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Ask any educator to define "advancement," and they will likely point to a department down the corridor. They will tell you it is the team that handles marketing and admissions, coordinates events, manages fundraising, and builds alumni connections. But advancement is far more than a collection of operational tasks; at its core, advancement is the intentional work of strengthening a school’s reputation, relationships, community trust, and long-term growth and sustainability. I

Is the department honoured with a nice office? Do they receive strong professional development? Do you have plenty of high calibre applicants for the vacant roles in that team? Is HR handled by those who are highly qualified, credentialed experts? If not and the Head of School or the Director or the Principal is handling a lot of the HR workload, you may be missing a cost saving opportunity.

How seasonal programs can help international schools identify, develop, and retain future employees and leaders.

What does wellbeing really look like when a new staff member arrives at your school? I’ve been thinking a lot about the difference between being welcoming and actually creating a culture that supports wellbeing. A school can be incredibly friendly. People smile, invite you for coffee, show you around, check in and say, “Just let me know if you need anything.” And all of those things matter. But what happens when the new staff member actually needs something? Who helps them n

Every school leader knows the pattern. A minor incident occurs, a concern is raised, and a review meeting is held. Someone suggests a new form, a new approval process, or another item to add to a checklist. The intention is always positive. We want to prevent the issue from happening again. We want to demonstrate due diligence. We want to support staff and protect students. Yet over time, many schools find themselves carrying an ever-growing collection of procedures, forms, a

After eighteen years working in HR across international schools, I have seen recruitment change beyond recognition. What was once a manageable, if competitive process has become something genuinely difficult. The global teacher shortage is real, it is worsening, and the pressure it creates inside schools lands hardest on the people responsible for filling vacancies. I know that pressure intimately. I have felt it myself. The temptation when a post sits empty and the school ye

Most HR leads know the feeling of going on a hunt. A board member wants headcount by division. A new director of teaching and learning wants to understand observation history. An accreditation team needs a list of who has completed which training. None of it should be hard. But the hiring record sits in one system, the contract in another, the appraisal notes in a divisional folder that looks different for every section, employee ID numbers in a Google Drive or SharePoint fol

Many international schools have become more intentional about onboarding in recent years, with greater awareness around wellbeing, and transition support. At the same time, some schools still treat it largely as an administrative process focused on paperwork, and compliance rather than supporting families through a major life transition.

As a student of successful schools or rather of what makes schools successful, it took me a while to realize something they all have in common. It’s not something you hear much about. I haven’t heard it talked about at conferences, I don’t know of any books covering it, and it hasn’t (yet) been discussed on any podcasts. There’s plenty of discussion about pedagogy, coaching, leading, behavior management, and wellbeing. And all of that matters, of course. But I’m not talking a

Many international schools have become significantly better at onboarding over the last decade, investing more time and energy into helping new hires settle into countries, systems, and communities. That’s a positive shift. But while onboarding has become more professionalised, offboarding is often inconsistent, rushed, or poorly designed.

One of the biggest risks in safeguarding is familiarity. Schools can easily fall into the thinking of “we have always done it this way”. The problem is that safeguarding gaps rarely appear overnight. They develop gradually through routines that stop being questioned or systems that drift over time because nobody has had the opportunity to properly review them or work through different scenarios under their lens. The Operational Reality of Safeguarding Having worked in intern

The Deficit Mindset. A condition in which a school takes a traditional, inward-looking approach to its budget, relying on raising tuition to cover shortfalls rather than pursuing meaningful cost reductions or alternative revenue streams. This philosophy stunts institutional growth because it fails to look beyond its own walls and embrace a more "abundance" oriented mindset.

Are we playing a game of musical chairs with international schools as the players? The chairs are the diminishing pool of school age children. As demographic trends see student numbers contract year on year in many markets, the music is slowing, and the scramble is becoming a fight for survival. This crisis of enrollment is inextricably linked to our industry's future, and stakeholders must now navigate the risks of transformation. So, in this high stakes round of musical ch

In my small staff room in South Sumatra, the tropical heat usually works faster than the Wi-Fi. I have spent many afternoons staring at a flickering screen, wondering: as we all rush to write ‘AI Policies’, are we just erecting more digital fences, or are we saving the soul of our schools? For those working in school operations, Finance, HR, IT, and Facilities, this isn’t just a technical shift. It is a big question about who we really are as a school. It is easy to get lost

Without fail each year at the start of US tax filing season, the same thing happens at international schools with American staff. Emails start and US tax-related questions land on someone’s desk, HR, the Business Manager, sometimes the Head, and oftentimes no one is quite sure how to answer them.

The end-of-year season in an international school is a unique psychological phenomenon. While colleagues in "stationary" domestic systems might be looking forward to a summer of rest, the international educator often finds themselves in a state of profound liminality, the "in-between." You are physically present in one country, yet your digital footprint, your logistics, and your heart are already halfway across the globe. It is a period defined by a foot in two worlds, and

The problem with technology in schools is not the tools, it’s the illusion of progress. Buying new platforms and introducing them quickly can create the feeling that innovation is happening. But without clarity, alignment, and follow-through, that progress rarely reaches the classroom. I’ve seen this play out repeatedly. At conferences, school leaders exchange ideas, get excited about a new tool, and bring it back with urgency, but without analysis or a clear strategy.

Ask anyone in a school community and they would name teachers and their child’s principal, while fewer would cite staff on the operational side of the house, like the business office or human resources despite the vital tasks they perform every day. Likewise, many may not automatically name the school board. However, for a school to function to its fullest potential, all these departments must do their role with excellence and work together in a symbiotic relationship.

When things are unclear, schools often make the mistake of looking externally. When enrollment goes down, markets change, or instability occurs, the instinct is often to spend more on advertising, focus on visibility, or market more aggressively. These actions often do not get to the heart of the matter. Uncertain markets do not just look at marketing; they look to see if the school is aligned.

In recent weeks, events in the Middle East have once again reminded organisations how quickly global instability can unsettle the workplace. Escalating tensions and security concerns across the region have already prompted some organisations to shift employees to remote work and review travel plans in order to protect staff and maintain operations. Some staff who have taken jobs in the region due to start in August are now nervous about relocating and whether their start dat