Attached to this e-mail is a graphic of what I call the Existential Triangle – see [
www.lookstein.org].
In essence, it represents the three areas that require constant attention from the Head of School.
Success in each area ensures strength; failure in even one area, ensures a school will not succeed.
The Head, therefore, must ensure academic/programmatic excellence; be fully involved in student recruitment/retention; and be fully involved in development of financial resources, i.e. fund-raising. Together with the board, the Head must effectively communicate and promote the school’s Mission, Vision, and Philosophy (MVP).
To develop such leadership, I, and others such as Cheryl Finkel in Atlanta, recommend that leadership be grown “within†the school structures. Schools should expend resources internally, (or receive outside grant funding), to develop programs that proactively train selected faculty to move into leadership positions, even if their training means they leave your school and lead another.
Bruce J. Powell, Ph.D.
Head of School
deToledo High School
