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Elements of a Successful YouTube Channel
Running a small to medium sized private school? Can't afford marketing staff and expensive marketing programs? Read on.

Some school administrators understand social media's power as part of their marketing strategy. Others think it is merely an adjunct to their other marketing tools. Still, others think they know how to use social media and have no clue how to use it effectively. This short article is aimed squarely at small to medium-sized private schools which cannot afford marketing staff and expensive marketing programs. My observations and suggestions are rooted in many years of observing how small to medium-sized private schools manage their marketing. Some do very well. Others don't seem to understand how to manage it.

Successful marketing at any level requires persistence and consistency. Professionals know that. Indeed that is what you are buying when you hire a professional marketing firm to design your website or handle your social media strategy. With this as our backdrop, let's explore a couple of low-cost yet effective ways in which we can make your YouTube Channel more effective.

Control it

My training and education as a classical musician and technology professional have taught me to be a control freak. I would never have dreamed of letting my choirs wander all over the place musically. I knew how I wanted a piece of music to sound. I controlled all aspects of my choristers' performance to produce the desired result. That is what you have to do with your school's YouTube channel. You will receive much free advice as you begin to post your videos. "We need a video for

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Getting Involved With Your Child's School

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Getting Involved With Your Child's School
Getting involved with your child's school benefits both you and the school. It's a win-win for all concerned.

A couple of years ago I wrote 5 Ways to Support Your School in which I examined the ways you can support your school financially. That article was aimed at private school graduates and discussed how they could support the school which had given them such a good start. Now let's look at how parents can get involved with their child's school.

The old standbys still exist. Helping chaperone a field trip and bringing in a plate of cookies or cupcakes are still welcomed. Mind you, these days you have to make sure that you have liability insurance for the trips and must take care to avoid ingredients that might cause an allergic reaction, such as peanuts. Once those matters have been dealt with trips and cookies are always popular.

Why get involved?

Aren't you busy enough? You have a full-time career. Your wife's job requires her to travel frequently. How on earth are you going to find time to be involved with your child's school? Practical excuses aside, you want to be involved with your child's school to show your support for the school and its programs.

This event at The Hockaday School, Dallas Texas, was made very memorable because of all the parents who attended.

I served on my youngest daughter's class parents committee. If I remember correctly, we met once a month. We were charged with raising money to buy

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SAT Prep

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SAT Prep
SAT test prep takes time to do properly. We explore some of your options here.

The two main college admissions tests are SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) and ACT (American College Testing). Each of these tests generates a high degree of angst for juniors and seniors. I suppose a certain amount of concern is justified especially if you have not been a good student during your middle and high school.

What is the purpose of these tests?

Both SAT and ACT are designed to assess a student's readiness for college-level academic work.

"The SAT and SAT Subject Tests are designed to assess your academic readiness for college. These exams provide a path to opportunities, financial support, and scholarships, in a way that's fair to all students. The SAT and SAT Subject Tests keep pace with what colleges are looking for today, measuring the skills required for success in the 21st century."

This clip from the College Board explains the SAT.

Here is a brief description of what the ACT test comprises:

"The ACT is a national college admissions examination that consists of subject area tests in English, Mathematics, Reading &Science

The ACT Plus Writing includes the four subject area tests plus a 30-minute Writing Test.

ACT results are accepted by all four-year colleges and universities in the US.

The ACT includes 215 multiple-choice questions and takes approximately 3 hours and 30 minutes to complete, including a short break (or just over four hours if you are taking

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Rankings or Comparisons?

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Rankings or Comparisons?
Choosing the right private school for your child involves comparing schools as opposed to ranking them.

You and I expect to be able to comparison shop for everything we buy. When we search for an item on Amazon, the website presents us with other options. We can read reviews by other purchasers. Together with our understanding of value and price point, these factors help us make the decisions that drive our purchase. So, why can't we do the same with private schools? Why isn't there some way of ranking schools? Wouldn't rankings make our task of selecting the right private school for our child a lot easier?

For starters, choosing a private school is not like buying a set of towels or sheets online. We have confidence in buying towels and sheets online from a trusted vendor using a secure credit card because we know what we are buying. Choosing a private school is much more complicated. Why? Because in the first place it is a major decision. We won't be able to return it and get our money back if we don't like it, which is what we do when we buy merchandise, which turns out to be unsatisfactory. And the amount of money involved in the transaction is significant. Furthermore, we are talking about a decision which will have a serious impact on our child and us for several years.

This brief video lays out the process for you.

Major decisions have many more factors and variables involved than

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7 Ways Kids Can Avoid Summer Brain Drain

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7 Ways Kids Can Avoid Summer Brain Drain
The summer "Brain Drain," also known as the "Summer Slide" is a term commonly used by educators and parents alike to describe the learning loss that takes place for many students during summer months. We polled the experts and found the 7 best ways parents and kids can combat the problem head on.

How to Avoid Summer Brain Drain

The summer “Brain Drain”, also known as the “Summer Slide,” is a term commonly used by educators and parents alike to describe the learning loss that takes place for many students during summer months.

Brain Drain occurs when the extended break from structured learning and scheduled academic work makes the mind lazy and makes it easier to forget material that has already been learned. It is a major concern for American legislators, educators, and parents alike. We’ve paneled some of the top experts in education to get the best advice for parents to help kids avoid summer Brain Drain. From CEO’s to Technologists to PhD’s and more, we’ve got the expert advice to help kids of all ages stay sharp all year long.

1. “We’re always learnings, but what are we learning?”

First thing’s first: take time to get to know your child’s interests. Dr. Alice Wilder, Chief Content Officer at Speakaboos, is a huge proponent of tapping into children’s interests to maximize their learning potential. Dr. Alice is a leader in children’s media and research, with senior production roles on landmark franchises and programs like Blue’s Clues, Super Why!, Speakaboos, and Amazon Kids (to name just a few of her many projects and accomplishments).

Dr. Alice says parents should allow their child to be bored at times to uncover their interests. “See what they come

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