Private-independent schools have struggled with integrating technology into buildings for many years now, facing issues such as bandwidth and power sources. Planning our school buildings now requires a deeper conversation that includes teachers. While some schools continue to eschew the greater use of technology for philosophical reasons, most schools that embrace and integrate the use of new technology have a competitive edge in the education landscape. This does not imply that technology is necessarily an attractant. More fundamentally, the power of personalized, adaptive technology and feedback enhances instruction and learning, and can be a game changer in the effectiveness of the school’s mission delivery.
A Renewed Perspective for Professional Development
What should professional development be today? A decade ago, we published an article, “The Changing Paradigm for Professional Development,” that contrasted the descending paradigm of teacher-centered satisfaction with the ascending paradigm of student-centered learning. While the broad strokes of teaching improvement have been laid out many times, re-evaluate this in the light of increasing competition in the marketplace and because the context of professional development (PD) has changed as part of the broader education revolution.
4 Tips for Monitoring Your School’s Messages
Paid advertising, social media sites, newsletters (emailed or printed), admission packets, banners hung around campus, posters throughout your hallways, your marquee—all of these are just a few examples of how your school communicates with its families and community as a whole. Your school’s story—what truly makes your school special—should be incorporated into most, if not all, of your school’s communications.
Announcing a Tuition Increase: Write a Benefit-Based Letter
Typically, those involved in setting and announcing tuitions fear that parents will complain and rebel at any increase. Will you lose families? Will there be angry telephone calls and demands for meetings? Will there be negative feedback on social media? You need not worry if you plan your announcement in a way that highlights your reasonable cause for raising tuition—the benefits for the students.
Lines of Authority and Your Operating Budget
Once the Board passes the annual budget, in conformity with the strategic financial plan numbers on Line 6 (hard income profit and loss)and Line 7 (the percent of operating expense covered by total hard income), the Head controls Line 5 (operating expense). He or she determines the best ways to spend those funds. Typical Line 5 headings include compensation, instructional expenses, advancement, technology, administration, operations and maintenance, and athletics and student services. Discussion of these lines is never a Board agenda item. They are undoubtedly part of the conversation for the Finance Committee where the details of the budget are hashed out. But, even then, the conversation is far more about the realism behind numbers (e.g., the inevitable increase in health costs or increase in faculty compensation) than it is about whether this or that should be done. That is an operations responsibility.
Reduce Construction Anxiety for Your School’s Neighbors
Last night, your school’s Board voted to construct a new middle school. As School Head, you face many detailed and time-consuming tasks with this project—including working with architects, engineers, and contractors, and taking part in fundraising. It’s also important to make the most of this unparalleled marketing opportunity.
2016 Summer Reading List for School Heads
While this time of the year is great to recover mentally and physically from the rigors of the regular school year, there’s little rest for the weary—especially School Heads. To help you rejuvenate and inspire your mind this summer, we asked ISM Consultants for their recommended summer reads. Consider this your all-you-can-read professional development buffet!
Private School Principals Have More Control Than Public School Principals, Working Paper Shows
The American saying "Too many cooks spoil the broth" may be more than folk wisdom, if a new study is to be believed. In an attempt to understand why private schools are commonly considered to be superior to their public school peers, researchers evaluated how autonomous school principals were in several key governance areas. Private school principals and Heads apparently wield greater power when compared to that of their public school counterparts, who seemingly cope with an oligarchy of administrators interfering with decisions.
The Annual Strategic Scheduling Meeting
A school’s schedule is not simply tactical. A strategic element of the school, the schedule facilitates the delivery of the school’s mission as it fosters high-quality graduates. Great schedules put students in the best learning environment and deploy its resources (time, people, space and program) in alignment with the school’s Purpose and Outcome statements (mission, Characteristics of Professional Excellence, and Portrait of the Graduate). A well-designed schedule makes a positive difference in students’ lives and provides the school a strategic advantage in its market.
Facility Design and Strategic Planning
School Heads and Boards of Trustees must pay attention to both the operational and strategic elements of facility planning and design. Facilities might more typically be thought of as operational—while the Board approves the development of new facilities and engages the designer, the school works with the designer to establish needs and solutions. However, both you as School Head and your strategic partner the Board President might take a closer look at this process, which needs more integration than this simple separation of roles assumes.