Leadership and Governance
Strategies, ideas, and best practices in strategic planning, decision-making, board operations, and succession planning to help leadership teams and boards guide their independent school communities.
Strategies, ideas, and best practices in strategic planning, decision-making, board operations, and succession planning to help leadership teams and boards guide their independent school communities.
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The Huddle: Healthy Leadership Teams and Board Effectiveness
Tyler Casertano, Head of School at The Haverford School (PA), will share his proven strategies for fostering strong, positive relationships between leadership teams and boards. Drawing from experiences with his morning stand-ups, leadership retreats, and value-driven goal alignment, Tyler has developed a thoughtful framework for enhancing communication and collaboration within his leadership team. These practices […]
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The Huddle: Conducting an Internal Team Assessment
After a decade at The Frederick Gunn School (CT), Sean Brown recently relocated to southeast Florida to become the Chief Advancement Officer at Saint Andrew’s School in July. With 20+ years of fundraising experience at independent schools and universities, Sean has worked in a variety of fundraising shops and witnessed several leadership transitions. In this […]
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Mentoring Program for Heads of School in their First Three Years
Now that you are a Head of School, do you secretly wonder what you are supposed to do? With The Gowan Group Heads POD (“Peer Open Dialog”) program, you will be joining a cohort of eight to ten new heads led by an experienced Head of School who will guide you through the challenges of […]
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Independent Governance in a Post-Pandemic Era
As we ease out of the pandemic, independent school governance needs a thoughtful and conscious reset. Here’s why. Senior Consultant Peter O’Neill shares his insight.
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What Our Heads Survey Tells Us About School Leadership in 2022
For the past six years, we have surveyed new heads of school — both those new to the role and those at a new school — asking about their challenges, needs, and concerns. What do our most recent results indicate? In this article, CS&A Senior Consultant Ann Teaff outlines key findings regarding coaching, COVID-19, support […]
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K-12 government funding for US schools and how it can be used
The federal government recently announced plans to significantly increase spending on K-12 school programs for the 2022 fiscal year. This is great news for LEA’s and schools, who need the government distributed title funds to support disadvantaged students, provide professional development opportunities for staff, and assist underperforming schools. There are five primary title funds: Title […]
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Register Now for the 2021 Women’s (Re)Institute
A monthlong professional development event for women in education. After the unbelievable success of our virtual event last year, we are excited to announce the return of the Women’s (Re)Institute for 2021. A virtual spinoff of our annual in-person event, the Women’s (Re)Institute is a dynamic monthlong online learning and networking experience dedicated to supporting […]
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Teachers Weigh In on the Best Distance Learning Approaches
This article is a compilation of research and data from an ISM survey of over 1,000 teachers conducted over the 2020 spring and summer. The rapid shift to distance learning left the majority of teachers and school leaders dealing with impossible tasks. In retrospect, teachers reported one of the biggest mistakes was trying to recreate […]
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Pathways to School Leadership
Senior Consultant Ben Bolté shares advice on building a pathway to headship or a top leadership position.
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Education’s Complex Future
As schools plan for this year, they should also be considering steps to ensure their long-term future.
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The Politicization of Boards on Re-opening our Schools
As the COVID-19 crisis continues into the fall, boards of independent and international schools worldwide are splintering over the issue of how and when to re-open our schools. Boards dominated by current parents are straying into the realm of operations as some members bring their personal experiences and biases to the board room. Heads of […]
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What Private Schools Should Know About Layoffs And Furloughs
The impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is significant for all of us. The closure of physical campuses, and the transition to distance learning when feasible, is drastically altering how many private schools operate and forcing others to close operations altogether. We are already seeing increased demands for financial aid, important fundraisers cancelled, declining enrollment, […]