There has been a raging battle over the past three decades around the kind of schedule that best benefits students. This has, generally speaking, taken two sides. On one side are those who have hewn to a “traditional” schedule of seven 40-minute periods a day, with every class meeting every day for the entire year.1 On the other side are those who have embraced what is known as the “block” schedule. This has many variations. In its pure form, it is structured as four 90-minute periods a day with each class meeting daily for a semester. The classes then change and the format is repeated.2 The following table delineates the major technical differences between these two types of schedule.

In a recent article on endowment, we wrote: “Endowment is no panacea for poor governance, overreaching debt, or an unwillingness to charge what it costs. However, in a school that is mature in its governance and operations, endowment will be a powerful aid to enhance the school’s ability to deliver its mission.” While the optimum gift is unrestricted, many donors are inspired to donate in support of faculty excellence, thus directing their gift for a specific purpose. Setting up such an endowment is not quite as simple as just putting money in the bank. The following suggestions for both organization and intent are meant to provide guidance and to stimulate your own thinking. All boxed comments are illustrative only.

There are times in which curriculum offerings and student choices result in the need for additional program or course sections that cannot be taught by full-time faculty. There are five types of “part-time” faculty.

There are two long-believed axioms about adolescent sleep: (1) as children reach adolescence, they go to bed and get up at later hours; and (2) adolescent sleep deprivation is a widespread phenomenon. The National Sleep Foundation’s survey and research, as well as that of others, has established the support for these axioms.1 Adolescent sleep patterns undergo a “phase delay;” the typical upper school student’s natural time to fall asleep is 11:00 pm or later. Despite adolescents needing 8.5–9.25 hours, the average teen gets approximately 7.5 hours of sleep a night; 62% of 9th–12th graders report insufficient amounts (i.e., less than eight hours) of sleep; and only 3% of seniors get “optimal” sleep on school nights. Adolescents do not adjust their bed times in response to changes in the time of day that school begins, so an hour later start time translates to about an hour of additional sleep.

School Heads must make unavoidable decisions about the renewal of teacher contracts. Often teachers react as a “family” when one of their members is caught in the crosshairs—even if that individual has been deemed ineffective or undesirable by some colleagues. The mere threat of dismissal or nonrenewal can polarize faculty, administrators, influential parents, and Trustees.

The School Head is the sole employee of the Board, and management of the Head’s compensation is a high priority. Numerous entities are now asking how much compensation is too much for nonprofit CEOs. Never has it been more important that the Board be fully conversant about Head compensation. Only then can the Board determine what adjustments are needed to ensure that the school compensates competitively to retain the Head or enhance its ability to be competitive in its next Head search. Trustees must educate themselves about the marketplace and understand the complexities of the School Head’s job. ISM surveyed a random sample of I&P subscriber schools concerning compensation for faculty and administrators. This article focuses on the survey results regarding the salaries of School Heads at our participating day schools.

What is a “good” student and what is a “great” student? Most schools classify students academically, both formally and informally. Entrance tests determine eligibility to attend; faculty conversations identify issues that need to be addressed; casual encounters and classroom experiences build a picture of student competence. The deep knowledge that a school has of a student can be considered an asset, as it enables the school to provide appropriate services and interventions. However, this deep knowledge is not always benign and can mask inequities detrimental to a student’s potential and actual progress.