EXPLO Elevate shares good ideas, practices, and wisdom to help schools and their communities thrive now and in the future.
Dear Friend,
With the final weeks of school upon us, I was thinking about the complex feelings graduating seniors are juggling. Helping them sort through the waves of emotion is important. Over the years, I was lucky enough to be in the room when David Torcoletti spoke with seniors. His message was simple and wise. Last night I asked him if he’d jot down the essence of those talks and he generously said yes.
Better Mad than Sad
by David Torcoletti, EXPLO Senior Consultant
When I was a teacher in boarding schools, I noticed a recurring shift in the emotions and expressions of the seniors about to graduate. At some point, about two to three weeks out from graduation, a number of our students - previously happy students who were well adjusted and spoke highly of their school and their peers and teachers - started to say thing like, “I can’t wait to get out of this place.” Or, “I need this to be over - I’m so over this place!” And other expressions of semi-anger directed to the school that once contained almost the full array of their relationships, activities, challenges and joy. A month earlier, they might have used the word “love” to describe their feelings about the school. With a true ending on the horizon, that rich complex of feelings had been reduced to “this place sucks.”
When I would ask them about why they were talking that way, they might first say something like “the rules are too strict,” or something like that. And, of course, they were about to turn 18. Or in some cases already had. In that sense, they were on the cusp of legal adulthood still being treated like minors. That was understandable. But the expressions of negative feelings were more than that.
At some point I realized it. Simply put, it was easier to feel Mad (angry) than it was to feel Sad.
One area that often has boards flummoxed is what – if any role – they should play in cultivating academic excellence in their schools. Boards dipping into the academic sphere is filled with peril and finding how to appropriately and collaboratively work with the Head of School can be challenging. But given that schools revolve around academics, it’s an area worth investigating.
Fostering Academic Excellence: What is the Role of the Board?
Most independent schools claim that academic excellence is their lodestar, which if true, means guiding all strategic decisions and day-to-day operations with this objective in mind. Yet, Heads and Boards often struggle to work together towards this aim.
Cultivating an environment of academic excellence without a clear vision of what academic excellence means makes a purposeful collaboration between Heads and Boards difficult. Too often, Boards are passive, deferring to the Head on all academic matters under the misconception that pedagogy and curriculum fall solely within the purview of the administration. Unfortunately, this then leaves Heads – already shouldering myriad responsibilities – left to carry the academic excellence burden alone. This dynamic represents a missed opportunity for schools to fully leverage the respective strengths of the Head and Board toward fulfilling their most fundamental promise to families.
For some additional thoughts on academic excellence, I highly recommend Leading Through Strategy, Tom Olverson’s new book, which is a sharp, articulate and illuminating case study of his work taking the Rivers School to new heights. He leans into the frameworks of Roger Martin and A.G. Lafley from Playing to Win and shows how their strategic principles apply to leading schools. Tom’s book is a great read for Heads – new, experienced, aspiring – and Boards. I recommend putting it on your summer reading list.
From our Strategic Partner, Tyton
The latest report from Tyton Partners, Paying for Choice 2024, reveals that 20% of U.S. K-12 students will qualify for Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) in 2024. ESAs, with their heightened flexibility in allocating state funding to parents for use across a variety of non-public school educational options, have become a lightning rod for both school choice supporters and critics.
Using data gathered from 1,200+ parents and 180 providers—the largest sample on parent and provider attitudes toward school choice in the U.S.—Parts 1 & 2 of the report here.analyze the history and current state of ESA programs, as well as how parents make decisions about enrolling their children in alternative education programs. Stay tuned for Part 3, which will further examine perceptions and options for ESAs in the K-12 ecosystem.
In 2022, Lookout Management, John Gulla of the E.E. Ford Foundation, and John Piltch of the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education collaborated on a community and belonging survey for high school students in the U.S. and Canada. The survey is being offered again – free to 200 high schools. RSVPs are due no later than June 14, 2024. To learn more click here.
The latest “magic bullet” for competitive college admissions appears to be conducting research and an industry is cropping up to help high schoolers conduct research. In some cases it’s $7000 for 10 hours of mentoring. I recently heard the phrase “research inflation” added to the list of grade inflation and extra curricular inflation. And don’t get me started on why a high school senior being admitted to 231 colleges is not something to celebrate.
Finally, if you’ve never seen Taylor Mali perform "What Teachers Make" it is time. Three minutes that will make you smile and remind you that this work is so very important.
Let us know what you think. If you know of good ideas, practices, or programs, give us a shout and we might feature them in an upcoming issue.
As always, thanks for reading.
Moira
We’ve been on the road this month working with schools in San Francisco, Oakland, Orange County, Boston, Florida, and China. What they all share are wonderful school communities and we’re honored and thrilled to be supporting their work.