Description: John Littleford, friend, colleague, ex-Head of School, and longtime consultant will walk you through a dialogue about important aspects of managing the governance and leadership aspects of a school. 

Audience: Heads of School, their Assistant Heads of School, and their board chairs
Ideally a 3 member team: Head of School, Asst. Head of School/2nd in command and hopefully 1 board member 

Duration: 60 minutes per session 

Dates: 
Session #1 - Oct. 25
Session #2 - Nov. 8
Session #3 - Jan. 24
Session #4 - Feb. 28
Time: 5 to 6pm CST / 6 to 7pm Eastern time

Session 1: THE ROLE OF THE BOARD IN HEAD OF SCHOOL SUPPORT
 
Every board should have a head support committee that oversees the head's compensation, contract, and evaluation. Unfortunately, this committee is dormant or nonexistent on most boards and the consequences may be a head who feels unsupported, vulnerable, and not valued, an inappropriate head evaluation process that undermines the head, and in the worst case scenario, the premature departure or dismissal of a head of school.

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Session 2: WHY AND WHEN DO INDEPENDENT SCHOOL BOARDS BECOME DYSFUNCTIONAL
 
Boards of independent/private schools can begin to function poorly very quickly if any of these scenarios (among others) occur:
 

• 1. Improper cultivating, vetting, onboarding, and training of new board members and failure to retrain returning and even experienced board members: The result may be that one or more turns “rogue” and does not play by the rules of good governance. Even one board member out of 20 can do damage.
• 2. Listening and responding too often to normal parent complaints: This can result in too many or too long board meetings, and the formation of inappropriate board subcommittees.
• 3. Overreaction to a crisis under pressure: making an emotional decision that has long-term consequences
• 4. Intrusion into the head’s domain and micromanagement
• 5.Terminating a head of school not renewing a contract without a separation plan that allows for a healthy search and transition process.

 
The goal of this session is to help boards stay healthy and to help those on the brink of inappropriate behavior pull back.

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Session 3: LONG TERM BOARDS, LONG TERM CHAIRS AND LONG TERM HEADS = LASTING LEGACIES AND SUCCESSFUL SCHOOLS
 
The average headship at an independent school is only 4.1 years and we know the job is only getting harder. Yet some schools manage to keep a successful head for decades. Imagine being one of those schools!
 
There is a powerful body of research that shows the relationship between board continuity and stability and the successful long-term tenure of heads. Institutional memory of boards should not be taken for granted. Longer term boards tend to lead to longer term chairs who partner with longer term heads which leads to stronger, more sustainable mission driven schools. This session will offer multiple pathways to achieve this outcome.
 
Board bylaws and articles of incorporation need to be flexible enough to ensure that boards are renewed through new members but remain wise in their deliberations by retaining trustees who remember what happened not just 3 or 4 years ago but 8, 10, 12 years ago or longer. Schools never keep a written history of mistakes made over time. Nor do boards, but they may pass down that history orally. Boards need to preserve institutional memory and not repeat the same mistakes of their predecessors. Those who forget the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them, thus missing the opportunities and challenges of a more dynamic healthy future.

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Session 4: ROLE OF THE BOARD IN FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY
 
A. The board must understand and pay attention to how 65-85% of the school's budget is spent on staff salaries and benefits and must ensure that this major expenditure is mission aligned.
 
B. Fundraising is one of the board's major responsibilities and most boards do little of it or do it poorly. However, there are notable success stories in the international school world.
 
C. What is the role of the board in marketing to full enrollment with wait lists? The board can assist here without micromanaging.

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