In an earlier article about the School Head’s contract, the two-year rolling contract was briefly described as follows. “ISM recommends two-year, rolling contracts. Each contract is agreed upon the year before the expiration of the current contract. … The new contract should supersede the remainder of the first contract and continue through the following academic year. This sequence ensures that the agreement never shrinks to less than a 12-month span.” This article provides further detail regarding this ISM-endorsed approach to your Head’s contract cycle.
Designing a Formal, Full-Board Proposal
When a Board committee or Trustee is on the agenda to present a proposal to the Board, expect him or her to come thoroughly prepared. The following template helps in organizing a proposal presentation. Send formal proposals electronically or by mail to all Trustees a week before the meeting, to allow review of the ideas.
How to Develop an Exit Interview Protocol for Departing Trustees
When Trustees leave your Board—whether they rotate off or resign—the Committee on Trustees should interview them. Gathering this data can help you support future efforts to build the Board’s performance and effectiveness.
How to Assess True Trustee Performance
Part of the Board President’s due diligence is to determine how effectively Trustees carry out their roles. Start with the basics.
New Report on Crime and Safety Highlights Current Trends in Schools
Creating a safe haven for the students at your school is a major Board concern, and making sure all the protocols and policies for school safety are in place is a must.
With this in mind, consider the report, Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2018, recently released by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
The Best Strategy to Develop Your Board’s Financial Aid Policy
Your Board is responsible for developing a comprehensive policy on financial aid, based on your school's particular mission and budget guidelines (careful calculations of per-pupil cost, retained earnings, and incremental costs.) But what frames an effective financial aid policy?
Strengthen Your Advisory Program to Alleviate Student Stress and Depression
A recent report, published in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology, documents the escalating mental-health issues among teens and young adults over the past decade.
Pricing Your School: Tunnel Vision and the ISM Stability Markers
Many private-independent school leaders—often members of the Board of Trustees—develop a measure of tunnel vision regarding their school’s tuition level. And given the emphasis on price in market economies, this can be justified as an understandable fixation—even an obligatory one.
How Better Classroom Design Can Improve Learning
Perhaps it’s not surprising that teachers desire spacious classrooms. They prefer collaborative spaces that are flexible and open, which they believe to be more conducive to learning. As the use of technology increases, classroom accommodation becomes a larger issue.
Action Minutes Make Sure Good Ideas Do Not Get Away
Think of the expertise that’s in the room every time your Board of Trustees meets. What a tremendous resource—and here’s the opportunity to tap it. Still, you’ve noticed that great ideas and suggestions can slip away. They pop up during a discussion, but that information doesn’t get captured in the standard Board minutes.