As President of the Board, you have accepted leadership of the Trustees charged with preserving the school’s essential purposes and outcomes for future generations of students and families. What exactly comprises those “essential purposes and outcomes?” How, exactly, should those relate to the founding group’s seminal formulations? How do changing societal conditions and circumstances play into and perhaps transform those seminal formulations?
Why You Can’t Afford to Be Without D&O Insurance
Directors & Officers insurance (also known as School Legal or Trustee Liability insurance) may be the most critical insurance and protection for your school. Damages sought under D&O insurance can range anywhere from a nuisance claim to one seeking millions of dollars in compensation. This may include a request for punitive damages if the action in question is considered egregious enough—especially if the school knew of a wrong action that was occurring and did nothing to stop it.
Parent Involvement and ‘Stage-Setting’
It’s no surprise that research supports the notion that students fare better in school when their parents are involved in their education. However, what does “parent involvement” mean?
Summary and New Dimensions in Our Measure of Well-Being on Executive Leadership
ISM has studied the interrelationships among executive leadership, well-being, and school performance. In the previous three articles in this series, we have confirmed:
ISM’s existing measure of executive leadership and the Head’s level of flourishing correlate with key school performance variables (school stability, financial strength, enrollment demand, and faculty culture);
that neither the School Head’s experience in the field of education nor cumulative experience as School Head is related to the key school performance variables. There is no evidence a school improves with the Head's experience.The Head’s current length of tenure, however, was correlated with the school’s financial strength;
enrollment demand is related to the strength of leadership and well-being of the School Head; and,
the School Head’s level of professional support and well-being significantly influences the faculty culture—a central construct that enhances the student experience and the enrollment management process.
ISM Stability Marker No. 1 Revisited: Cash Reserves, Debt, and Endowment
Cash reserves, coupled with low debt/no debt and endowment, have always ranked either first or second among the ISM Stability Markers®. These indicators of institutional sustainability, in widespread use now for more than two decades, serve as fundamental points of departure in all private school leadership-level strategic conversations and plans. ISM suggests that you, as Board President, Finance Chair, School Head, or Business Manager, as a matter of basic organizational discipline, monitor the status of the three components in ISM Stability Marker No. 1.
What to Do in Cases of Ex Officio Membership
Many Boards have ex officio members—that is, Trustees who hold a position on the Board based on their office within or outside a school. Thus the “term” served is dependent on the years spent in such offices.
Have You Fully Addressed Bullying at Your School?
Bullying, in its many forms, has been a persistent problem in many schools. And, in private schools in particular, this is an immense concern to parents and students.
Parents choose to send their children to your school in part because they consider your community safer than the public alternatives. Still, bullying can occur anytime, anywhere—and occasionally, despite your best efforts to educate.
Head Support and Evaluation Committee: Reporting to the Board
The Head Support and Evaluation Committee (HSEC) is the link between strategy and operations. It is a safe place for the Head to report ongoing progress toward his or her goals, and for the HSEC to advise, support, and hold the Head to account.1 But what is the relationship of the HSEC to the Board? After all, the reason for the HSEC is the Board’s inability to evaluate the Head. But, at the same time, the Board is the Head’s employer and has a “right to know” and ensure the Head is held accountable.
Carrying Out the Annual Administrative Agenda
In a previous article, we outlined the process for developing the annual administrative agenda. This, the fourth in the series on setting annual agendas, details how to orchestrate the administrative agenda in subsequent Leadership Team meetings.
Avoid the Danger of Misinterpreting Research
We live in an information age where we are inundated daily with information on multiple devices. News feeds quickly summarize research from various sources, and weeding through all this information can be daunting. As a result, we often forget to put on our critical reading glasses.