Private-independent schools thrive when marketing communications, enrollment management, and development operate as a cohesive advancement team rather than as isolated departments. Yet, too often, these functions work in silos, leading to missed opportunities for engagement and growth.

Many private-independent schools struggle to define the role of athletics within their educational missions, particularly as youth sports become increasingly professionalized. While athletic participation offers undeniable benefits — instilling discipline, teamwork, and resilience — sports may dominate resources, promotional messaging, and student life in ways that may not align with schools’ broader institutional goals. Join our panel as they discuss strategies for ensuring athletic programs support, rather than overshadow, a school’s mission.

By adopting a self-funded insurance model for your employee benefits, K–12 private-independent schools can achieve significant cost savings, gain greater control over risk management, and tailor their coverage to meet specific needs. However, successful implementation requires careful planning, including adherence to regulatory requirements, securing adequate financial reserves, and following best practices to ensure compliance and long-term stability.

Choosing the right employee benefit plan depends on factors like company size, risk tolerance, and financial stability. However, your chosen plan impacts your school’s budget and ability to attract and retain faculty and staff.

In this webinar, ISM Employee Benefits Account Managers Antoinette Goodman and Liz Schaeffer will break down the key differences between and implementation processes of fully insured, level-funded, and self-insured employee benefits plans.

Successful school leadership transitions require a well-prepared community and a clear integration plan. Without this, new leaders face preventable challenges that put them at a disadvantage from day one.

Join Chris Massaro, Partner, The Source Advisory, and Keith Evans, President of Westminster Schools in GA, as they discuss how private-independent school senior leaders and boards can ensure smooth transitions through clear communication, structured support, and community engagement. Learn how your team can play a crucial role in setting new leaders up for long-term success.

Understanding and managing admission funnel, enrollment, and re-enrollment data is essential for effective enrollment planning. There are key data points that all schools should be collecting and analyzing throughout the admission process.

Join Casey Bell, ISM Consultant, as she describes the keys to a foundational understanding of admission and enrollment data. Discover how to interpret and apply core data points to project enrollment and inform your planning and enrollment strategies.

Independent schools face an increasingly competitive landscape, where shifts in demographics, technology, and family expectations pose challenges to traditional admission and marketing approaches. Heads and trustees play a critical role in ensuring the long-term financial sustainability of their schools, yet many are unsure of how to support admission, enrollment management, and marketing communications in strategic ways.

Your surveys are complete, and the data is ready to review — where do you start? The volume of information can feel overwhelming, and data misinterpreted or misused can be more detrimental than no data at all. Missteps can lead to divisiveness among faculty, misguided decision-making, and even public relations challenges with legal ramifications.