The Consultative Business Officer (CBO) is a critical part of the design team to achieve school growth. The Tuesday Webinar series this month features how the CBO can contribute to the success of the whole school community.

Across many parts of the US, school boards and superintendents are facing a difficult dilemma: Close school because of the threat of hazardous conditions caused by the weather or take a chance that the Weather Channel is wrong. (Did I really say that??) The risks of this decision can be intimidating and the rewards short-lived.

Your next school building may look quite different than anything you have previously experienced. From the outside it could be designed to last a few centuries, but the inside will allow flexible use of the space for individual, small group, and even large group learning.

Yesterday we had the privilege of guiding some schools through our unique process of designing their future. Here are a few insights from the School Growth Lab this week.

A school is a complex tax-exempt business that also has to consider how to generate more revenue. The foundation for growing enrollment and fundraising is your brand platform, or the common language and stories shared by your faculty, parents, board members, donors, students, and community leaders.

Lots of useful lessons can be learned for effective fundraising from the TV show, "Shark Tank." Season 16, Week 17 was no exception.

Some of the best school innovations are happening outside the classroom, and over the next few years we expect to see major changes in the financial strategies of schools.

Press and online outrage has been brewing about two women for doing what they were asked to do. Both the First Lady of the United States (FLOTUS), Michelle Obama, and Principal of the W.F. Burns Middle School (POTWFBMS), Priscella Holle, have been ridiculously criticized. It's time for people to step back from the keyboard and breathe. Leave FLOTUS and POTWFBMS alone please.

Last week I met with an experienced chief administrator who was recently unceremoniously fired by a school board. After being recruited from another school a few years earlier, this person had the misfortune of working with three different board chairs in about 18 months. The relationship with the third chair soured quickly, and the rest of the board followed. The result was a predictable pattern.

Dr. Albert Niemi, chair of the business school at SMU, recently shared his annual report and predictions. I have attended his presentation for the last eight years and have found him to be more accurate than not. His U.S. economic reflections and forecasts for 2015 included some important insights that should influence your plans regarding enrollment and fundraising.