The ISM Standards for Professional Growth and Renewal provide private-independent schools with a way to assess whether their investment in faculty professional development is focused on students, articulated as a systems activity, contextually meaningful in building professional relationships among faculty, and accountable for the results achieved. This article, the last in the series, recommends a set of metrics related to the Content Standards.

Evidence in support of an alleged teacher shortage has floated about for years. Whether such a shortage develops or not in the private-independent school world in general or in your school’s specific locale, the real question may not concern the quantity of teachers in your pool of candidates.

Deciding to dismiss a faculty or staff member is one of the most emotionally difficult decisions a School Head must make—a situation that is only exacerbated if the Head is uncertain about the potential legal ramifications of the decision (e.g., "If I decide to let this person go, will we be sued—and will we lose?") as well as the impact of the termination on the faculty culture (e.g., how many faculty members will be wondering, "How could they do this to Jim?" and "Will I be next?"). Prior to reaching that point, however, all efforts should be dedicated toward communicating performance standards and providing active support for those with performance deficiencies to help them meet and exceed these standards. Accordingly, we recommend that schools establish and publish a Corrective Action Policy to address these issues—one that is designed to support your mission, culture, and values while providing significant legal protection to the school.

In a previous article, ISM identified four cornerstones of character education as practiced in private-independent schools, including Purpose and Outcome Statements, advisory program/homeroom meeting, curriculum, and a strategic plan. This article, the second in a series, discusses the impact of faculty culture—the pattern of customs, ideas, and assumptions driving the faculty’s collective set of professional attitudes and behaviors—on character education.

Borrowing originally from concepts advanced in the for-profit sector, ISM has for a decade taught a basic competitive-marketing truth: private-independent schools can compete on the basis of price, product or process, but not on the basis of all three at the same time. The implications of this truth for strategic planning would be hard to overstate. As you, the Board President, prepare for your next planning event, take responsibility for assisting your colleagues in working from a marketplace stance that fits your school’s actual competitive platform.

Since its landmark research on the factors associated with student and faculty performance, ISM has published extensively on the topic of professional development and faculty evaluation in private-independent schools. High-functioning schools possess a faculty culture rooted in a collective commitment to career-long professional growth. These schools are adept at responding to both evolving student needs and changes in the characteristics of independent school faculties.

ISM has suggested that conventional thinking about private-independent school mission statements should be revisited. School leaders, caught between the need to craft an (1) inspirational, (2) compelling, and (3) marketing-effective statement, on the one hand, and a (4) comprehensive, (5) actionable, and (6) outcome explicit statement, on the other, have too often found the result unsatisfactory. The commonly experienced result has been a 30-word mission statement that attempts all of the above, thereby appearing cluttered, confused, and sometimes (necessarily) similar to those of competing schools.

Section 409A of the tax code (which generally deals with tax-deferred compensation issues) was enacted in October 2004.1 This did not directly impact schools until final regulations were issued in April 2007. The final regulations generally are applicable for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2008. However, for school years beginning in 2007 and ending in 2008, schools that offer elections to annualize compensation must have set forth in writing, by December 31, 2007, how employees are to be paid for the rest of the of the current school year. For 2008-09 and later school years, schools will need to meet the requirements explained below.

There is currently a heightened awareness of character education. In terms of academics, ISM has been tracking and warning of the competitive pressures from public schools throughout the United States. From Advanced Placement course offerings, to International Baccalaureate programs, to next level success, many public schools demonstrate that they are competitive with private-independent schools, admittedly with great regional variance. So while our schools can and do continue to compete in the area of academic excellence, Boards and School Heads must take more seriously than ever before the new competitive frontier — character education.Portrait of the Graduate, and the Characteristics of Professional Excellence of your faculty) and ensure they are directly connected to the lives of the students in your school.

The third ISM-recommended component of your Purpose and Outcome Statements (along with your mission statement and your Portrait of the Graduate) is your list of Characteristics of Professional Excellence. This is a 10- to 15-item list comprising your operational definition of faculty excellence. The items will relate both to your mission statement and to your Portrait of the Graduate, but differ because they focus on the specific behaviors, values, and attitudes that must be present in strength within your faculty in order for the mission to come alive and the portrait to be realized.