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See articles for School Heads, Business & Operations, Advancement, Academic Leadership, and Trustees, in addition to Private School News.
Put Your Students' Project in Space!
Private School News // October 31, 2011
Students age 14 to 18 from around the world have a chance to get their experiments onto the International Space Station thanks to the YouTube Space Lab, launched by Lenovo and Google!
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Food Truck Nights
Private School News // October 31, 2011
The Los Angeles Times recently reported on an unusual fund-raising event at an LA area public high school—food truck night.
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Overtime Billing Your Health
Private School News // October 31, 2011
We live in a society that is plugged in 24/7/365. Whether we’re engaged through social media, working from home, or staying current on our smart devices, we’re constantly being fed information—at an enormous rate. This has enabled a trend of today’s work force working around the clock (or, at least checking in/being updated), putting their health aside in order to get ahead.
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Cool Space Stuff for Your Science Teachers
Academic Leadership // October 28, 2011
For those of us who grew up in the 1960s, getting excited about space travel seemed to be part of our daily life. First the Gemini missions, then Apollo 8 orbiting the moon on Christmas Eve. And who wasn’t holding their breath for “one small step for man…one giant leap for mankind”? For kids today, space missions are just, well, are. NASA wants to change that.
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Editorial: The 21st Century School… What Does That Even Mean?
Academic Leadership // October 28, 2011
Commentary by Barbara Beachley, ISM Associate Consultant "I’m so tired of everyone talking about preparing us for the 21st century! Hello, we’re 10% done with it already!” An insightful junior made this statement in my advisory group when I was an academic administrator, and it reminded me of why students are at the center of my work. They usually know a lot more than I do, and that’s good news because they’re soon going to be running the world.
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Solidify the Relationship Between Board and Faculty
Board of Trustees // October 27, 2011
As the school year is now in full throttle, your Board can takes steps to foster a more productive relationship with your school’s faculty. Here are a few tips for bridging possible gaps between these two groups.
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Drama: Bullying in a Teenager’s Context
Academic Leadership // October 27, 2011
Bullying is a hot topic, and rightly so. In September, another teenager took his own life after being relentlessly cyberbullied (see the ABC News report on Jamey Rodemayer and Bullying http://abcnews.go.com/Health/jamey-rodemeyer-suicide-ny-police-open-criminal-investigation/story?id=14580832). Schools and school districts are ramping up anti-bullying programs to build support systems and build in consequences.
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Education and Synthetic Work-Life Earnings Estimates
Board of Trustees // October 25, 2011
The relationship between education and earnings is a long-analyzed topic of study. Generally, there is a strong belief that achievement of higher levels of education is a well-established path to better jobs and better earnings. The “Education and Synthetic Work-Life Earning Estimates” report, published in September 2011 by the U.S. Census Bureau, provides one view of the economic value of educational attainment by producing an estimate of the amount of money a person might earn over the course of their working life, given their level of education. These estimates are “synthetic,” that is, they are not the actual dollars people earned over the complete working life of the person. But the data reported can spur some interesting discussions concerning how your school prepares its students for future success.
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Perspectives from the HR Blogosphere
Business and Operations // October 20, 2011
Blogs, forums, chat rooms, listservs—the list goes on and on. These are valuable resources to find alternative opinions and information about almost anything. From HR concerns to just needing a quick laugh to fuel the rest of your day, blogs can help remind you you're not alone in the all to often chaotic world of private-independent education.
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Ask Michael
Business and Operations // October 18, 2011
Q: We offer faculty 10-month contracts (August 15–June 14). As a practical matter, though, we often ask faculty to stay a few days after the end of the contract in June to wrap things up after students have left for the summer, as well as having them come in for a few days over the summer for various reasons. I’ve heard a few faculty grumble about “not getting paid for this.” How can we address this?
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