Why Small Class Sizes Work

It's exciting to discover a veritable treasure trove of books set in private schools published recently. The United States, United Kingdom, and Peru. You can find most books at your favorite bookseller or library in both traditional paperback and electronic format. In addition, I have given you links to the authors' websites wherever possible. Happy reading!

The Truly Devious Series by Maureen Johnson

Truly Devious

ASIN: B07252X6ZH

The Vanishing Stair

ASIN: B078LXZ8CS

The Hand On The Wall

ASIN: B07QVL5SLT

The Box In The Woods

ASIN: B08CRBSN2R

"The Agatha Christie-like ecosystem pairs with lacerating contemporary wit, and alternating past and present scenes makes for a multilayered, modern detective story." -- New York Times Book Review

From the pen of Maureen Johnson comes a series of murder mysteries set in famous Ellingham Academy in Vermont. Stevie Bell solves the murders with great aplomb.

This video offers a recap of Truly Devious.

Dark Rooms: A Novel by Lili Anolik

ASIN: B00KVI9DH2

Lili Anolik's first novel tackles a murder disguised as a suicide. The murder victim's sister signs on to teach at the prestigious Connecticut boarding school where the murder took place. We suspect that this will not be the only murder Grace solves.

Atlas of Men by David Sklar

ASIN: B07HGFSNC7

"…a haunting, mesmerizing story about coming-of-age, of innocence lost and the search for redemption."

— Hedy S.

IT Director answering her phone: "Hello, Yvonne here. How can I help you?"

Finance Assistant: "Yvonne! My computer's got something wrong with it. Everything's frozen and I can't access QuickBooks. And there's a message on my screen saying it's been hacked. What do I do?"

This scenario is a lot more common than you think. Ransomware attacks strike large organizations and small ones. While you wouldn't think private schools would be vulnerable to such attacks, they are just as exposed as a Fortune 500 company. Although I have earned IT certifications over the years, you and I are going to listen to what the experts in the IT security field have to say about ransomware, and, most importantly, how to protect your school from these unwelcome attacks.

What is ransomware?

The United States Government's Stop Ransomware website defines ransomware as follows: "Ransomware is a form of malware designed to encrypt files on a device, rendering any files and the systems that rely on them unusable. Malicious actors then demand ransom in exchange for decryption."

This video explains ransomware.

"It couldn't happen in my school."

Why should your private school be concerned about ransomware? After all, your school is such a small organization. Why would anybody attack our school? Another security expert tells you why.

cWatch explains why hackers do what they do: "Some common reasons for hacking include basic

Private schools finance their operating expenses with tuition and fees. In other words, a school's income from tuition and fees offsets salaries, utilities, and all the other line items in a school's operating budget. Assuming that the admissions staff fill all the places and that the finance people have calculated projected income and expenses correctly, the school hopefully will break even at the end of the fiscal year. But remember that running any enterprise like a school also includes anticipating unexpected expenses. It's much the same situation that you and I find ourselves in when we suddenly have to pay for an unbudgeted expense. When that happens, you and I dip into our savings or charge the expense to our credit cards. That's fine for you and me; however, a private school doesn't operate that way. Instead, the treasurer maintains a rainy day fund or funds held in reserve. That's where endowing a teaching position comes in.

When you endow a teaching position at the private school that gave you such a great start, you express your confidence in the school and its mission. Your gift becomes an integral part of the school's branding. It helps to market the school and makes the school's balance sheet more stable. So let's explore how you can make this happen.

Giving during your lifetime

Discuss your idea with the school. Begin by speaking with the head of school, even if he or she is someone you do not know very well.

It's very easy to get side-tracked as you work your way through the process of choosing the right private school for your child. That's because there are so many considerations for you to ponder. Consequently, you can detour into many sidebars as you explore schools online. Now, there's nothing inherently wrong with getting side-tracked. Indeed, you may find answers several levels down from the top page. Just make sure that you get yourself back on track after scanning that granular information. So, I will show you how to stay focused and organized while you look at schools.

First, develop a shortlist of three to five schools for you to explore in-depth and visit to confirm your findings. This shortlist will generate lots of observations, evaluations, assessments, and questions. So, make sure that you have checked all the boxes listed below.

1. Location

The location of the schools on your list is essential simply because travel these days is never easy. For example, getting your child to school can involve driving her to school and picking her up at the end of the school day. Or you may be able to contract with a transportation service to handle that. Or you might want to carpool with another family.

Review the logistics involved carefully. Ideally, you don't want to be more than a 20-30 minute drive from the school. So draw a circle 3-5 miles out from your residence. Use the search engine on this website to find