Researchers predict that both public and private schools across the nation will continue to experience a shortage of teachers. To combat this problem, you may wish to expand your pool of teaching candidates and new administrators to include former military and corporate employees. This article discusses how to smooth the way for these skilled individuals as they enter your school environment.

Parents should use direct, research-based elements (high quality teachers, low student-to-teacher ratio, student achievement, etc.) when choosing a private-independent school. But, their selection process also focuses on your school’s competitive advantage. As the Marketing Director, you face the challenge of validating the successes of the school’s programs in comparison with other schools.

An essential element of accountability in the Development Office is the capacity to evaluate whether objectives are being achieved, and to measure progress toward those ends. The following table suggests a framework you can use to think through the metrics that define and measure success. You, as the Development Director, can use these metrics to analyze the state of your operations, to establish your baseline, and to assess your forward progress and communicate this to the School Head, the Board, and the school community. They will also aid you in planning and managing your operations.

As Head of School, you are aware that your senior administrative staff members tend to give little thought to themselves. As a group, they comprise a selfless lot, devoting untold hours to providing services to your students and to your faculty, parents, and alumni. You may have in the past encountered difficulty in persuading them to attend appropriately to their professional growth and development.

The relationship that you, as the Development/Advancement Director, have with your School Head can be a complicated and confusing one. There are five major reasons for this. Few Heads have any background in development. They tend to reach their position because of their academic background, not development experience. Few development people, on the other hand, have much background in education. They typically come from the nonprofit sector, or they start as parent volunteers and graduate to become staffers, with little formal training in the nuances of fund raising at private-independent schools.

Some of California’s recent public school horror stories have clouded a previously clear picture regarding elementary class size reduction and its potential to enhance long-term student performance. ISM has previously expressed its viewpoint regarding the state of Tennessee’s remarkable Project STAR (Student-Teacher Achievement Ratio). Based on that project’s procedures and findings, we have for years routinely recommended class sizes of 13-17 in grades K-3. We have also emphasized the marketing advantages that can accrue to those private-independent schools that operate their K-3 programs within that range.

In thinking about your relationship as a direct report to your School Head, an essential career skill involves understanding how to influence upward. Whether you’ve known your Head for a long or short time, and however you came to your position, delivering the mission of the school to the students requires an effective relationship between you and the School Head. Reflecting on how you can effectively carry out your responsibilities is worthwhile. (From the Head’s point of view, this article may be helpful as you consider how to coach your direct reports—whether they are new to the business of management/leadership or experienced in their roles—so that they know your expectations.)

The 20th Century School treats learning in the same way an automobile manufacturer treats making cars. Every student (worker) is assigned particular times (clocking in) and places (workstations) where his/her teachers (supervisors) deliver common curricula (assembly lines) to meet commonly agreed standards (quality control). Teachers who attempt to make the “system” more humane and effective for students are in danger of stunting their careers and being considered troublemakers. Vaunted ideals of life-long learning, independence, and creativity so prized in students (at least in theory), are not as valued in teachers for whom conformity is a critical norm.