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See the articles from our latest issue of Ideas & Perspectives.
Change and the Implementation Dip
Volume 30 No. 11 // September 2, 2005
It’s hard enough to get people to agree to change something they’ve been doing for a long time. It’s even worse when—instead of saving time, money, and energy—a plan you, as School Head, had anticipated would truly enhance your school begins to turn into what looks like a nightmare. Those who were originally opposed say, “I told you so!” The doubters begin to head for the “winning” side. Those who were with you begin to hedge their bets. Even your greatest ally wants to have a “deep” conversation with you.
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RX for Stability Marker Fatigue: Three Ds for the Strategic Board
Volume 30 No. 11 // September 2, 2005
ISM introduced the Stability Markers™. While some Boards may be relatively new to these variables and their planning implications, many others may be experiencing factors that may contribute to the Stability Markers being under-valued or even dismissed. The outcome of these factors over time is “Stability Marker fatigue,” a chronic condition that can usurp Board culture and contribute to institutional health problems down the road.
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School Head Leadership: Results from ISM's Follow-up Study
Volume 30 No. 10 // August 12, 2005
In early fall of the 2004-05 school year, ISM conducted a study of School Head leadership to determine those characteristics most closely associated with strong faculty cultures (the criterion variable in the study). That variable—the faculty culture—had been chosen as the study’s anchor in view of two earlier ISM studies.
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Board Level Confusion: The School Head as Personnel Manager and Chief Fund Raiser
Volume 30 No. 9 // July 14, 2005
I have encountered numerous Trustees in recent years whose viewpoint on the School Head’s role can be summarized succinctly. The Head is to carry out the “vision” of the institution—usually an abstract list of descriptors, rather than a strategic plan—as developed and promulgated by the Board. Central to the Head’s fulfillment of this vision are, first, hiring—and especially firing—faculty and staff, and, second, raising all the money needed to address the physical components of the Board’s vision.
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Limited Area, Moderate-Cost Space Reconfigurations
Volume 30 No. 8 // June 29, 2005
Many private-independent schools, especially those without high schools, find themselves on small parcels of land with little hope of purchasing contiguous acreage. Their leaders, searching for additional classroom space and buildings, are often staggered by the costs of buying land for a completely new (or second) campus. They are financially and emotionally defeated by the apparent alternative: relocating the school for a year or more, razing the buildings, and then returning to a campus that is fresh, exciting, and more functional.
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The True Implications of a 'Breach of Contract' Lawsuit
Volume 30 No. 8 // June 29, 2005
In three recent cases, the Connecticut Superior Court handed down rulings that defined the nature of private-independent school enrollment contracts and upheld the school’s right to collect unpaid tuition. (The three Connecticut Superior Court cases were Hope Academy v. Gerald Friel, 2004 WL 1888909; Hope Academy v. Walz, 2004 WL 944550; and Hope Academy of Milford, Inc. v. Fortier, 2004 WL 94480.) All three cases involved the same school and had these similarities:
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From Entrenched Faculty to Committed Teachers
Volume 30 No. 8 // June 29, 2005
How do you, as School Head or Division Head, get buy-in from “entrenched faculty” when you are anticipating an initiative? And what does the word entrenched mean? Assuming that these teachers are not toxic (those who drag down the faculty by their cynicism), you might describe them as rigid, fixed in their ways, unwilling to cooperate, skeptical about any kind of change, or always ready to oppose.
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Revisit Your School's Policy Concerning Child Sexual Abuse
Volume 30 No. 7 // June 1, 2005
A recent draft report, “Educator Sexual Misconduct: A Synthesis of Existing Literature,” commissioned by the U.S. Education Department, concludes that, while far too little is known about the prevalence of sexual misconduct by school employees, likely millions of children—including those in private institutions—are being affected by such abuse during their school years. Although critics of the report say the numbers may be “a bit extreme,” the author maintains the report’s credibility, stressing that at the very least, the report shows that further study is needed, and that the issue of sexual abuse in schools cannot be taken lightly. ISM has long recommended that schools take clear steps toward preventing sexual abuse—both for the sake of their students and the long-term well-being of their institutions
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The Head Support and Evaluation Committee: What Does 'Support' Actually Mean?
Volume 30 No. 7 // June 1, 2005
The Head Support and Evaluation Committee (HSEC) links the school's planning document (and Board agenda) to the School Head's plan. Once it is clear what the Head is being asked to do for the coming year, the question the committee must ask is: How can we support the Head to ensure success and thus the continued strategic motion of the school?
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Managing Complex Change in Private-Independent Schools
Volume 30 No. 4 // March 31, 2005
When you know that a complex change is about to be presented at your school—maybe through a new strategic plan, the intent to introduce technology in a significant way, the addition of a new division, the building of a new art center, the reinvention of teaching practices in the middle school, or the production of a Parent Education Plan, as examples—focus not on the change itself, but on how that change is going to be implemented by real people.
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