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"Can You Believe They Did That During The Interview?"
Business and Operations // April 21, 2010
As many schools are now either right in the midst of—or are thankfully winding down—their faculty hiring efforts for this season, we thought we'd take a moment to share a few views of the "lighter side" of the interviewing process. Whether it is due to nervousness, desperation, or other factors, we all know how interviews can bring out the "quirkiness" in even the most otherwise "calm, cool, and collected" individuals.
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"Qualifying Exigency" Defined for Military-Related FMLA
Business and Operations // April 21, 2010
Over the past two years, two new categories of FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act) were added under federal law: "qualifying exigency" leave (of up to 12 weeks) and military caregiver leave (of up to 26 weeks). When originally added to FMLA, "qualifying exigency" was broadly defined as leave required to help a family member prepare for a sudden military call-up. The Department of Labor (DOL) has since provided more details around situations where a "qualifying exigency" may apply.
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Letters from Medicare: Legitimate? Or, Phishing for Personal Data?
Business and Operations // April 21, 2010
We've received several calls in recent months from schools wondering whether a letter they ostensibly received from "CMS" seeking employee data is legitimate. Suspicions were high among a few Business Managers we spoke with who were concerned that the letter might be a scam, that someone was trying to steal the identity information of their employees.
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Four Core Reasons for Dropping Out
Advancement // April 20, 2010
Private-independent schools don't have the same issues concerning high school dropouts. However, every school is affected in some respect. Robert Balfanz, co-operator of the Baltimore Talent Development High School, co-director of the Everyone Graduates Center at John Hopkins University, and researcher, has determined four core reasons why students drop out of school before graduating.
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Teachers Struggle With Virtual Boundaries
Advancement // April 20, 2010
When an athletic coach in Hernando County starting getting text messages from one of his teenage female students, he thought nothing of it. He often kept in contact with his students that way. However, many of her text messages were not related to the weightlifting team—they were in regard to personal issues.
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Ask the Development Expert
Advancement // April 12, 2010
Q: "What is the difference between the Annual Fund and Annual Giving?"
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The Logistics of the Ideal Development Office
Advancement // April 12, 2010
As Development Director, your role is to identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward donors who will then invest in your school's mission. In order to do that successfully, you need the physical environment that will support your activities. So, what should your Development Office look like?
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Hard Hat Tour—Show and Tell For You
Advancement // April 12, 2010
Everybody loves a hard hat. Well, maybe not people who have to wear them every day. But for the rest of us, there is just something kind of cool about being on a construction site, wearing a hard hat. If you are in a capital campaign, and you have construction going on, you have the perfect opportunity to give your constituents a special experience and build enthusiasm for the outcome!
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Green Corner—Discover Plastiki
Business and Operations // April 6, 2010
When we set out to find monthly green tips that can impact schools, sometimes we come across the most interesting stories. This month, instead of bringing you a bulleted list of green facility ideas, we're bringing you a whole site full of green educational opportunities and inspiration for your campus. Discover Plastiki. A crew of six people aboard a sailboat made from 12,000 plastic bottles are tweeting, blogging, and filming their journey from California to Australia. It's a 100-day, 10,000-mile science project—and its mission is to spread knowledge about pollution and the power in recycling.
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A Southern California School District Is Among the First to Get a New Hybrid Bus
Business and Operations // April 6, 2010
In January, as we were welcoming in a new year, the Ventura school district of southern California was also welcoming a new milestone along their path to being a green school district. Replacing one of their 1977 bus models, they introduced a new state-of-the-art, plug-in hybrid electric school bus to their fleet. Green buses are currently only being produced by one manufacturer in the U.S.—IC Bus Subsidiary of Navistar Inc., based in Raleigh, NC.
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