On April 5th The Gowan Group hosted a webinar with four panelists to share their experience with “newish” heads. This information was so helpful to the attendees we wanted to share it with all of you.

Here is a brief description of the topic:

Late winter/spring presents heads with a set of complicated yearly tasks to complete before students and teachers leave for summer break. Getting these things done makes it possible for the Head and leadership team to maximize time for reflection and strategy during the summer and for the board to largely stand down until the fall. When left to lag over into the summer, these tasks become messy and inefficient; some are even impossible to do and pile up into the next school year. The consequences have a compounding negative effect: institutional ineffectiveness and a loss of political capital for the school’s leaders.

The Head of School Panelists were:

Ann Klotz, Head of School, Laurel School, all girls, ECC-12, day, Cleveland

Will Webb, Head of School, Salisbury School, all boys, 9-PG, boarding, Salisbury, CT

Rose Helm, Head of School, The John Thomas Dye School, coed, K-6, day, Los Angeles

Stuart Gulley, Head of School, Woodward Academy, coed, PK-12, day, Atlanta