Hot Issues for Independent Schools Today 34th Annual CASE/NAIS Independent Schools Conference

NAIS Hot Issues Survey First conducted in 2001/02 to assess the most challenging issues facing independent schools Follow-up conducted in November 2003 to see how the economy, the war, and other pressures have changed those issues

Areas of Investigation Resources—issues related to identifying and acquiring human, financial, material, technological, informational, and other resources Management—issues related to coordinating, supervising, communicating, monitoring, planning, developing procedures, assigning work, setting agendas, etc.

Areas of Investigation (cont.) Output—issues associated with services that the school supplies to the students and the community External—issues caused by external forces such as government, suppliers, citizen groups, economic conditions, etc. over which you have no control

Survey Findings: 2001 compared to 2003 Part I Survey Findings: 2001 compared to 2003

Major Resource Issues 2001 Survey Identifying, attracting, and retaining qualified faculty and staff Financing the independent school of the 21st century Technology 2003 Survey Financing the affordable independent school Attracting and retaining talented faculty and staff Keeping pace w/costs of technology

Key Aspects: Financing Schools The economic recession, independent school tuition increases, and lack of adequate financial aid resources are driving low- and middle-income families away from independent schools to lower-cost charter schools, public schools, and church-based private schools Maintaining affordable tuitions and increasing financial aid resources have become major challenges for independent schools

Key Aspects: Financing Schools Schools are facing increasing financial pressures from rising health insurance costs, demands for competitive salary and benefits packages, facilities maintenance and renovation needs, and technology support and maintenance costs

Key Aspects: Staffing Schools continue to have difficulty hiring and retaining talented faculty and staff How will schools replace the generation of teachers and administrators who will retire in the next ten years Financing competitive salary and benefits packages is an obstacle that adds to staffing and financial pressures

Key Aspects: Technology How will schools pay for the upgrades that parents and students expect How will they find the time, resources, and staff to support their existing technological infrastructures As the total cost of technology escalates, schools struggle to justify their technological expenses

Major Management Issues 2001 Survey Leadership in independent schools Professional development Communicating w/constituent groups 2003 Survey Professional development New leadership Managing and evaluating programs Communicating w/parents and other groups

Key Aspects: Professional Development Funding and finding the time for effective faculty and staff professional development activities is a major management issue From technology integration to the transfer of institutional knowledge from senior faculty to junior faculty, schools must continuously train Schools desperately need new inexpensive, time-efficient vehicles for providing professional development

Key Aspects: New Leadership As more and more baby boomers retire, schools are having difficulty finding high-quality administrators to replace seasoned heads, division heads, and other administrators NAIS’s 2002 leadership study confirmed that 70% of current heads will retire within next 10 years

Key Aspects: Management and Evaluation As schools find themselves doing more with less, they are looking for effective ways to evaluate their programs and services How do they identify their core programs How do they maintain the quality of their offerings

Key Aspects: Communicating with Parents School heads find it increasingly difficult to communicate effectively with parents and other key constituent groups How can they manage parents’ demands and “consumer” attitudes How can they and their staff use the internet to communicate effectively with internal and external constituents

Major Output Issues 2003 Survey 2001 Survey College placement Image Financial aid Curriculum development 2003 Survey College placement Financial aid Communicating w/parents

Key Aspects: College Placement School administrators need help managing parents' expectations regarding their children's abilities to gain admission to the country's most selective colleges and universities Stiff competition for acceptance at selective colleges have increased parental and student demands for programs, services, and extracurricular activities Schools find that being asked to teach to the college admissions application is an unacceptable intrusion on the quality and experience of an independent school education

Key Aspects: Financial Aid Without adequate financial aid resources, independent schools fear that they will not be able to maintain or increase their current levels of enrollment and that they will lose the economic diversity of their student bodies

Key Aspects: Communicating with Parents What are the best ways to manage parents' expectations about the independent school experience and college admissions How can schools best communicate with a new generation of assertive, Internet and market savvy customers

Major External Issues 2001 Survey Federal/state/local government intrusion The changing world Community relations 2003 Survey The economy Federal and state government intrusion Competition

Key Aspects: The Economy Declining national and local economies have impacted school endowments and enrollments and have markedly increased the demand for financial aid What long-term effects will schools experience if the recession does not end quickly How will the recession affect the economic diversity of independent school student bodies

Key Aspects: Government Intrusion Voucher programs, high stakes testing, calls for accountability, and federal and state regulations threaten our schools’ independence. What do we need to do now to deal with the growing cry for accountability

Key Aspects: Competition Rising tuitions, the economic recession, and inadequate financial assistance are causing some families to look for alternatives to an independent school education Many of these families are choosing public schools with gifted programs, charter schools, and church-subsidized, private schools As these alternatives strengthen, independent schools are experiencing increasing competition for families

NAIS Services Designed to Help Schools Deal with Pressing Issues Part II NAIS Services Designed to Help Schools Deal with Pressing Issues

NAIS Services: Financing Schools Financing Symposium—think tank on how schools can find new ways to cut expenses/raise revenues Financing Institute Financial Calculator 10-year stats spreadsheet Money issue of Independent School magazine

NAIS Services: Parenting Parent guides Surviving the College Search Gifts that Give Back Understanding your Child Parent survey Development of ongoing information services (parent magazine)

NAIS Services: Financial Aid SSS Service Development of centralized financial planning services

NAIS Services: College Placement Parents guide—Surviving the College Search Establishment of College Connection Task Force Possible joint services w/College Parents of America

NAIS Services: New Leadership E.E. Ford Fellows Program Ongoing leadership research

NAIS Services: Technology Leadership and Technology at Independent Schools

Thank you! Donna Orem Vice President, Information, Research and Strategic Initiatives NAIS orem@nais.org