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 while also cultivating an environment that supports […]

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 and divisions, acquiring new facilities, or onboarding […]

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 usage of new media are on the rise. Schools […]

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, Dr. Brett Jacobsen shared the 10 […]

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 for grants for major initiatives. The list goes […]