Group dynamics impact any organization’s successful operation. Your school’s Board of Trustees is no exception. Specific behaviors and roles are common in groups, and Trustees must always be cognizant of these group elements to keep your Board’s efforts on track and strategically productive. Often t...

To consistently build a productive major gift program, you, as Development Director, must learn to manage relationships with a broad spectrum of individuals who have varying attachments to your school. Development teams in private-independent schools are generally too small to have one or more indiv...

Admission Offices face new challenges every year, from meeting enrollment targets to the pressure of balancing selectivity while expanding access to students and families with unique profiles. A well-run admission department should yield an incoming student class whose academic priorities and values...

The ISM Circle was designed to graphically depict the ideal management structure for an independent school. In the lower half of the Circle (see the accompanying graphic), you’ll find those administrative functions that lay the financial and operational foundation of your school’s mission (e.g., fin...

A question we are frequently asked when working with schools during scheduling consultations is, “How do we determine the full-time teaching load?” On its face, this seems to be a straightforward question with an easy answer.

Your teachers are central to your school’s success. However, despite their importance and the platitudes our society espouses for teachers, it has become a profession fewer teachers desire to practice. The data making the case for a “teacher shortage” are alarming. Between 2005 and 2018, there...

Teacher compensation is an ongoing topic of conversation and debate in independent schools. It’s often the first “fix” schools look to when dealing with a negative faculty culture or teacher shortage, even though research shows school atmosphere and predictable and supportive leadership have a greater influence on a teacher’s choice of where to work.

There is no doubt every private-independent school needs an engaged Board. As a nonprofit organization, the formation of a Board is an IRS requirement. “The Internal Revenue Service encourages an active and engaged board, believing that it is important to the success of a charity and its compliance ...

Being a member of a private-independent school Board is an honor for those invited to serve. This role also carries with it a definitive set of goals and behaviors that positively influence the Board’s culture and the school’s strategic direction.

In a recent I&P article, ISM recommended that schools consider adding “Core Values” to their Purpose and Outcome Statements because it is becoming more difficult for schools to avoid a core values position. There are several reasons for such a recommendation. They include protecting the school’...