administration, operations and maintenance, and athletics and student services. Discussion of these lines is never a Board agenda item. They are undoubtedly part of the conversation for the Finance Committee where the details of the budget are hashed out. But, even then, the conversation is far more about the realism behind numbers (e.g., the inevitable increase in health costs or increase in faculty compensation) than it is about whether this or that should be done. That is an operations responsibility.

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In a previous article, “The Rhetoric of Rigor,” we argued that schools should abandon the use of the word “rigor” in their marketing messages because of its ubiquity and ill-defined nature. We encountered then—and continue to encounter—schools that adhere to educational practices they know need change (e.g., AP program, homework policies). But they fear those changes because those practices were once provided as evidence of academic rigor. Fear stands as a barrier to change as schools often see “academic rigor” as their competitive advantage.

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Each fall, ISM publishes a set of conversion factors to facilitate recasting previous tuitions into current dollars. (See the accompanying table.) We continue to use the Urban Consumer Price Index (CPI-U). However, we also realize the CPI-U does not reflect expenses in private-independent schools; it can only serve as a base figure. There are compelling arguments for adjusting your tuition at a rate 2% above the overall inflation rate.1

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As Chair of the Committee on Trustees (COT), you will want your committee to rewrite your Board Profile at least as often as your Board creates a fresh strategic plan/strategic financial plan. (ISM recommends a three- or four-year cycle for this.) You profile your Board to execute your strategic plan/strategic financial plan with the greatest distinction. While the Board Profile focuses foremost on those individual characteristics most obviously related to your planning document—e.g., nonprofit marketing expert or land developer—a general set of behaviors and attitudes, each of which can be placed under the general heading of “due diligence,” should undergird any Board Profile and be prominently listed in a special section of your profile document.

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In two previous Ideas & Perspectives articles, ISM introduced the “ISM School Culture Matrix” concept and scoring instrument. Schools use our Faculty Experience Survey to measure their teachers’ attitude and opinions regarding the level of predictability and support they experience from their administrators. This article updates readers on our current conceptualization, scoring, and practice using the instrument. First, we replaced the words “School Culture” with “Faculty Experience” in the survey and matrix. This more accurately reflects the focus of the instrument—to measure the faculty’s experience of predictability and support from their administrators and describe, collectively, the resulting likely organizational characteristics.

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ISM has traditionally recommended that Boards and senior administrations create fresh six-year strategic plans—which, in ISM’s long-standing approach, are equally strategic financial plans—every three-to-four years. ISM continues to observe that new six-year plans created on a three-to-four-year cycle work best for most private-independent schools, most of the time.

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The decision not to re-enroll a child at your school is unlikely to be one parents make lightly. Changing schools is a significant transition for not only the child but the whole family. The most common reason families give schools for this decision is that they cannot afford the tuition. However, ISM research has shown that cost is rarely the primary reason for leaving.1 Rather, a family’s perception of the value they receive for the tuition paid is more commonly at the root of their decisions. Affordability is the most diplomatic reason, and thus often used to avoid conflict or further discussion.

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Last night, your school’s Board voted to construct a new middle school. As School Head, you face many detailed and time-consuming tasks with this project—including working with architects, engineers, and contractors, and taking part in fundraising. It’s also important to make the most of this unparalleled marketing opportunity.

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As Board President or Chair of the Committee on Trustees, consider a periodic review of your school’s charter as a matter of due diligence. Many leaders assume that, once their school has been incorporated, there is never anything else to think about in that regard. If you are fortunate, that may be true. But it may not. A school becomes a legal entity when its charter is accepted by the appropriate government agency for filing. This fundamental document, also known—depending on the state—as a Certificate of Incorporation or Articles of Incorporation, sets forth the purpose of the corporation. Traditionally, this document defines, limits, and regulates the powers of the school, its Board of Trustees, and its officers.

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