The Independent School Moonshot Newsletter
The business side of running a school deserves clear thinking.
Weekly frameworks, real school examples, and honest analysis on strategy, enrollment, and financial sustainability, written for independent school leaders.
One email a week, plus occasional updates on programs and resources for school leaders.
Join 1,300+ heads of school, board members, and senior administrators who read this every week.
1,300+
subscribers across independent schools
200+
heads of school interviewed on the podcast
20+
years working in independent schools
52
issues per year, every single week
Who writes it
A practitioner's perspective on school leadership and sustainability.
Peter Baron
Founder, MoonshotOS · Host, Independent School Moonshot Podcast
Peter has spent more than 20 years working with independent schools on strategy, enrollment, and financial sustainability. He has interviewed more than 200 school leaders and published nearly 100 episodes of the Independent School Moonshot Podcast, bringing conversations from across the country on the realities of the school business model. Every issue reflects that depth of experience: practical, honest, and grounded in how schools actually operate.
See it before you subscribe
Here's what lands in your inbox.
Every issue is written to respect your time and sharpen your thinking. Here's a look at a recent one.
The MoonshotOS Newsletter
Independent School Moonshot · [email protected]
Issue No. 84 · April 2026
When enrollment holds but revenue doesn't: what that gap is telling you
Most schools measure enrollment success by headcount. But headcount is a lagging indicator. By the time it moves, the business model has usually already shifted under you.
What you want to watch is revenue per student, and more specifically, how it trends against your cost per student over a rolling three-year window. That ratio tells you more about the health of your school than any single enrollment number ever will.
This week I want to walk through three schools that held enrollment flat while their net tuition revenue quietly declined. In each case, the culprit was the same: a discount rate that crept up faster than the board noticed, combined with a compensation structure that assumed growth. The fix in each case was not more students. It was a cleaner model and a clearer picture of where the margin was actually going. Here is the framework I use when I sit down with a head of school who tells me their enrollment is fine but their budget never is...
What you'll get
Each issue gives you something you can actually use.
Real school examples
How other schools are rethinking enrollment, tuition strategy, and revenue, with context you can learn from.
Practical frameworks
Tools and mental models you can bring to your next leadership team meeting or board conversation.
Honest analysis
A clear look at the business challenges independent schools are navigating right now, without the noise.
Podcast highlights
New episodes from the Independent School Moonshot Podcast, with key ideas surfaced for quick reading.
Who it's for
Written for the people responsible for the long-term health of the school.
If you are thinking seriously about the business model of your school, enrollment pressure, board alignment, tuition strategy, financial sustainability, this newsletter was written for you.
Heads of School
Senior Administrators
Board Members
Aspiring Leaders
Industry Leaders
CFOs & Business Officers
What readers are saying
School leaders across the country read it every week.
“
Peter always has a finger on the pulse of what's beginning to, but not yet, keep school leaders up at night. I appreciate being able to think ahead, and already having some good questions to ask about situations we encounter after previewing them in the newsletter.
Rebecca Plona
Director of Academic Growth, Miss Porter's School
“
Having served as an independent school head and now working in accreditation, I see schools navigating complex challenges every day. MoonshotOS is one of the resources that meets leaders where they actually are. Peter brings a practitioner's lens to every issue, and what a difference that makes.
Pamela Fiander
Director of Accreditation, NJAIS
“
I found Peter through the newsletter and a recommendation from a fellow Head of School, and quickly found myself reading it religiously and saving issues to share with my leadership team. I even have a dedicated Google folder to archive them.
Steve McManus
Head of School, Edmund Burke School
“
Go ahead and add the MoonshotOS newsletter to your weekly reading. You won't regret it. Peter generously shares wisdom and insights from across our industry, and does so with candor, grace, and good humor. Every issue has introduced me to new ideas and kept me thinking long after reading.
Liz Willis
Head of School, Villa Academy
Start thinking more clearly about the business side of your school.
1,300+ independent school leaders read this every week. Free, and you can unsubscribe anytime.
One email a week. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Member Resources
LEGAL
© Copyright 2026. MoonshotOS. All Rights Reserved.
