#1: School Purpose

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Every Effective Strategy Starts With a Compelling Vision

In this blog post, educational strategist Ian Symmonds opines, "vision is far more important than mission or core values to formulating strategy and empowering an organization to work together." Symmonds also believes that all great communication programs start with an excellent vision and shares seven steps to create a process for compelling communications (Symmonds says most organizations start at step 4 instead of step 1!).

#2: School Leadership

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Crisis Management

In this Brandwatch guide, crisis experts from Mangold Consultancy explain how proactively monitoring customer feedback on social media can help your organization become crisis-proof. The guide includes a step-by-step manual for managing a crisis and a checklist to help you set up a catch-all crisis monitoring program.

#3: Governance

• Accept volatility and recognize your inability to develop the perfect plan.
• Don't get deterred by overemphasizing "planning" in your company's strategy development.
• Don't tie your strategic plan too closely to your budget.

#4: Education Program Foundation

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Do we want our students to struggle

Writing for his Education Rickshaw blog, Zach Groshell says the "Productive Struggle" concept is generally not a research-based approach to teaching and learning. Groshell cites research on teacher effectiveness and cognitive load theory and concludes, "Do we want our students to struggle? Not really ... most struggle is not productive, and most difficulties are not desirable."

#5: Learning & Teaching

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Addressing the Emotional Roots of Procrastination

Writing for Edutopia, Adjunct Instructor Jennifer Sullivan looks at research that shows procrastination often stems from emotional dysregulation rather than time management. Says Sullivan, "Task avoidance doesn't happen because students don't know about the tasks—students avoid tasks because of the feeling associated with completing them." The article includes eight ways to help students overcome procrastination.

#6: Student Well-Being & Support

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8 Principles for Supporting Students with ADHD

In this Cult of Pedagogy blog post, Jennifer Gonzalez cites research studies that show "the less training and knowledge a teacher has about ADHD, the less confident they feel about working with students who have it," and "teachers tend to form fewer close relationships with students who have ADHD". Believing that all teachers should have a good working knowledge of ADHD, Gonzalez summarizes some key facts about ADHD and shares suggestions for classroom practices.

#7: Essential Concepts

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Expert Insight: How early childhood education is responding to climate change

This Western News article is by Veronica Pacini-Ketchabaw, Professor of Early Childhood Education at Western University and the Director of the Climate Action Childhood Network. This network believes "a paradigm shift in early childhood education can provide a path to deeper societal changes that are required. The shift means moving from learning that is information-driven to learning that is situated, speculative and experimental." In the article, Pacini-Ketchabaw shares some inspiring programs.

Also worth a read: Exploring Local Waterways in Place-Based Environmental Education, Edutopia.

#8: Custodial Care

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International enrolment recovery underway in Australia, Canada, the UK, and the US

ICEF Monitor looks at "post-pandemic" recruiting by educators in the leading destinations of Australia, Canada, the UK, and the US. Overall, the flow of students from China is slowing. While diversification is a major priority in all four destinations, Canada was much more heavily reliant on India than were other destinations.

#9: Recruitment & Community Engagement

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Your Board Members' Social Media Skills Can Increase Your Organization's Power

Social media strategy expert Christina Hager believes, "If you aren't harnessing the power of your board members and their social media, you are missing an essential tool in your toolbox, and a critical part of your social media strategy." In this Forbes post, Hager recommends giving your board members a "crash course" on social media during a Board retreat. After which, Hager says, "Every board meeting and board email should have an 'ask' for your board members that includes the three C's: copy, content and collateral."

#10: Human Resources

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How to Write Professional Yet Kind Rejection Letters [4 Templates]

This Hubspot blog post recommends developing a thoughtful rejection letter template as a meaningful way to preserve your employer brand. To create a kind and professional letter, use positive language and focus on language from the job description, provide positive feedback, and include specific and valuable feedback. The article details how to break a rejection letter down into three sections.

#11: Finance

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Business continuity and COVID-19: lessons learned

This article in Financier Worldwide Magazine stresses that companies must create and review easily accessible business continuity plans that demonstrate they have learned from the pandemic. The article also details ten key business continuity lessons that KPMG says companies should have learned from the pandemic.

#12: Facilities & Infrastructure

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Projections: Three Facilities Trends That Take Us Beyond COVID

NBOA President and CEO Jeff Shields says facilities changes made during COVID are being taken to the next level as schools prepare for the longer-term future. Shields identifies three trends: clean indoor air, a continued increase in the demand for more flexible physical spaces, and much less new construction going forward. Shields also recommends documenting the work done on facilities throughout the summer and sharing photo evidence with stakeholders.