a key partnership board of trustees and head of school
TRANSCRIPT
A Key PartnershipBoard of Trustees and Head
of School
Board of Trustees
• Selects, evaluates, and supports the Head of School.
• Guards and promotes the mission.
• Sets strategic goals and policy decisions.
• Speaks in one voice once decisions are made.
• Assumes authority as a whole.
• Maintains confidentiality.
• Avoids conflict of interests.
• Individually and collectively owns fiduciary responsibility.
Board Composition
• Members and Ex-Officio Members
• Parents (Current and Past)
• Alumnae
• Fellow Head of School or Senior Administrator
• Friends of the School
• (Faculty/Student Representative: NOT ADVISED)
Board Committees• Standing Committees
• Examples:• Executive Committee
• Committee on Trustees/Nominating
• Development
• Finance/Investments
• Marketing
• Buildings and Grounds
• HR
• Academic and Student Affairs
Task Forces
• Examples:
• Strategic Planning
• Building Project Task Force
• Alternative revenue
• Make sure that the main thing is the main thing.
Developing the Board
• Attention to Mission
• Team Building
• Performance expectations
• Organizational structure, operating procedures
• School history, finances, program
• Fund-raising
• Strategic plan goals
Head’s Responsibility to the Partnership
• Listens to ideas/suggestions of constituencies; bring significant ones to BOT’s attention.
• Insists on timely, consistent meetings with Board Chair.
• Attends Board Committee meetings.
• Meets, within reason, with individual Trustees.
• With Board Chair, keeps BOT on task and in focus.
• Educates constituencies to role/function of BOT.
• Maintains confidentiality of Board discussions.
Board’s Responsibility to the Partnership
• Recognizes that the Head of School is CEO – vested and trusted with this responsibility.
• Discusses any disagreements with the Head in a private forum.
• Directs issues to the attention of the Head.
• Educates constituencies regarding Board’s role – boundaries of power and authority vested in the Board and Head.
• Remembers that the Head is answerable to the Board as a whole.
• Evaluates the Head in terms of the success of the school and mutually agreed upon annual goals.
Board Chair and Head: Essential Alliance
• No surprises
• Need to know and be well prepared
• Agreement on pace and direction
• Joint thinking & strategy in decision-making
• On occasion, shared action
• Head: responder to good counsel from a good Chair
• Chair: nurturer of the Head
Seek First-hand Experience
• Some ideas:
• Strive to serve as a trustee of a local non-profit.
• Ask the Head of School if you may join or audit a full board meeting or committee meetings.
• Read the NAIS Trustee Handbook to familiarize yourself with best practices in school governance.
Leading the TeamHead of School and Leadership Team
Strong teams
• Share leadership goals, deriving from the strategic plan.
• Engage in open dialogue, information sharing.
• Lead with “why?”
• Draw on strengths of each individual.
• View the whole of the school together.
• Embrace a shared vision; move the mission forward.
Leadership Team Composition
Typically:
• Head of School
• Assistant/Associate Head(s)
• Division Head(s)
• Director of Finance and Operations
• Director of Development/Advancement
• Director of Admission/Enrollment
Other roles sometimes included
• Academic Dean/Dean of Academic Affairs
• Director of Multicultural Affairs/Diversity
• Dean of Faculty
• Dean of Students
• Dean of Residential Life
• Director of Athletics
• Director of College Counseling
• Director of Technology
Deterrents to Effective Teamwork
• Lack of Trust
• Aversion to Conflict
• Lack of Commitment
• Lack of Shared Vision
• Avoidance of Accountability
• Inattention to Results
Setter of TeamTone:Head of School