All Resources

FACULTY FEEDBACK MODELS

Moving Beyond Evaluations to Comprehensive Growth Plans Independent schools are rethinking faculty growth and evaluation by moving beyond compliance-driven models toward approaches that foster professional learning, trust, and shared accountability. By uncoupling growth from evaluation, schools can establish clear expectations […]

Beyond Compliance: Redefining Educator Performance Evaluations to Cultivate Excellence

The process of evaluating educator performance has long been a challenge for both teachers and administrators. Many existing models either impose rigid structures that stifle professional autonomy or create an unwieldy burden that dilutes their effectiveness. In the wake of […]

BOARD BULLETIN: LEADING THROUGH STRATEGY

The board members at your school are hopefully aware of their three major responsibilities: While these three responsibilities may seem relatively straightforward, in reality, many boards struggle, especially with what’s involved in setting the strategic direction of the school. A […]

Interviewing and Hiring Resources

Heads of schools share that retention and recruitment of qualified staff remains a concern, with 42.9% of respondents to the SAIS pulse survey indicate it as a top challenge. Following are a variety of resources specific to interviewing and hiring. […]

MARCH 2025 SIGNALS

Entering March and approaching the promise of spring break, I want to take a moment to acknowledge the incredible work you and your teams have been doing.  During my onboarding year, I have witnessed this impact first-hand as I have […]

FUTURE-PROOFING YOUR SCHOOL THROUGH M&A

A Look at School Mergers and Acquisitions As schools consider institutional sustainability, the idea of a merger or acquisition may come into play. An acquisition might be a good option for schools looking to expand – offering new grade levels […]

A BRAVE NEW (DIGITAL) WORLD

Students Take the Lead With Broadcasting and New Media With a variety of media channels for sharing news or engaging with content, legacy media (i.e. print, broadcast television, and radio) appear to be waning, especially with younger audiences, while the […]

THE PORTRAIT OF AN EDUCATOR

Teacher Recruitment & Retention With Intention The landscape of education is changing — from AI integration to the rise of alternative educational delivery models such as online schools and microschools. During his presidential address at the 2024 SAIS Annual Conference, […]

FEBRUARY 2025 SIGNALS

Hello there! While February can sometimes feel like the longest month in school life, this is a fast-paced period with re-enrollment, faculty/staff agreements, student trips, and much more. Also, this is a season where one might be receiving a great […]

OPTIMIZING AI IN THE DEVELOPMENT OFFICE

Schools Find Benefits to Combining AI and Fundraising Today’s independent school development professional is confronted with many challenges: raising annual fund dollars to support tuition shortfalls, building a major gifts pipeline for the next capital campaign, researching prospects, and applying […]