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- Trouble retaining teachers? Learn how you can best support your teachers using ISM’s Comprehensive Faculty Development framework. Your faculty members will become more enthusiastic about their roles—which ultimately improves student outcomes.
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- Not sure how to provide professional development—for you and your staff? Learn ways to develop and fund a successful professional development strategy. You can improve teacher-centered satisfaction and growth, which in turn strengthens student-centered learning.
- Problematic schedule? You can master the challenges of scheduling with the help of ISM’s practical advice, based on our experience with hundreds of schools and our time-tested theories.
- And so much more.
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See the articles from our latest issue of Ideas & Perspectives.
Savvy Use of the ISM Stability Markers
Volume 44 No. 4 // March 28, 2019
The ISM Stability Markers® have been used by private-independent schools since the 1990s. Most longtime readers of Ideas & Perspectives have established an annual or semi-annual discipline of Stability Marker self-scoring, and then forcibly addressing any organizational or financial weaknesses highlighted by their self-score outcomes. This has, in turn, enabled schools to sustain institutional strength in the face of the ebb and flow of their schools’ enrollment demand levels, and of the inevitable fluctuations in the national and regional economies. Not all Stability Marker veterans are equally savvy in using their own self-scores. A healthy perspective on these data arrays helps you, as Board Chair or School Head, to make wise decisions in response to your regular Stability Marker self-scoring exercise. Following is a list designed to assist you in making those decisions
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The Fourth Stage of the Donor Cycle: Solicit
Volume 44 No. 4 // March 28, 2019
Solicitation is a process, not just an event. It’s an invitation to a prospect to invest in your school—and to feel excited about supporting an area resonating with him or her. Whether the process involves one meeting or several, a single solicitor or a team, the way that invitation is ext...
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Your Mission, Students, and Faculty: Purpose and Outcome Statements Revisited
Volume 44 No. 4 // March 28, 2019
Most Boards and School Heads understand the power of a well-crafted, emotionally evocative mission statement as the foundation of a compelling case for enrollment and giving. Most also know the mission statement should distinguish the school in a marketplace replete with schools of all types. However, many mission statements fail to capture a school’s essence or provide any clear distinction from other schools. Your mission statement may not be definitive enough to provide guidance to the Board, administration, or faculty in their pursuit of programmatic excellence. It may be an assertion that better describes the school 20 or even 50 years ago. It may not answer the essential question, “Why does our school exist?”
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ISM’s Success Predictors: A New List for New Directions
Volume 44 No. 3 // March 5, 2019
Periodically, ISM publishes a series of speculative statements forecasting what we believe will become necessary to achieve marketplace success in the coming years. This article updates that list.
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Developing Your Summer Program Budget: A Step-by-Step Guide
Volume 44 No. 3 // March 5, 2019
Directing a summer program has become a year-round role requiring the same talents and skills needed to run a business. Summer Program Directors must establish a schedule, secure appropriate facilities, hire staff, acquire equipment, and coordinate marketing efforts. The Summer Program Director develops and manages an annual budget, often in coordination with the school’s Business Manager or CFO. The following provides step-by-step guidance.
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Vetting Host Families for International Students: School Responsibilities
Volume 44 No. 3 // March 5, 2019
Imagine a child—thousands of miles from home and not a native English speaker—living in a home or boarding situation considered unsafe or unhealthy. To what degree is a school responsible for oversight of these children?
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Developing Your Summer Program Budget: A Step-by-Step Guide
Volume 44 No. 3 // March 5, 2019
Directing a summer program has become a year-round role requiring the same talents and skills needed to run a business. Summer Program Directors must establish a schedule, secure appropriate facilities, hire staff, acquire equipment, and coordinate marketing efforts. The Summer Program Director develops and manages an annual budget, often in coordination with the school’s Business Manager or CFO. The following provides step-by-step guidance.
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The Head Support and Evaluation Committee: Five Steps to Get Started
Volume 44 No. 2 // February 11, 2019
You, as School Head, have a vested interest in a Head Support and Evaluation Committee (HSEC) functioning at a consistently high level, year after year. ISM's two major premises underlying this strategically crucial committee are these.
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The Third Stage of the Donor Cycle: Evaluate
Volume 44 No. 2 // February 11, 2019
Your goal in the Evaluate stage of the Donor Cycle (see the accompanying graphic) is to develop a deeper understanding of your prospects-their ability to give, their commitment, and their track record of giving. You'll achieve this goal by determining the answers to three essential questions for each individual. What is this person's passion? What would it take for this person to make a gift to this campaign? What would it take for this person to make a significant gift?
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Employment Applications: An Essential Part of the Hiring Process
Volume 44 No. 2 // February 11, 2019
Private-independent schools often shy away from using employment applications (whether online or on paper) in their faculty hiring process. They assume (or fear) that prospective teachers see it as unnecessarily bureaucratic and beneath their dignity as professionals. Administrators believe that an application is just the same as a résumé and see no point in duplicating the effort. However, applications provide definite protections for the school that résumés do not, making them an important part of a safe and effective hiring process.
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