Article Archive

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  • Risk Management
  • | Technology

Greetings from Kazakhstan: Hackers Target Independent Schools This item is protected.

From the archives: A sinister email, a twisted digital trail and an eye-opening journey into the realm of cybersecurity. One school's story. 
14 min read

CEO Notebook  

  • Communication
  • | Enrollment

What Keeps Us Up at Night

"What keeps you up at night?" I get that question fairly often, including very recently from a head of school who I consider a thought leader within the profession. You might identify with my response of late. It covers
3 min read

CEO Notebook  

  • Admission
  • | Enrollment

The Word on School Websites

The next time a prospective parent checks out your school, there's a good chance they'll do it from their phone or tablet computer. Whether they're waiting in line at the grocery store or sitting at a café, and wh
2 min read

CEO Notebook  

  • Leadership
  • | Technology

Heads of School, Financial Chops and Summer Learning

As business officers know too well, there really is no such thing as downtime anymore in independent schools. The summer is busy with wrapping up the prior school year and preparing for the one ahead. NBOA is no differen
2 min read
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After School  

  • Culture

After School: the Rides of His Life

Riding bicycles to raise money and save rides.
4 min read
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  • Compliance
  • | Human Resources

Renewed Emphasis on Independent Contractor Misclassifications

Key questions that help you get the classification right.
4 min read
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  • Compliance
  • | Trips

International Student Homestays: Panacea or Pandora's Box?

For U.S. independent day schools and boarding schools alike—and economically as well as culturally—there is much to like about the potential for an international student “homestay” program.
9 min read

CEO Notebook  

  • Boards and Trustees
  • | Governance

Exceptional Governance

With the busiest part of the school year behind most of us, I invite you to consider your school's Board of Trustees in the context of the NBOA Board of Directors. Our Board is probably similar to yours in some ways, yet
3 min read

CEO Notebook  

  • Leadership
  • | Membership

The NBOA Difference

As your school year winds down, your professional association's planning for next year is already ramping up. Last week, members of the NBOA staff assembled in Washington, D.C., to identify and plan the vast array of NBO
3 min read
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After School  

  • Culture

After School: Weekend Warrior

Why one business officer trained to be a Licensed Battlefield Guide at Gettysburg.
4 min read

CEO Notebook  

  • Facilities
  • | Technology

The AltSchool Promise of Every Independent School

It's been a spring of heavy travel, and at each independent school I visit the topic of technology invariably arises. The questions go something like this: What role should technology play in our delivery of preK–1
3 min read
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  • Athletics
  • | Facilities

Exercising Their Options

With students getting less unstructured playtime at home, independent schools are making high-tech and low-tech investments alike in exercise facilities, equipment and philosophies.
9 min read

CEO Notebook  

  • Culture
  • | Human Resources

CFO 2025: Communications, Compliance, Compensation and More

For more than 15 years I've been thinking about the role of the CFO, especially as it relates to educational institutions, vis-à-vis my professional positions at NBOA and NACUBO. Is it just me or is the CFO gettin
2 min read

CEO Notebook  

  • Leadership
  • | Planning

Change Your School for the Better – Here's Why (and How)

Without shame or apology I admit that I'm a change addict. I firmly believe that any organization, program or resource can be made better. "No status quo," in fact, is a mantra I developed with my friend and colleague Gr
3 min read

CEO Notebook  

  • Boards and Trustees
  • | Leadership

This Study Just Nailed the Business Officer's Value

Last year during the NBOA Business Officer Institute, a business officer approached me and said, "My head of school does not want me to attend trustee meetings." My stunned response: "That's a problem." I would conjectur
2 min read

CEO Notebook  

  • Culture
  • | Leadership

John Spence: Independent Schools and Business Excellence

Awesome, simply awesome. Days after the 2015 NBOA Annual Meeting, I'm still feeling the energy of the 1,000-plus independent school leaders who joined us in Boston, and especially the hundreds who heard "Excellence by De
2 min read
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  • Cash Management
  • | Culture

Engines of Entrepreneurship

A California independent school teaches real-world business and investing skills through a hands-on business curriculum.
9 min read

CEO Notebook  

  • Publications

This Is Your Story

I anticipate many wonderful moments at NBOA's 2015 Annual Meeting next week, not least among them the unveiling of the definitive narrative of the profession. "By the Numbers and Beyond: Independent School Business Opera
2 min read

CEO Notebook  

  • Cash Management
  • | Leadership

Announcing the 2015 NBOA Award Recipients

One of my favorite programs during the NBOA Annual Meeting is the NBOA Awards Lunch. The only national recognition program of its kind, this wonderful event doesn't just recognize individual achievement in independent sc
3 min read

CEO Notebook  

  • Boards and Trustees
  • | Planning

From Ledgers to Leadership

I was recently asked to share the biggest change I’ve observed in the business officer profession since 2010, when I became NBOA’s chief executive. My immediate thought was how your role has been elevated wel
2 min read