“The Challenge of School Leadership,” by John Gulla, in Independent School Magazine

“Sure, there are metrics we know are important. Schools have to live within their means by spending no more than the revenue they generate annually. The attrition rate should be low. The satisfaction levels of constituents should be high. But the culture of the community is its most valuable asset, and I believe that culture is vulnerable when there is a revolving door in the head’s office or when there has been a mass resignation from the board. The culture is strongest when it has been carefully cultivated by a board and head working in steady partnership over an extended period of time. For all of the fixation in the independent school world on ‘sustainability,’ I think one of the most overlooked elements is this benefit of long-term thinking coming from a steady, enduring leadership team of long-serving heads and their boards.”

Why does this matter to the future of learning?

When I was Head of School at Malvern Prep, as soon as the Board and I were aligned around a vision for the future, I felt that the most important thing I could do was to nurture a culture that would far outlast me. On a practical level, this meant:

• Designing professional development experiences to support that culture.

• Promoting people who would embody that culture.

• Hiring people who could contribute to that culture in ways we lacked.

Culture = Strategy (see #9)

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“Can colleges enforce rules designed to prevent coronavirus spread?” by Lorelei Laird, in EducationDive

“Purdue University's plan to reopen this fall expects all community members to socially distance on and off campus. But more than 90% of staff, faculty, postdocs and graduate students think undergraduates won't do it.

“That number comes from an early June survey of more than 7,200 people by Purdue's faculty senate. Its chair, Deborah Nichols, a professor in the Human Development and Family Studies department, said the university was not clear on how it would enforce those safety requirements. […]

“Importantly, all students, faculty and staff are being asked to sign and follow the Protect Purdue Pledge, which requires them to wear masks, socially distance, get flu shots and wash their hands often.”

Why does this matter to the future of learning?

A pledge is a good start to establishing a new norm around social distancing. But it is insufficient by itself.

Like it or not, schools need to treat social distancing and mask-wearing as new habits to be formed. And the science of habit formation is pretty clear:

• CUES (eg, signage) lead to…

• BEHAVIOR (eg, wearing mask), which needs to be reinforced with a

• REWARD (eg, teachers telling each student as they enter class, “Thank you for wearing your mask,” fun photo ops with masks, etc.)

If COVID-19 health safety measures have to be imposed through penalties, then the battle has already been lost.

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