Of the several formal programs that engage and serve students in private-independent schools’ middle and upper divisions (e.g., community service learning, athletic teams, clubs, even academic classes), none may exhibit more variability among schools in structure, content, faculty commitment, and avowed institutional importance than the advisory program. Simply put, each advisory program is unique in when, how, how often, and even why advisors encounter and serve advisees and their families; in how much time is given to planning and professional development; and in how much advisory participants value the program itself. While ISM does not provide guidance on some distinguishing programmatic variables (e.g., content of advisory group curricula), we have espoused some core principles and practices. In this article, we express them as a list of attributes to which schools should aspire.

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Can you ask about a student’s learning disability on the enrollment form? The answer is, “It depends.” It’s essential to understand how you can—and cannot—phrase the question, and to balance the benefits and drawbacks

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Once upon a time, school updates and “newsletters” were little more than photocopied to-do lists for parents, reminding them of upcoming deadlines and maybe including the next week’s lunch menu. Since then, the school newsletter has evolved, becoming a powerful communication and relationship-cultivation instrument.

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In many schools, the Admission Director makes a regular Board report, either in person or through a written report or presentation from the Advancement Director. Therefore, we would like to explore pertinent issues to make certain that operational data does not interfere with the strategic/operations separation of powers. The Board President and School Head must ensure the Board receives the information it needs and that such information does not offend the strategic/operations separation of powers. This is particularly important as your Board might well be anxious given the economic turmoil since 2009.

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Of the many functions that ISM has suggested for the Committee on Trustees (COT), none is more fundamental to long-term school success than the “profiling” process. The following anti-example, published in I&P two decades ago, remains too representative even today. “Well,” the Board President said, “we now have two vacancies on the Board. Does anyone have names to suggest?” The room was silent. People looked at one another and then at the President. Finally someone said, “What about Harry Jones? He headed the Theatre Party last fall and did a great job.” Another brought up the name of the local Superintendent of Schools, soon to retire. Within five minutes, six names were being bandied about. Since two of them received more positive reactions than the rest—and because one member volunteered to call on those two people—an informal decision was made. The two would be approached about whether they would be willing to serve, if formally asked.

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Considering the Department Chair as a middle manager can be a difficult proposition. In many schools, the Department Chair still teaches the same number of classes as everyone else and has little real power. Or the Department Chair is, so to speak, the “union leader” of a power group that advocates for its own position within a power structure. The prerequisite for a change in the role to one of middle manager requires the entire faculty culture to be growth-focused. In such a culture and with strong Division Head leadership, the Department Chair can exercise proactive leadership that supports the school’s strategic vision largely by grounding it in a realistic application within the classroom.

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An effective and productive development operation is essential to a school’s long-term ability to sustain excellence in student programs. An accountable Development Office must evaluate how well its operations reflect best practices and whether objectives are achieved. A standard metric makes this evaluation possible. The following questionnaire provides a framework for appraising your performance and reviewing the practices that define success. Development Directors can use these metrics to analyze the state of their operations and establish baselines. They suggest ways to implement best practices in your development operations, and to measure progress and communicate it to the School Head, the Board, and the school community.

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Boards and School Heads must keep their eyes on the horizon when planning for an upgrade or adaptation of an existing facility, or designing a new one. What programs and services will private-independent schools need to offer in the next 10 years to remain competitive? How do they influence the planning and design of new—or adaptation of existing—school buildings?

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In The End of Leadership,1 Barbara Kellerman writes, “Leaders of every sort are in disrepute … we don’t have much better an idea of how to grow good leaders, or of how to stop or at least slow bad leaders, than we did a hundred or even a thousand years ago … that followers are becoming on the one hand disappointed and disillusioned, and on the other entitled, emboldened, and empowered.” She continues, “When everyone is exposed to the point of being vulnerable—no matter their status or station—the gap between leaders and followers shrinks to near the vanishing point.”

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Who’s’ volunteering at your school? What are they doing? How many hours have been contributed? To provide oversight of volunteer activity, you, as Director of Parent Relations (or another administrator who oversees volunteers), need to have that information in hand. One of your responsibilities is to recruit and value parent volunteers, and maintain a reliable volunteer force. Work closely with your Parent Association leaders to ensure that your school makes the most of this invaluable resource.

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