In the tight budget atmosphere of recent years, schools may have chosen to do without a dean of faculty or, at best, to double- hat another middle manager with this responsibility. This is a mistake. That all private schools do not have a dedicated dean of faculty suggests a lack of emphasis on the very component of the school--the faculty--that…

In the fall of 2007--aware that the continuing professional development of teachers is paramount to quality education--John Baird, head of Westtown School (Pennsylvania), asked the faculty Professional Development Committee (PDC), consisting of faculty representatives from all three divisions of the school, to design a "professional growth cycle"…

In the middle of the author's doctoral coursework in the spring of 2002, he had a discussion with the head of the upper school at Montclair Kimberley Academy (MKA) (New Jersey) about a potential dissertation topic that would benefit their community. In no time at all, the conversation turned to the daily schedule. In August 2004, the author…

Deep community immersion and service-learning experiences bring students a million daily lessons, each one potentially transformative. Harder, more authentic service experiences in the developing world broaden students' sense of what they're capable not just of surviving, but even of enjoying. The best service travel throws kids into difficult…

How long does it take to become an effective board chair at an independent school? One year is certainly not enough. A typical two- or three-year term provides enough time in office to learn the role and start making progress in some critical area, but not enough time to develop any semblance of mastery. Then the chair's term is over and the board…

The thinking on "strategic thinking" has evolved significantly over the years. In the previous century, the independent school strategy was to focus on long-range planning, blithely projecting 10 years into the future. For decades this worked well enough, but in the late 20th century, independent schools shifted to "strategic planning," with its…

People tend to do things because that's how they have always done them or because that's the way others have done them. Schools are no different. The rigid factory model of education--a conveyor belt that moves children through a standard curriculum of books and lessons in a strict sequence--assumes that all brains are basically the same. They…

The highly publicized story of unfathomable abuse by Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky, as well the unfathomable response of those with the power to stop it, makes it clear that abuse can happen anywhere--and that adults need to be vigilant and educated. All of those who oversee schools must also ensure that their faculty and staff are well…

After five years of teaching in two San Francisco independent schools, the author returned to Stanford University to pursue an MBA and a Master's in Education. While it is true that some of the topics he studied, such as the weighted average cost of capital, have little, if any, use in the independent school world, throughout his two years at…

Bob Newsome was thrilled to land the job as head of Whitecastle Country Day--a small K-12 school with a solid reputation in the area. He worked hard to learn as much as possible about the school in advance of his start date. He spent time with faculty and staff, and made an effort to overlap frequently with Andrew Reynolds, the long-serving,…

Why do so many independent schools fail? And what are the chief causes of death? When they can be performed, institutional "autopsies" are illuminating, but it should be noted that many schools disappear with few clues about their final undoing. However, when schools do leave paper trails that help understand the reasons for their demise, four…

All of those who work in independent schools have read a variety of material regarding strategies to improve their financial model. But as the author sees it, in the current economic conditions, there are really only two possible solutions for improving financial structures. They can no longer rely on their traditional strategy of increasing…

Dawn Walsh, who has worked with the after-school program at The Foote School (Connecticut) for over 20 years, has seen firsthand how dramatically childcare needs have changed. The Foote School is not the only independent school trying to determine how best to help meet families' complex childcare needs. According to a 2009 Bureau of Labor…

Enrollment drives the financial health of independent schools. When the author began as an admissions director several years ago, this point was emphasized to him numerous times by the head of school. The author started hunting for a cost-effective, systematic, research-based, yet highly personal, method for turning the tide of their admissions…

The subject of independent schools and inequality is rife with contradictions. In some ways, independent schools work to ameliorate inequities. In other ways, they reinforce and exacerbate them. Those in independent schools who work on social justice, equity, and diversity issues deal with these contradictions every day. Most believe, most of the…