10 Measures of School Stability
Imagine for for a moment that you could hook an EKG up to your school and measure the heartbeat. What would the graph tell you? How can the board know that the school truly is viable moving forward?
The board, chief administrator, and even donors want to know how healthy the organization is in order to have confidence in the long term viability. Ten characteristics are consistently present in schools that have maintained long-term viability and sustained growth. A sustaining board is able to provide the leadership, organizational structure and financial position so that leaders in the future can avoid the temptation of compromising the mission due to financial or leadership weakness. The legacy of a sustaining board is a secure mission and an institution that is viable for the next 100+ years.
We recently counseled a school that is having to permanently close its doors, so we have the opportunity to guide them through this painful process with as much grace as possible. Unfortunately, school bankruptcies happen every year, and may become a more frequent occurrence as this new educonomy continues to evolve. Schools often reach this point by not making wise decisions on their health indicators, even when the data is available.
Health Indicators
These indicators don’t change week to week or month to month - they typically progress year to year driven by decisions of the board first and also the administration. Below are the health indicators you can use to measure your school:
1. Strategic Board
We talked about this in the first session of this webinar series. Sustaining boards are very particular in the selection and training of their trustees. If the school board has a nomination process, the board will have very specific traits and skills for which they are looking in a prospective trustee. Both appointed and elected boards take the responsibility of training trustees very seriously, developing them on a continuous basis. The sustaining board is very deliberate about the on-boarding, training, and accountability process.
2. Strategic Plan
A strategic plan has very specific, meaningful, and measurable goals for the whole institution to achieve in areas across governance, administration, operations, and learning. A supporting financial plan must be included that shows how each initiative will be funded and the anticipated ROI. It doesn’t have to be complicated - many successful entrepreneurial businesses have strategic plans consisting of one or two pages. Consider adapting your school's business model to move from a 12 month cycle to shorter "mesters" that give you the ability to measure, learn, and adapt more rapidly. The importance of a well-structured strategic plan can’t be overestimated, and it needs to be revisited often to track progress and make adjustments.
3. Healthy Head Engagement
The only employee of the school board is the chief administrator. The ultimate goal for the board is to be the best board in the world for which to work. If you are, you’ll not only attract top talent, but retain them as well. Retention is very important for the board to understand, because every time you change the chief administrator, you reset the clock to greatness. Your chief needs to feel supported and know that the board has his or her back, and will be consistent, predictable, and on-message. If you have a head that is enthusiastically engaged, then he or she will be equipped to instill that same culture throughout the faculty and school.
4. Balanced Budget with Revenue
This indicator excludes fundraising and grants as a source of revenue because that money isn't sustainable. Some schools still have to raise money to balance the budget, but they that leaves them vulnerable in terms of long-term success. The stress level that causes on your board and your donors can be difficult, and sometimes there are economic factors beyond your control that can really put you in trouble. Figure out how to grow revenue and re-engineer expenses to balance the budget with hard income, enabling donor and grant dollars to be channeled to program enhancements beyond the basics to create "wow" factors for the program.
Does the school have enough money in the bank so that when, not if, that air conditioner goes out, or that bus breaks down, you have enough cash on hand to cover these expenses? Just as in your personal finances, a school has to be prepared for those emergency financial needs. Your school should be able to handle those situations and move on. Your have to decide what that ideal number is--our recommendation is at least 20% of your annual budget in cash reserves.
6. Major Donor Engagement
Some boards have questions as to how active they should be in the fundraising process. The answer: very active! The reason you are on the board is because you have a high degree of influence in the community. The board and the school need you to be an influencer who is able to attract philanthropists, foundations, and businesses who want to support the shared vision of the school. Members can be expected to building connections, cultivating relationships, and asking for donor involvement. How will you measure donor engagement? Be explicit about that expectation and provide accountability and feedback for your board.
7. Competitive Faculty Salaries and 8. Competitive Faculty Benefits
You will have to determine how you measure “competitive.” If you are a private school, you may take the average of public schools around you and come up with an area average. Regardless of what type of school you are, is your goal to be 105% of the area average or 75%? You need to be able to compete aggressively for top talent. You want to be able to provide a great standard of living for your teachers so that money is really off the table.
Structuring faculty salaries with bonuses or other performance compensation typically does not work very well with this group. Ample research is available on this topic, and we encourage you to be very cautious if exploring this option. Daniel Pink’s book Drive provides good information for using pay for motivation. Be very intentional in communicating to teachers your strategy for salaries and how you will continue to make sure your administration is able to attract top talent.Your school and/or district will never be better than the quality of your teachers.
9. Strategic Faculty Development
With a great team of talented teachers, you want to have a strategic process for faculty growth. We've worked with some schools recently who have a phenomenal faculty development plan, where 1-2 years are planned in advance. They are going, "where the puck is going to be, not where it is." Faculty development should focus on where your school is going, with your strategic plan informing this effort. Your goals is to have at least 80% of the teachers in your school achieve the level of top performers. Don't cut the PD budget. Encourage your teachers to become all that they can be, which contributes greatly to the final health indicator.
10. Healthy Faculty Engagement
Does your faculty really feel like they have someone looking out for them? Do they feel fully committed to the school's mission, strategies, and culture? Do they feel that they are supported when it comes to dealing with grades, parents, or other issues? Faculty engagement is the top predictor of student performance. As a board, provide the support your chief administrator can possibly use to build faculty engagement. Engagement is often assessed through survey, but another indicator of engagement is teacher attendance. Teachers who are fully engaged don’t miss class - they’re not taking days off just because they’re available. These classroom leaders are consistently excited about working with their students, and they understand that when they’re gone it has an impact on student learning. Highly engaged teachers very seldom miss class.
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Hopefully you are able to use these health indicators as a way to measure the viability of your school. Your board should be very clear on these metrics so they are able to make wise decisions. When you come into the board room and put that trustee hat on, you’re leading a mission. How are you going to accomplish a fantastic mission with this amazing calling of education? There’s nothing more noble than giving students hope and ability to pursue their dreams with a strong education. That’s your ultimate purpose as a board, so be very clear about how your school is positioned moving forward in order to fulfill that role.
