February 20, 2024

I was lucky to get a gift that took four years to fully open. By virtue of spending four years on the NYSAIS Commission on Accreditation, I was fortunate enough to see and hear about dozens and dozens of different schools on different development paths in different markets, pursuing different strategies and serving different student populations. Over that time and in the following years a few basic patterns emerged about how governance works, or doesn’t, in the independent school world. What follows is a summary of how a Board or even an admin team can use what is called ‘visible work’ to improve how they work together across and within reporting lines.

Background and Governance 101

Even in good times Governance isn’t easy, to say nothing of times that are uneasy. The vital roles schools play in the lives and wellbeing of young people relies on each layer of a school working as intended.  The function of governance in independent schools is enacted by The Board of Trustees, who are tasked with fiduciary responsibility for the school and with the hiring of one employee, its leader. Fiduciary responsibility includes the development of a…