A NEW HEAD OF SCHOOL’S
FAVORITE MEETING OF THE WEEK
Dorothy was selected to be the eighth Head of School at an independent day school of 350 students founded 75 years ago. She was succeeding a well-loved headmaster who was retiring after 20 years. The issues facing the school had been identified by the state association’s evaluation report submitted the spring before Dorothy arrived. They included recommendations to diversify the student body and strengthen the school’s financial position by re-evaluating the teacher : student ratio. Dorothy’s Board was committed and involved. It was also reluctant to utilize consultants, skeptical that anyone outside the school had the required expertise to be useful. Therefore, as soon as she arrived on campus, Dorothy convened task forces to address the issues of diversity, class size and staffing, but there was a groundswell of faculty criticism about pre-determined agendas. The transition committee that the search consultant had urged the school to form was busy during the summer with social events for Dorothy and her family but did not play a meaningful role once school opened. Dorothy, overwhelmed with the task of getting to know the new school community, was aware of the mounting level of unrest. One senior faculty member complained to colleagues, “Faculty morale has never been so low.”
How could
eduINNOVATIONS have helped Dorothy and her new school community undergo this transition of leadership? The mentoring of Dorothy and consultation with the Board would have included:
- Review of pertinent written materials, including the search consultant’s report and school documents
- Periodic visits to the school campus
- Determining the role of the transition committee: serving as liaison on the transition committee; setting the schedule for regular meetings and agendas to reflect relevant concerns; communicating that concerns can be expressed to this committee
- Review of the Head of School’s goals and implementation plan; discussion of the process for implementation with the senior administrative team
- Advising regarding array of administrative responsibilities (see “Mentoring a New Head of School”)
- Serving as a confidential sounding board for the Head of School by means of weekly phone calls, email correspondence, and whenever urgent matters arose
- Consulting with the Board regarding its role in making the transition as smooth as possible
eduINNOVATIONS could have helped Dorothy establish her annual goals for her first year and facilitated a one-day summer retreat with the senior administrative team to discuss an implementation plan. Particular attention would have been focused on key members of the community to include on specific task forces and how the goals and implementation plan would be presented to various constituencies. Dorothy may have found the weekly phone calls with
eduINNOVATIONS to be her “favorite meeting of the week.” Tricky or troublesome issues – big and small – would have been discussed, and several crises averted. When the faculty was asked for their feedback at the end of the year, they might have admitted that change was difficult but the transparency of the implementation plan and process had helped significantly.
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