Golden Governance

My article "Golden Governance," recently published in NAIS's The Savvy Trustee, talks about how a strong relationship between the Board President and CEO/Head of School is critical to building a strong governing body.  Coincidentally, yesterday's NYTimes Magazine cover story "Anatomy of a Campus Coup" revels pieces of how the University of Virginia fell prey to not following golden governance.

Manage or Lead? Do Both.

Here's something for all educators to think about whether leading colleagues or modeling for students.

This great quote comes from Erika Andersen's article in Forbes, "Manage or Lead? Do Both."

"Great leaders and great managers listen well, are curious, manage their self-talk, and hold themselves accountable for moving the business forward."

Smart v. Healthy

As I read management and leadership consultant Patrick Lencioni's latest book The Advantage, I find it so eloquent when he states that teams/organizations need two requirements for success—"smart" and "healthy."


"Smart" includes

• strategy
• marketing
• finance
• technology

"Healthy" includes

• minimal politics
• minimal confusion
• high morale
• high productivity
• low turnover

He goes on to say "if someone were to press me on which of the two characteristics of an organization, intelligence or health, should receive first priority, I would say without hesitation that health comes out a clear number one."

Working with Heads and Boards

I had a wonderful opportunity to present at the American Montessori Society (AMS) Annual Conference in San Francisco last week. Here are the slides I used in my presentation, "Fostering Relationships Between Heads of Schools & Boards of Trustees."

Ams Heads-Boards Session 5 March 2012

9 Things Successful People Do Differently

Here are the first three

1. 1. Get specific
2. 2. Seize the moment to act on your goals
3. 3. Know exactly how far you have left to go

Click on this Harvard Business Review article by Heidi Grant Halvorson to read the other six and her excellent advice.

The Importance of Recognition and Appreciation

The older I get, the more I reflect on how important it is for children and adults to feel appreciated. Give recognition to others whenever possible.

Please take a minute to read "Recognition," an article I wrote that was recently published in Independent Teacher.

Importance of Being Positive

The other day I began connecting the dots on how important it is to be a positive leader; what it means to the people around you when you are positive; and how exhilarating it is to work in a positive environment. Let me take you through the sequence of how I arrived at this epiphany.

Click here to read my recent article, "A Triumph," that was published in the fall issue of "The Public School Montessorian."

What Baseball Should do for Kids

When you watch this "60 Minutes" piece—and do watch it all—you will see what should be happening on AND off the field. Albert Pujols is leading the way.

The Teacher We Remember Most

How sad that the New York City school system has found yet one more nefarious use of standardized testing. Read "Tests for Pupils, but the Grades Go to Teachers" NYTimes article to see how "more than a dozen new standardized tests" — inspired by Race to the Top — will be administered to students beginning as early as next school year. As the article title suggests, the grades will be used to help measure teacher performance.

Don't lose heart, though. Read my latest Independent Teacher Magazine article "The Teacher We Remember Most" to understand what really matters most between student and teacher. And, it is not test scores.

Leadership for the Right Reasons

    This week I attended the New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS) Annual Heads' Conference where the keynote speaker was Dr. Ned Hallowell.  I never fail to be inspired and educated by his words of wisdom.
     I had the good fortune to sit with Dr. Hallowell and spend time with him talking about leadership in our schools.  The interview is published in the fall issue of Independent School magazine.  Visit the NAIS website and the article, "Leadership for the Right Reasons" to read what Dr. Hallowell so eloquently says about leadership.

Trustee Responsibility

     Here is a question and an especially eloquent response extracted from the NAIS Head of School Listserve.  I post this because it is a leadership question trustees and heads inevitably have to grapple with at some point in the life of a school.

THE QUESTION (Posed by the President of NAIS, Pat Bassett)

We’ve had the query below from a school head: Any responses would be appreciated.

I am the head of a PS - Grade 8 school in an area where our independent secondary schools begin at a variety of grades including before grade 8. Our graduates typically do well in any of the schools they choose whether they start in grade nine or earlier. I am wondering if those of you in similar situations have any expectations set for trustees, faculty, or administration whereby their children complete the program at your school and begin secondary schools in grade 9.  Thank you for your input.

Cheers.

 PFB

THE RESPONSE (Posed by a head of school)

Pat,

This had been an item at our school for many years.  We are Prek-12 and over time there have been board members who have taken their children out after 8th grade for a variety of reasons: they want a bigger pond, need more athletics, want more rigor and the list goes on and on.  This invariably caused hurt feelings on the part of school people.  Teachers felt that we had made a huge investment in the child and then another school would reap the benefit and our Upper School teachers felt slighted.  From my perspective, I want trustees who bleed burgundy and white (our school colors) and I made it an issue with my board chair.  I felt that we needed trustees who would commit to our mission as a Prek-12 school.  The fact that I pressed the point did bring about some trustees resigning and others expressing deep resentment.  The matter was ultimately handed over to the Committee on Trustees and the group came up with a standard, which was not a rule that trustees had to keep their children in the school to graduation, but more of a query to each individual asking them if they were good ambassadors for the school.  Asking the question that way relieved the stigma and much of the tension.  Now when asked on their annual board evaluations if they are good ambassadors for the school, individuals have had to admit that if they don’t experience the complete range of our program, it does not put them in the best position to advocate for our school and without hard feelings those folks have decided to move on.

I hope this helps.

Head of School Notes

     Over my career as a head of school, I have enjoyed reflecting on the job and writing about my impressions on being a head of school.  I wrote articles for The Head's Letter and The Trustee's Letter, which are monthly publications for heads and trustees of independent schools.  Here is a library of those articles.  You can click on the article link to read the full article.


"Education Voucher System" (June 1994) - While offering opportunities, pursuing vouchers should be handled with care.  
"Effective Heads of School" (March 1995) - Klingenstein Fellows list their thoughts on qualities of effective heads.
"The Head Outside of the School" (November 1996) - The head's job often goes beyond her/his own school community.
"Head 'n Hand" (March 1998) - The best part of the job, greeting students, teachers, and parents each morning.
"Words Work" (October 2000) - Hearing a sermon on giving up summer time to helping others can inspire.
"Choices, Changes, Transitions" (February 2003) - Insights about moving on to the next opportunity.
"A Turn in the Barrel" (April 2004) - At some point every head is on the firing line.
"Transference Revisited" (December 2004) - A look into the mysteries of transference as presented by Dr. Ned Hallowell.
"A Head of Eeeshmail" (October 2005) - The challenges and nuances of using email can be daunting to school leaders.
 "Learning and Living Leadership" (January 2007) - Heads at an annual conference sharing their thoughts on leadership.
"Taking Care of Employees" (April 2007) - When trying to balance budgets, we cannot lose sight of taking care of faculty and staff.
"Whose Decision Is It?" (December 2007) - Board or head's decision?  Written with my Board Chair.
"When is it Time to Leave?" (January 2010) - Is there a perfect time when heads should leave their school?
"30% . . . Really?" (May/June 2010) - 30% of a head's time should be devoted to caring for the board?

Waiting for Superman

     On Monday, I am going to see the preview of what may be a revolutionary film on education.  "Waiting for Superman" is a documentary about the state of education in our country.  Here is a quote from the advance information:

"Waiting for 'Superman' examines the crisis of public education in the United States through multiple interlocking stories – from a handful of students and their families whose futures hang in the balance, to the educators and reformers trying to find lasting solutions within a broken education system.

The documentary features leaders in the field of education, including philanthropist Bill Gates; Geoffrey Canada, President of the Harlem Children’s Zone; Washington, D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee; and Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) Founders David Levin and Mike Feinberg. Grammy Award-winning artist John Legend composed the film’s end title song, 'Shine'."

     Take a minute to view the trailer; I believe it is a movie we all must see.

Rob Evans' Latest Book

     The following is quoted from Rob's website page that describes his latest book, Seven Secrets of The Savvy School Leader.

"School leaders today are working harder than ever, longer than ever, dealing with ever greater complexity, and sacrificing ever more of their personal and family time to their work. How can we make school leadership more doable and offer hope to both experienced and beginning leaders? Offering solid advice for overcoming even the most daunting of leadership challenges, this book is both a survival guide and a road map for excellence."

     If you are a head of school or principal get a copy.

Think Tank Talk

      Looking at professional development with 25 other educators was stimulating, fun, and rewarding and at the same time challenging and like being on a journey where you weren't sure where it was going to end.  During the closing, though, we were able to reflect on what we did accomplish over our 48 hours together.
     After dissecting all of the professional development services NYSAIS offered, we put together those that we felt still work and added activities that were missing, e.g. support for aspiring leaders and an annual gathering for heads of school new to New York.
     With so many energetic, bright people in the same room, you could not help but be professionally developed within the Tank itself.  I know I learned so much.  I will leave you with these excellent, short Derek Sivers TED Talks that were introduced during the session:
     Derek Sivers: How to Start a Movement
     Derek Sivers: Weird, or just different?