Are you curious about using paid advertisements to drive more traffic to your website, get more family inquiries, and boost enrollment? Or maybe you are using paid ads, but are hoping to improve your strategy. If so, you must know the new rules for paid advertisements. Right now, the best advertising channels to help you achieve your marketing and admission goals are Google, Facebook, and Instagram. In this episode, Clint Losch will present the best approach to running highly targeted ads on these platforms—ads that generate interest from mission-appropriate families—all at a minimal cost.

Are you struggling to keep up with the daily demands of social media content? Do you scramble to post new content? Do your communications end up lost among other, more compelling messages? Do you post often enough each week? On your lengthy list of marketing and communication job responsibilities, social media management often feels like “just another thing to do.” Many school marketers face the challenge of regularly delivering fresh content. Relying only on current events to keep things fresh not only limits your content, but it also fails to showcase the true essence and enduring mission of your school. Introducing "The Evergreen Social Media Framework!" This three-part storytelling framework is a game changer for private school marketers, empowering you to create unlimited social content. No more last-minute scramble—instead, craft daily content that's rooted in your school's mission and unique value proposition.

Nothing affects your students, teachers, programs, facilities, and time as much as your schedule. When you get it right, your schedule can boost student performance, family satisfaction, and faculty culture—leading to better recruitment, stronger retention, and more robust fundraising. In this episode, Carrie Nelson (ISM ScheduLogic Specialists) and James Collins (ISM Director of Sales) will discuss some of the challenges schools face when working on their schedules and the solutions to address these challenges. Explore approaches can that ensure your schedule suits your mission and students.

As we recover from the pandemic and as the teacher crisis develops, schools must thoroughly understand the upcoming changes and plan operational adjustments now. In this episode, Terry Moore (ISM Executive Consultant and Governance and Finance Department Head) will explore how changing human resources laws in many states may affect faculty compensation. Learn why merit pay has not been effective in many independent schools, learn about ISM’s latest compensation system recommendations to support a faculty growth mindset, and discover a non-negotiable element for every school’s strategic plan.

As you gear up for your fall and winter prospective family events, you may be asking . . . Why aren't we seeing the registration numbers we hoped for? Could our approach to event promotion be too generic or uninspiring? Is there a more effective way to ensure families commit to attending? What advertising channels are best for promoting our events? In this episode, Clint Losch, Head of Marketing for Outsourced School Solutions (a leading digital marketing agency serving private-independent schools), will unveil tried-and-true strategies to help you fill your open house events with mission-appropriate families.

While you may have just finished recruiting and enrolling most of your new families for this school year, now is the time to start re-recruiting them (yes, really!). From the moment they enroll in your school, the experiences your new parents and students share will have an enormous impact on their re-enrollment.In this episode discover enrollment management strategies you can implement immediately to ensure a seamless and supportive transition for your new families.

ISM has expanded our data offerings by acquiring Unbound360, an innovative platform that harnesses powerful data from multiple sources to provide unprecedented insight into your school’s market—and future. Join Unbound360 founder, Jesse Roberts, and ISM’s Executive Director of Sales & Marketing, Kate Auger-Campbell, as they discuss the unlimited opportunities Unbound360 data presents for schools. Gain the power of big data in a simple-to-use web platform. Identify prospective families and benefit from predictive analytics and financial modeling to aid your school in long-term sustainability efforts. With just a few clicks, you can see exactly what’s happening with your competitor schools. See Unbound360 in action! Join us for a live demo of this software on June 12 at 12 p.m. EST.

The U.S. national emergency declaration to the COVID-19 pandemic expired on May 11, 2023. The emergency declaration, along with separate public health and state declarations, has been in place since early 2020.Schools take various actions every day to prevent the spread of infectious diseases, including the virus that causes COVID-19. But now that the public health emergency is ending, should your school remain cognizant of infectious disease prevention? And, if so, how do you do this? In this episode join Dr. Lisa Smith, medical director of the One-to-One Return to Work/School/Sports program, Chattanooga, Tennessee, to learn strategies that should be in place at every school.

Now that you’ve decided to implement a wellness program at your school, it’s crucial to make sure you put it on the path to success. In this episode, you’ll learn how to define program goals, recruit a wellness team, and overcome potential barriers.We’ll provide three steps to get you started establishing important milestones of days 30, 60, and 90, allowing you to enter the summer with a clear vision of your wellness program’s direction for next fall.

When it comes to private school admission, your recruitment and re-recruitment efforts are paramount to your school’s long-term viability. Thinking strategically about your school’s opportunities and challenges is a must for Admission Directors.In this episode, Mary Yorke Oates, IAP-L (ISM Summer Institute Faculty Member and Director of Admissions at Charlotte Latin School, North Carolina) will present a big-picture view of how to build an effective team and develop a meaningful marketing strategy.

Wellness programs have been shown to improve employee retention, productivity, and health for your entire school community—including students, faculty, and staff. However, starting such an important initiative can be a daunting task.In this episode, you’ll receive a step-by-step guide to building, implementing, and maintaining a community wellness program in your school to improve everyone’s health and morale. And if your school already has a wellness program, discover strategies for expanding its offerings.

A healthy school is only possible if it’s home to healthy students. Although schools have embraced physical health education, students benefit most from wellness programming when an array of wellness and mental health services are available. Many schools still fall short of providing comprehensive mental health programs, depriving students and the larger communities of numerous benefits.Learn how robust mental health initiatives improve family recruitment, increase student retention, and engage alumni. When intervention occurs early, mental health treatment and wellness services can make a tremendous difference.

Work and learning have shifted fundamentally, and leaders have a tremendous influence on mental health and well-being. Join us to hear new perspectives, fascinating research, and fresh viewpoints on how school leaders can influence positive experiences for their teachers, students, and peers—with implications for well-being and health.

The way families find and research schools has changed, and schools must adapt their marketing efforts accordingly. Digital marketing has the power to set your school apart—if you can harness its potential. In this webinar, Clint Losch (ISM Advancement Academy Faculty and Director of Business Development, Powered by ISM) and Jamie Giblett (Sales Manager, Digistorm) will discuss how to evaluate your school’s current digital marketing efforts and implement strategies based on data, not speculation.

Collaboration between your Board, your School Head, and your Advancement Team (Marketing Communication Professionals, Development Directors, Admission Directors, and enrollment managers) is essential to successfully achieve your enrollment and fundraising goals. As you look ahead to the 2023–24 school year, how can you think strategically about this collective approach? The following panelists will share their experiences and provide expert insight: Isabel Sankaran-Wee, CFRE, IAP-L, Director of Advancement at Stratford Hall, B.C. Canada; Steve Salvo, Head of School at St. Mary’s Episcopal Day School, FL; Penny Abrahams, ISM Senior Consultant, Advancement Department Head, and Advancement Academy Convener; and Scott Wilson, ISM Executive Leadership Department Head and Platinum Executive Coach.

How do you develop a school culture that helps teachers thrive and feel supported, and encourages them to stay? Especially as you approach all that is involved in the hiring season? In this webinar, Meredith Monk Ford, Executive Director at Folio Collaborative, walks you through a specific conversation strategy you can use that demonstrates your investment in your teachers while uncovering how to sustain their commitment to your school. This strategy builds on five concepts that help foster a school culture that encourages teachers to stay for the long term: putting people first, taking purposeful action, creating clarity, honoring reflection, and making time for celebration.

You’ve probably heard of the revolutionary new AI language model, ChatGPT. And now you’re wondering: Do I really need to learn how to use it? Is this just a fad? How can this new system actually help with our school’s marketing? Aren’t the outputs too basic and generic? As a fellow marketer who has spent over 200 hours studying ChatGPT and implementing it in my own marketing efforts, I can confidently tell you it is a game-changer! The problem is, many people don't know how to use it to its full potential. After this webinar, you will have the exact strategies and ChatGPT prompts to save you hours, and even days, executing your most critical marketing tasks.

In today’s challenging employment environment, succession planning has become a vital part of organizational sustainability. Independent schools operate in unique ways that reflect the rich mosaic of skills, talents, styles, and passions of those who lead. But, despite the uniqueness of each school culture, there are universal do’s and don'ts when planning for succession for any role.

One in six children in the United States has a mental health disorder. Anxiety in teens has increased by 93.6% since 2019. 1.8 million additional therapists are needed to effectively treat serious mental illness and substance abuse disorders. In 2021, only 15% of adolescents aged 12-17 reported receiving mental health services at school. More than 50% of adolescents indicated they would seek mental health support if it were more readily available. These numbers are frightening, but there is hope. Access to a professional–when students need it most—could help you prevent a tragedy and maybe even save a student’s life. ISM has partnered with HEP-Health Care to create WISE (Wellness in Independent Secondary Education)—a smartphone app that gives students 24/7/365 access to live mental health professionals instantaneously. In this webinar, Dr. Deborah Beck, MPA, Ed.D., FACHA, and President of HEP-HealthCare, will discuss the mental health crisis among students today. Dr. Beck will explain how our new program can partner with your school’s counselors to provide invaluable support and resources for your entire school. Tune in to see a live demonstration of the program and discover how it will make a difference for your students, faculty and staff.

Learning support services in independent schools are growing. But despite a dedicated and caring faculty working hard to provide individualized education plans, your program might not be meeting the needs of some students. Brad Rogers, Head of School at The Gow School—a mission-driven school in New York for students with dyslexia—will share his expertise on supporting students with learning differences. He’ll also share how he partners with independent schools to ensure ALL students are provided the best school experience possible.