Issue: A faculty member devotes a significant amount of his off-duty time and energy as an online writer for a controversial social cause that some feel is contrary to the culture of the school.
Issue: A faculty member’s role as an instructor of adult education classes on pole dancing at the local community college comes to the attention of parents, who contact the School Head to express their concerns.
Make a Merit-Based Pay System Work for Your School
Schools nationwide are starting to question the way they hire and evaluate faculty. Seniority is becoming less important, which could be terrible news for teachers that use their tenure—not their teaching skills—as leverage.
Today, more and more schools are not necessarily looking for teachers with the most experience, but teachers that can prove their commitment to the students, the mission of the school, and their positive contributions to the overall faculty culture.
Developing Your Business Continuation Plan
More and more, government agencies, businesses your school deals with, parents, and major donors are asking to see your business continuation plan (BCP)—or at least questioning if you have such a plan. The BCP, simply stated, answers the question: “How can our school remain in business—or re-open as quickly as possible—if a crisis or catastrophe forces us to close our campus?” Without a business continuation plan, your school could face business interruption, which can lead to lost income, damaged reputation, added expense, and, if serious enough, the closing of your school.
The Head Support and Evaluation Committee: Subtleties
ISM has written extensively on the subject of the Head Support and Evaluation Committee (HSEC), including an article that provided a lengthy checklist. But the nuances of this committee’s functions can escape even the longest lists, and ISM here provides further commentary and examples on this critical topic.
The HSEC serves as the linking unit between governance and operations. Its composition, thus, should include a small number—often two or three—of management-savvy individuals,1 each of whom (a) has the institution’s long-term, mission-specific success as her/his only agenda, coming into the role; (b) has no predetermined (other) special agendas, no axes to grind, no hearsay-based “fixes” to impose on the School Head; and (c) has a dispassionate relationship with the Head (not too close, and certainly not adversarial).
Tattoos … More Common Than Not These Days
More and more, you see tattoos on people from all walks of life. Body art is becoming mainstream. American tattoo artist Don Ed Hardy has a hugely successful clothing line based on his art, which has branched out into shoes and even fragrance. His art is marketed in high-profile fashion areas.
Cutting Tuition Is Not the Answer—Keep Your School Accessible
“The current economy.” Those words often reverberate with some fear—fear that your school is pricing itself out of the market. And then the question comes, “Should we lower our tuition?” Or, “How do we keep our school affordable?”
That question has become a hot topic on ISM’s Just for Heads listserv. The predominant response was “NO.” Once you lower tuition—even as a temporary response to a current economic condition—it is difficult to bring it back up to where it belongs to support your programs. Your school gets into a spiral of catch-up and your programs—and your mission—suffer.
Does Your Crisis Plan Really Protect Your Students (and School)?
Recently, ISM had the privilege of sharing some of its risk management ideas with over 100 school administrators. In our discussions, it quickly became clear that many well-intentioned schools have neither a comprehensive crisis plan nor a business continuation plan. The former is required by law in some states (and represents good stewardship and the “right thing to do”); the latter, simply good business practice. This I&P article outlines an appropriate crisis plan for private-independent schools. A future article will target the business continuation plan.
Define and Prioritize the Head’s Major Tasks
The challenges of leading a private-independent school are increasing daily. Schools are offering more
programs (curricular and cocurricular) than they did even five years ago. They are expected to provide more services designed to meet the needs of students (counseling and learning resources) and parents (extended day and summer programs). Annual fund drives are more intensive and capital campaigns more frequent. There are more faculty and staff to manage. In this “more, better, faster world,” as Head, you are expected to manage an expanding and complex set of tasks.
“Good Night …Sleep Tight … Don’t Let the Bedbugs Bite!”
Most of us have heard and used that phrase. It’s an "old-age phrase" that actually stems from “back in the day” when bedding laid on top of a mesh of ropes, like a mattress frame. The mesh could be tightened to keep the bed from sagging. We don’t need to worry about our beds being tightened any longer, but as for bedbugs—they’re rearing their ugly heads across the nation and making headlines.
Talking Summer Program…Wait, Isn’t Summer Over?
You are just settling in to a new school year and we mention summer? “Are they crazy?” you think.
Nope. A summer program is an excellent source of hard income that lets you extend your mission beyond the school year and to a greater number of students. It is a wonderful recruiting conduit as well, introducing your school to potential students, giving them a “taste” of what you offer. But now is the time to get ready for summer 2011, particularly if you are enhancing your program, or adding one. Running a successful summer program is really a year-round task.