1. NAIS 2010 A Healthy Head Start: Strategic Transitions
Presented by:
Jeff Bradley, Educators’ Collaborative (NH)
Judith Glickman, Educators’ Collaborative (CA)
Lisa Lyle, Head of School
Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School (Missouri)
Alonso Wong, Chair, Board of Trustees
Chinese American International School (San Francisco, California)
NAIS A Healthy Head Start: Strategic Transitions

2. NAIS 2010 A Healthy Head Start: Strategic Transitions
Process Informs the Outcome (Strategic)      
Intentional  (Interim or Permanent)
Respectful (People)
Mindful of history (Traditions, artifacts, symbols)
Poised for the future (Moments)
NAIS A Healthy Head Start: Strategic Transitions

3. From the Head of School: Lisa Lyle
First headship, Year 3
MICDS and the Board
Assistant Head, 5 years, The Blake School

4. The Search Process
The Two-Way Street
The Search Committee’s Role
School info; an honest picture
The interview and visit; what does the candidate need?
You’re being watched!
Building relationships, from the start

5. And once the Head is hired. . . .

6. Unfailing Support and Clear Expectations
The Move
Transition team
Goals
Professional support
The Head-Chair relationship

7. From the Board Chair: Alonso Wong, Strategic Search / Strategic Plan
Chinese American International School, San Francisco
Strategic Search / Strategic Plan
Knowing your mission, before you start
Communicating and engaging your community

8. From the Board Chair: Alonso Wong, Strategic Search / Strategic Plan
Chinese American International School, San Francisco
Strategic Search / Strategic Plan
How a Strategic Plan can lead to the Search
How we are Transitioning in a new Head
My motto: practice, practice, practice -- be prepared, keep moving, and take risks.

9. What Heads tell us about their transitions
Question:
What most helped
to ease you (and your family) into your new job?

10. “The day we moved into the house, there was a basket of goodies that took care of meals for the first couple of days
They gave us a book of resources put together about practical things including, dry cleaning, doctors, restaurants, etc. We still use it.”

11. “. . ..several meetings with my predecessor, and attending the spring alumni reunion and the commencement exercises.
Clear agreement on goals for year one.

12. “The appointment of two members of the community as my transition team

13. “Trustees [connected] me with leaders of local organizations.
Essentially, they placed me where I - and the school - needed to be placed within local leadership.
By the end of my first year I had gained 10 pounds, but knew everyone in the community.”

14. create a network of new heads.
“Going to the NAIS New Heads' Institute where I was able to take a breath and
create a network of new heads.
(I now have a monthly dinner with 3 of them who live within an hour's drive of me - our therapy sessions!)”

15. If you could do-over the transition period, what would you change?
Question:
If you could do-over the transition period, what would you change?

16. “I wasn’t able to move into my house (boarding school) until September 1 (renovations), so I only had a week to settle in before the students arrived.”

17. “I would have. . .
slowed the pace [of change] if I had to do it over.”

18. Question:
How would you characterize the relationship and level of trust between you and your board chair in the first year of your tenure?
What factors most contributed to how well you two got along?

19. “My Board chair was also the chair of the search committee
“My Board chair was also the chair of the search committee it is critical that he/she be a member of the search committee, so that the chair is invested in the new head’s success.”

20. “A close mentoring relationship with a high level of trust
“A close mentoring relationship with a high level of trust. We spoke on the phone every Monday at 6:30 a.m.”

21. “I entered the search with a clear sense of the importance of presenting myself as I am, rather than striving to be the best ‘candidate.’
As a result, we had a firm footing of candor on which to build a relationship of trust."

22. “Weekly meetings, regardless of whether or not there was anything pressing to talk about, were really important to me and the board Our Friday breakfasts sometimes are more social than business, and this has gone a long way toward sealing our professional and personal relationship.”

23. NAIS 2010 A Healthy Head Start: Strategic Transitions

24. NAIS 2010 A Healthy Head Start: Strategic Transitions
Jeff Bradley
Judith Glickman
Lisa Lyle
Alonso Wong
NAIS A Healthy Head Start: Strategic Transitions